WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for The Boys Season 2, Episode 5, "We Gotta Go Now," available now on Amazon Prime Video.
As previous episodes of The Boys have shown, Homelander doesn't tolerate being lied to, and those who cross him receive a punishment that destroys whatever or whoever they value over him. Madelyn Stillwell, A-Train and Butcher are all victims of Homelander's to different extents because they got in his way or betrayed him. Now Maeve is forced to endure Homelander's cruelty after he 'outs' her as a lesbian, despite Maeve identifying as bisexual. Furthermore, he drags Maeve's ex, Elena, into the crosshairs of Vought's marketing team, wedging profit margins between the two women.
Season 2, Episode 5 opens with Maeve on the set of Dawn of the Seven, pulling a female hacker out the rocky rubble. The camera zooms in on Maeve, who reveals how she is afraid to show the world who she is. When the hacker asks who Maeve really is, the hero comes out as gay.
After the cheesy shot ends, Maeve confronts Homelander and demands to know when he'll stop torturing her, reminding the audience that this is not the coming out story Maeve wants. In response, Homelander plays ignorant; however, it's clear he does not care about Maeve's sexuality, her partner or the community.
"Look at these strong female lesbians," Homelander says as he watches the playback. "Girls get it on!" Homelander adds, clearly saying Vought's "girls get it done" motto wrong to rub salt in the wound.
Homelander relishes in what he's done to Maeve. He's created a product out of Maeve's sexuality, and this leads to her having to play this unwanted part in the film and in the public eye. How he's constructed the narrative is thought out, presenting Maeve as someone she is not, and he knows his claims are false. The two were formerly intimate, so Homelander is aware of the fact that Maeve is also into men. However, she chose a woman over him, so he rewrites her image to be a gay caricature of herself.
Vought accepts Homelander's 'outing' of Maeve and markets her 'new' sexuality as a way for Vought to gain attention and profit. This includes a promotional poster of her waving a rainbow flag as well as a rebranding of Elena's style.
"She's gay and it's ok!" Vought's marketing team pitches to the two. "She's #BraveMaeve!" In the middle of this, Elena interrupts, reminding them Maeve is bi; however, marketing disregards this, claiming that "lesbian is an easier sell. A bit more cut and dry."
The Boys' creators use this episode as a brilliant way to draw attention to the lack of representation for bisexual characters in pop culture. It also works as a commentary on how bisexuality is viewed by some as illegitimate or confusing. The Boys twitter even reposted the marketing pitch with the caption, "In case it's not f***king clear, this is not how you treat LGBTQ people, or market to them." Invalidating and erasing Maeve's bisexuality is unfortunately something seen in fictional and real spaces.
For instance, Wonder Woman, the inspiration for Maeve, wasn't officially confirmed as being bisexual until her 2016 run; however, she has been coded as such in prior work and comes from an island where queer women appear to be the norm for years. Despite this, her live-action film does not acknowledge this part of her identity, focusing primarily on her relationship with Steve Trevor. She could possibly be bisexual, according to Gal Gadot in an interview with Variety, but Gadot also confirms that this part of Wonder Woman's identity wasn't brought to the table for the film.
The Boys' critique on bisexual erasure and queer representation doesn't end with Maeve. Vought requests Elena to change her gender expression since she's with Maeve. The team proposes Elena present a more masculine image because, "Americans are more accepting of gays in a clear-cut gender role."
Vought's implication is that having two feminine women together is scandalous. While they are "behind" Maeve's gay character, they need her and her partner to appear heteronormative for the public. When Elena protests, Vought brushes aside her concerns and promises to compensate her, treating Elena more like a product than a person.
By the end of Episode 5, Maeve is stuck ping-ponging between the marketed version of herself and Elena, and this is exactly what Homelander wanted. Over the course of one TV interview, Homelander has rebranded Maeve's sexuality and taken away her right to live freely.
Amazon Studios' The Boys stars Karl Urban as Billy Butcher, Jack Quaid as Hughie, Laz Alonso as Mother's Milk, Tomer Kapon as Frenchie, Karen Fukuhara as Kimiko, Erin Moriarty as Annie January, Chace Crawford as the Deep, Antony Starr as Homelander and Aya Cash as Stormfront. Seasons 1 and 2 are currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.