THE BOYS Season 5 Episode 7 Review: “The Frenchman, the Female, and the Man Called Mother’s Milk”

The penultimate episode of THE BOYS on Prime Video just dropped, and a lot went down. How they’re going to wrap this all up in one last episode I haven’t a clue, but I can’t wait to see it. If you’re avoiding spoilers, check out my spoiler-free review of the first 7 episodes. However, if you have watched “The Frenchman, the Female, and the Man Called Mother’s Milk” it’s safe proceed. If not, then here’s your cue to run like Butcher just told you run.

***WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD***

Last Seen on THE BOYS

After a quick and eventful trip to a Vought retirement facility, Bombsight was reunited with Goldie. Meanwhile, the Legend dropped some truth on Homelander (who let him live), Sage attempted to pit Soldier Boy against his son, Annie faced Oh Father for the first time in years, and the Deep sent Noir #2 to sleep with the fishes, after killing half of them. We wrapped up last week with a sweet moment between two centurions, and a father and son bonding moment. After Soldier Boy depowers Bombsight so he can live his happily ever after, he hands the V1 over to Homelander. Now unstoppable the boys have no choice but to run.

Episode 7: “The Frenchman, the Female, and the Man Called Mother’s Milk”

After an amazing musical number by Oh Father (Daveed Diggs), we’re back to the main objective. The ultimate goal has always been to take out Homelander. Plan after plan has failed. After getting a virus together that could take out the cape loving asexual weirdo, it all goes to hell in one moment. With the V1 in his system, he’s immune to the virus like his father before him, and the boys are back to square one. With footage of Soldier Boy being experimented on in Russia, and Sage reluctantly now on their side, they decide they’ll make their own Soldier Boy with a f***** up chest blast: Kimiko. They get to work. However, their work is interrupted.

Homelander prefers to be loved

With Homelander now having obtained the ultimate power physically, mortally, and politically, his next goal… to be truly loved. Something he has said he prefers. We saw this in season 1. Him and Madeline Stillwell had a very interesting relationship, but she was always scared of him. He was unaware. The second he learned this, she was instantly dead. While he clearly still mourns her, and views her as a literal angel, he deeply needs to be loved more than anything or anyone, and now we know why there was a wall full of pictures of psychic supes. He’s testing those who claim to love him.

One of those people was the president of the United States. He was living on borrowed time. His death most likely didn’t shock anyone with the trailer showing a scene of Homelander sitting in the Oval Office, but it was still a mind blowing moment. If you’ve read The BOYS Comics from Dynamite Entertainment, that seemed like a fun nod as well. He probably should have stuck to making Manhattans.

Gen V

We finally learn where the kids from Gen V have been. Annie is keeping them benched, but still useful. Later as the anti-Starlighters are rescued by Starlight, we get a bitter sweet moment with Marie and Jordan from Gen V. The scenes with these two should have been a Leonardo DiCaprio moment to anyone who watched the spinoff, but with the recent cancellation of Season 3, that moment felt more bitter than sweet. Supposedly there is still a future for them in THE BOYS universe, so I hope to see them, and the others, again.

The man called Mother’s Milk

As someone who read the comics I always wondered how they were going to handle Marvin Milk’s nickname: Mother’s Milk. In the comic book, his mother was exposed to an unstable form of Compound V before he was born. When she weaned him as a baby, he began to get very ill. So she began nursing again, and he was suddenly healthy and thriving. After a few times of attempting to wean him, she realized without his “mother’s milk” he wouldn’t survive. This continued into adulthood.

It was clear they weren’t going to follow this for the show, but they still gave him the nickname. I loved how it was spun. Marvin simply owned a nickname/insult he was given for being caring, and saving a pigeon. This season we’ve seen a side of M.M. that feels off. He didn’t leave with his wife and daughter, and now his whole life is the mission. He’s lost that hope that made us all fall in love with him in season 1. As he tells the origin of his nickname, we see the old M.M., not the one ready to commit mass genocide. He’s trying to give Annie back some hope, but he seems to give himself back some too.

The Frenchman and the Female

Wow. This was gut wrenching, but beautiful. We were warned that no one was safe, and Kimiko and Frenchie were seeming a little too happy and hopeful to have a future. However, Frenchie was able to do the one thing he truly wanted: save Kimiko. In episode 5 we see him stressed over the fact he almost killed Terror. How could he ever keep 3 kids and a dog alive. A future Kimiko wants. In the end Frenchie saved Kimiko’s life, but she saved his soul.

Frenchie was the only one who saw her as a person early on, and I loved watching their story evolve as they both want to make up for the horrible things they’ve done in the past. Kimiko has done nothing but shine this season, and every sweet moment she had, the Frenchman fell even more in love with the Female. Now we wait to see if Frenchie’s experiments on her worked. I also wonder if she’ll suddenly no longer be able to talk again. Even this season when her emotions have gotten overwhelming we’ve seen her revert to sign language. Will she see red for now, and grieve later? She’s not one to give up, but picking your heart up off the floor is no easy feat.

This scene ends episode 7, and we hear the song, Dream a Little Dream of Me. This was the same song Kimiko imagined herself singing back in Season 3 before she got her voice back.

A Beautiful SUPERNATURAL Easter Egg

To end on a happier note, this one is for all the Supernatural fans. As Soldier Boy packs his bags to enjoy coke and women, Homelander is not having it. He wants his milk, and his dad too. As he tries to stop him, Soldier Boy responds:

“This was never gonna be a playing catch in the front lawn, fixing up the old impala bullshit”

Sadly this, combined with Soldier Boy telling Homelander he’s not God, leads to Soldier Boy once again getting the Sleeping Beauty treatment, but I definitely had my Leo moment there pointing at the TV.

For those who haven’t seen the show Supernatural Jensen Ackles stars in it, and Eric Kripke (the showrunner for THE BOYS) created it. Ackles’ character, Dean Winchester drives a 1967 Chevy Impala. However, this is not an ordinary car in the show. It’s a character named ‘Baby.’ She’s in all 15 seasons and even had an episode that took place completely in the car, called “BABY.” When the show wrapped, Ackles took Baby home. With multiple Supernatural alum behind the camera as well as in front of it, I’d love to know if Impala was in the script, or if it was changed on set, and who made that call. No matter what I got to imagine Soldier Boy once drove an Impala.

Check out more SUPERNATURAL Easter Eggs

Final Thoughts

Now we wait to see how this series wraps up. I was already nervous, but with the title “Blood and Bone,” I’m even more worried. Kripke ended his 5 year story arc on Supernatural perfectly, and I have faith he’ll nail it again. Or he’ll nail Homelander to a cross. At this point who knows. With real life mirroring the show so terrifying well I’m almost hoping for an unexpected happy ending.

However, I do wonder… where is Ryan, will someone wake up Soldier Boy? Will the Deep and Ashley manage to survive another season? Will the Deep ever set flipper in the ocean again? Will Sage ever get to read a book in peace??? Will Homelander survive? How close (if at all) will they follow the comic book ending? Will Butcher ever get to meet the Spice Girls? I have so many questions.

Overall Grade: 9.5/10

While this one hurt, it was beautifully done. I got to give this episode 9.5 bottles of Mother’s Milk out of 10. Until next week, God Bless Homelander.

For more coverage on THE BOYS from Lauren, CLICK HERE.

For more coverage on THE BOYS including interviews with the cast, post show reactions, and comparisons to the comic books from Dynamite Entertainment, head to our YouTube playlist, ‘Saturdays are for The Boys.’

Did you watch yet? What did you think?