Some fans are wondering where Dominique McElligott's Queen Maeve is during the events of The Boys Season 4.
The latest season has seen the conflict against Homelander get even more dire than ever before. Even worse, The Boys are also doing everything they can to keep Victoria Neuman, a deadly head-popping Supe, from becoming the President of the United States.
However, one former ally hasn't shown their face at all this season: Queen Maeve. Season 3 saw the character switch over to The Boys' side, so she would certainly be a useful person to have at their disposal.
Sadly, she’s out of the picture — the wider world even believes her to be dead.
[ The Boys Season 4 Release Schedule: How Many Episodes Are Left? ]
What Happened to Queen Maeve in The Boys Season 3?
The third season saw Dominique McElligott's Queen Maeve aligning herself with The Boys more often. Much of that was fueled by the increasing danger Homelander presented to Maeve and her girlfriend, Elena.
This culminated in a brutal fight in the finale between Maeve and Homelander, which saw Maeve lose an eye as the evil narcissist proved to be too much for her to handle.
However, there was one person who could take him: Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy. While the Supe isn't a good person by any stretch, he was positioned by The Boys to fight Homelander in hopes of killing him.
Sadly, things don't go as planned.
While Soldier Boy could explode and take away Homelander’s powers, it would also kill everyone else in the room—including Ryan (Homelander’s son and Butcher’s stepson). This leads the entire team to turn against Soldier Boy, trying to keep him from going off.
After the aforementioned fight with Homelander, Queen Maeve makes a bold choice that changes her life forever. To save everyone in the tower, she charges Soldier Boy and tackles him through a window.
The choice was made in the nick of time, too, as Soldier Boy explodes mid-air, hitting Queen Maeve with all its might.
After the incident, the entire world believes Maeve to have died tragically. Thankfully, the actual circumstances are much less dire.
Unbeknownst to Homelander (thanks to Ashley Barrett deleting the evidence), The Boys saved Queen Maeve’s life. While she is one eye lighter and no longer has Compound-V making her a Supe, she is alive and well.
At the end of the finale, Maeve revealed that she and Elena would be going to live a normal life outside of the watchful eyes of Homelander and Vought — a resolution nobody tries to stop.
So, while she’s alive, her early retirement is the reason the character hasn’t been in Season 4.
Will Queen Maeve Ever Return to The Boys?
While her absence makes sense, it's almost impossible that the show will be able to resist not bringing Queen Maeve back in the future — especially with Season 5 being the last of the series. That said, it’s unlikely she will crop up in Season 4.
Showrunner Eric Kripke previously stated that he feels it is likely that the character will be put back on the board at some point.
While speaking with Variety, Kripke point blank said that "[he doesn't] think The Boys will end without Maeve showing up again:"
"I don’t think 'The Boys' will end without Maeve showing up again… We needed a way to sort of gracefully get Maeve out of the show, let her head for the exit. Obviously, we didn’t want to kill her and fall into the tropes of gay characters and bisexual characters in shows getting killed. We wanted to do the opposite of that and send her off and give her a happy ending with Elena."
In an interview with TV Line, the creative reiterated that "the opportunity remains for her to one day return:"
"But given that Maeve is indeed alive and well (for the most part), the opportunity remains for her to one day return. [Maeve and Dominique are] going to definitely take a break… but the series will definitely not end without seeing Maeve again."
Perhaps she can come back in time for the return of Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy, who fans are also eager to have back on the show. Like Maeve, he’s also not dead — just on ice.
Though, Maeve still wouldn't have powers, theoretically. It's hard to imagine Homelander not immediately coming after her the moment he realizes she's still alive.
In the comics, Maeve is actually decapitated by Homelander. So, maybe it's best that she continues enjoying life with Elena out of the limelight.
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