Queen Maeve deserves better than her The Boys season 3 send-off

The Boys — no stranger to high-level parodies — decided to get in on the fun of “Celebrities Read Mean Tweets” by having its cast read one-star reviews on video after the release of season 1. Dressed as Queen Maeve, actress Dominique McElligott chuckles as she reads, “Queen Maeve felt like a throwaway character. Her arc could have been handled better.” Without missing a beat, McElligott looks up at the camera and states, “More screen time for Queen Maeve.”

Sincere, I’m in agreement.

[Ed. note: This post contains spoilers for the season 3 finale of The Boys.]

The finale to season 3 of The Boys culminated in another attempt to take down Homelander (Antony Starr), this time with the “help” of Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles). Both season 3 and its finale, in particular, are two of the show’s strongest installments. But one of the reasons “The Instant White-Hot Wild” stands out, for the better, is because one of its featured characters was Queen Maeve, a character that has been consistently underused.

Maeve’s arc over the last three seasons has been slowly gaining the courage to break away from a toxic environment (in her case, both Vought and Homelander) and reclaim her strength and identity in return. It is about finding hope at rock bottom or finding something that could eventually turn into hope, which is an incredibly complex story that hasn’t been explored in the comic book or superhero subgenre at this magnitude. It doesn’t seem to be able to capture her story in any way.

Jan Thijs/Amazon Studios

Queen Maeve is a frequent series of regulars The BoysSince the pilot episode of Season 1, she has been a constant presence on the show. She’s a longtime member of the Seven, deemed the second strongest person in the world, right behind Homelander. Both of them went on many missions together. They even got married in the past. But it quickly becomes apparent that Maeve has been selling parts of herself to Vought in order to maintain the “superhero” image and keep Homelander at bay. By the time the audience meets her, she’s a very cynical and depressed woman who drinks to cope with the horrors she endures. She is not a believer in God, the universe, nor the notion of a hero. She doesn’t want to lose heart. Some would even say she has — until she finally gets the strength to stand up to Homelander in the season 2 finale.

But despite the depth of Maeve’s arc, her potential is never fully realized. Granted, The BoysMaeve technically is a supporting role in this ensemble series. But even with a story as weighted as hers about standing up to abuse, it’s not uncommon for her to have around one or two scenes per episode of actual storytelling, often existing on the periphery of the frame for the remaining run time. There’s always a gnawing feeling that Maeve deserved more.

Dominique McElligott is, thankfully, an exceptionally talented actor who is able to simultaneously communicate Maeve’s rage, hopelessness, and inherent strength despite her brief screen time. Her fight against Stormfront (Aya cash) was instantly a favorite scene. Homelander also loved her attempt to blackmail Homelander by showing footage from the first season’s plane crash. She was determined to fight for her freedom against the oppressors who made her a shell of herself. Most importantly, Queen Maeve wanted to be free.

Image: Amazon Studios

But when season 3 picks up, Maeve’s arc of resilience and redemption is completely erased. Maeve fades further into the background. She is still the angry and cynical woman we know, but she has been reduced to Butcher’s (Karl Urban) drug dealer, who provides him with Compound V and locates a potential “weapon” for them. The entire Soldier Boy plot line was Maeve’s idea, yet we never see her in action; it all occurs off camera. It’s as if the second half of season 1 and all of season 2 never happened. She is also absent for whole episodes, as if to alienate her further from her personal growth. It seems that Maeve’s purpose in season 3 isn’t to take down Homelander as season 2 set up, it’s to support Butcher’s story by giving him superpowers and having occasional sex with him (which then is used to set up Homelander’s arc of becoming an unhinged explicit villain who imprisons her for these actions). She’s a plot device.

Maeve’s finale was, at the very least, a great one. The finale was a great one for Maeve. She escapes and insults Hughie, Jack Quaid, at first glance, yet again. Starlight (Erin Moriarty) reunites her with Starlight. Homelander, on the other hand, is instigates an intense fight where both of them seem equally matched up. She almost had him until she saw that Soldier Boy was about to destroy the Tower and everyone inside it. So she took him out to help everyone. Maeve is one of the greatest heroes because she sacrifices her personal safety to save the others. The Boys. Her character is one who values protecting others over her own personal gain. That’s a hero. It’s a brave choice in an episode that finally gives McElligott time and space to tell her character’s story. But it also seems like the episode is simultaneously serving as an apology for Maeve’s treatment as they try to jam an entire season’s worth of character development into one episode. Is it possible that she was only used once in this season’s episode?

Even more important: How do you react now? To the world, Queen Maeve is dead, whereas in reality she’s alive but depowered and running away with her girlfriend, Elena (Nicola Correia-Damude). After such an impressive portrayal, it seems that this is what the character looks like now. The Boys Is either to write her off or cast her aside. On one hand, it’s lovely that Maeve is, for the first time in the series, happy with Elena and finally free of Vought and Homelander. Homelander, however, is still around and seems to be interested in Maeve. So a rematch appears likely. Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara), got her powers back so Maeve should also be able to. It doesn’t seem like it’s the end of Maeve’s arc. She’s too strong of a character to lose entirely. But it does seem like a goodbye for now — which is incredibly underwhelming and, truthfully, unfair to Maeve, her fans, and McElligott.

Queen Maeve would be a beloved character on TV if she was given the same attention as other characters. She has all of the ingredients to do so — a great story, a strong actor, and a solid villain — but showrunner Eric Kripke never lets her fully fly, which is a shame and a waste of a fantastic character. Kripke knows Maeve’s journey but never gives her the opportunity to wholly tell it, and it was painfully apparent this season. So when the time comes to wrap up her arc, it’s satisfying due to McElligott’s performance, but also underwhelming since she was absent for the entire season. What’s the point of rooting for a character if we’re only going to see her story develop one episode a season?

Queen Maeve was a deus ex machine throughout the series. She is often absent, but she appears at the end to rescue the day. These climactic finales, which are remarkable and demonstrate just how much of a force Maeve is and McElligott’s power are amazing. Unfortunately, her story is truncated over several episodes so that it doesn’t reach its full potential.

The finale feels like a hint at how amazing it is. The BoysIt could happen if Maeve got the respect and appreciation she deserves. It is frustrating to watch the final episode because it leaves no clue as to her fate. Kripke reminds us, as do the writers that she understands the character and then throws her away. They don’t know how vital she is to the show.

After the season 3 finale, it’s obvious: Queen Maeve is not just the hero of The boysBut he is the undiscovered hero. That one-star review was correct; her arc could have — and by this point in the series, Should have — been handled better. McElligott was right,Maeve requires more screen time. The show is exceptionally better and more thought-provoking when she’s in it. The secret weapon behind Queen Maeve BoysKripke as well as Amazon don’t realize the wealth they possess. They will need to let go of her in order to fully grasp this idea. Sometimes you don’t know how good you had it until it’s gone.