In The Boys season 5 episode 7, one of the most dangerous new Supes of all is introduced, in the form of psychic killer Synapse, and he forces Billy Butcher to confront his own personal demons.
This episode also sees the return of Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Joe Kessler, not via resurrection, but in the form of a mental construct created in Butcher’s mind by Synapse during his psychic assault. The appearance will deepen Butcher’s increasingly volatile psychological collapse before the series ends.
Synapse becomes the central character in the penultimate episode when Homelander calls on a group of elite psychics to try to gain control of things. Synapse, being one of the best telepaths available, is part of the psychic team sent to help Homelander and is capable of moving between mental planes, siphoning memories, and shutting down Supes within their own heads.
Who is Synapse in The Boys?
Synapse is presented in the series as a psychotic mass murderer Supe, under the service of Homelander. In episode 7, Synapse kidnaps Butcher and Hughie while the Boys investigate Oh-Father and Homelander’s growing power base. He then takes Butcher into his own head and weaponizes his own memories and trauma against him.
The psychic assault temporarily stops Butcher’s powers while allowing Synapse to dig into the ‘rat’s nest’ that makes up Butcher’s subconscious. In this process, Synapse becomes Joe Kessler.
It was revealed in season 4 that the version of Joe Kessler (played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan) the audience saw then was a complete illusion caused by Butcher’s deteriorating mental condition due to Temp V use, and Kessler was actually a darker, more destructive conscience pushing Butcher to ever greater violence against Supes.
This episode uses this past trauma to return the character of Kessler, but in a new way.
Why Joe Kessler returns in The Boys Episode 7
The episode flashes back and reveals some more details of the shared military history between Butcher and Kessler, a disastrous mission in Afghanistan, where several soldiers, including Kessler, were killed. With Synapse manipulating his mind, Hughie is able to witness the events in flashbacks, as Butcher confesses how his desire to achieve the mission objective contributed to the deaths of his men.
This reinforces an ongoing theme that Butcher will sacrifice anyone in order to get the job done, and Kessler, being a reflection of Butcher’s own inner demons, is a theme that episode 7 further amplifies. This plot device also sets up a pivotal choice for Butcher to face at the end of the series: destruction or ultimate redemption, as it’s pointed out that Butcher’s actions here were to make a similar mistake to the one in Afghanistan.
The end of the series could force him to overcome it by finally not sacrificing everything for a cause.
Synapse’s death in The Boys Episode 7
Despite Synapse successfully gathering the required information for Homelander, Hughie and Butcher manage to turn his own power against him by tapping into his own psyche’s memories. This distraction allows Butcher to reassert himself and his powers.
With his own memories turned against him, Synapse is forced to experience his own memories, while Butcher uses his newly acquired tendril powers from the season 4 finale to viciously attack Synapse from the inside out.
Synapse’s purpose at the end of The Boys Episode 7
Synapse acts as both a plot device and a mirror for Butcher in episode 7. He exposes the emotional pain behind Butcher’s crusade against Supes, and also resurrects the idea of Joe Kessler one last time before the end of the series. He’s also one of the most dangerous new Supes introduced, so episode 7 serves to establish the stakes for the finale of the series.
Also read: What time does The Boys Season 5 Episode 7 come out? Region wise release schedule, detailed
Edited by Abhimanyu Sharma