Queen Maeve was one of the leading characters in The Boys‘ first three seasons, but she has had absolutely no appearances in seasons 4 and 5 of the Prime Video show. While it is hard not to question why she is not a part of the series final chapter, it seems like The Boys has already given us all the answers.
For a long time, Queen Maeve, like other supes, was heavily controlled by Vought and held herself back from standing up against Homelander’s growing tyranny. Towards the end of The Boys season 3, her story reached a turning point where she not only fought against Homelander but also saved the day by protecting several others from Soldier Boy’s nuclear energy blasts.
Her sacrifice initially suggested that standing in the way of Soldier’s Boys energy blast had killed her. However, The Boys season 3’s final arc confirmed that she had somehow survived but lost all her supe powers.
Since she does not appear in the show’s seasons 4 and 5, it would be safe to assume that she is still somewhere out there living like an ordinary human. Still, there could be more to her story than meets the eye.
We Can Assume Queen Maeve Hasn’t Been Placed In One Of Homelander’s Camps
Queen Maeve’s survival has been a well-kept secret, and Homelander still seems to believe she is dead. If he had known she was still alive, Maeve likely would have ended up in one of his camps. Even in The Boys season 3’s final moments, Vought had publicly announced that Maeve had sacrificed her life to protect others from Soldier Boy.
Only a few reliable characters in The Boys eventually learned about her survival, and it seems unlikely that any of them would ever reveal the truth, especially to someone like Homelander. Since Maeve also lost her powers in The Boys season 3’s final arc, Starlight and her crew have had no reason to contact her and get her involved in their battle against Homelander.
Owing to this, it is safe to assume that Maeve is living her life somewhere in peace and probably keeping a low profile. However, given her stance against Homelander in The Boys season 3’s ending moments, she is certainly growing increasingly concerned about his growing influence.
Why The Deep Is Unlikely To Expose Queen Maeve’s Survival
The Deep knows that Homelander will reward him if he exposes the truth about Queen Maeve’s death, but it seems unlikely that he would ever do that. He was never actively involved in the cover-up surrounding Queen Maeve’s fake death. It was Ashley Barrett who deleted surveillance footage and removed any remaining evidence that could reveal Maeve was still alive.
However, The Deep still cannot risk exposing anything about Maeve’s whereabouts in The Boys season 5 because, in season 2, he helped Maeve retrieve evidence from the wreckage of Flight 37 at the bottom of the ocean. He used his aquatic abilities to dive to the depths of the ocean and bring the footage that proved Homelander and Maeve had abandoned the passengers.
The same footage was used by Starlight in The Boys season 5’s opening moments to expose Homelander. If Homelander comes to know that The Deep had helped Maeve and the crew retrieve the footage, he will obviously feel betrayed and likely kill him. The Deep might have done the silliest things in The Boys, but he understands that he must keep some secrets to ensure his own survival.
Why Queen Maeve Isn’t Part Of Starlight’s Resistance
Dominique McElligott, who plays Queen Maeve in The Boys‘ first three seasons, has not returned for the role in seasons 4 and 5. Even from a narrative standpoint, it seemed like her character got a well-rounded resolution before all the other supes. In The Boys season 3’s final arc, she not only managed to save many innocent lives from Soldier Boy but also made Homelander bleed.
Did You Know: Queen Maeve is a parody of DC’s Wonder Woman.
Before The Boys season 3 ended, it was also established that she wanted to keep a low profile and live the rest of her life in peace with her partner, Elena. Starlight also seems to be incredibly careful about who ends up joining forces with her. She realizes the risks involved in her mission to take Home lander down and has been intentionally keeping many characters at arm’s length.
In Gen V season 2’s ending moments, she even asked the spin-off’s young supes to join her resistance. However, as Gen V‘s characters’ absence in The Boys season 5 suggests, Stalight decided to protect them instead of putting them in harm’s way. Since Maeve even lost her powers in season 3, it probably did not make a lot of sense to have her join the resistance.
Queen Maeve’s Absence From The Boys Season 5 Isn’t A Plot Hole (Yet)
Like Starlight’s father and several other non-powered individuals, Maeve is not necessarily supporting Homelander’s rise to power. At the same time, though, to protect her loved ones, she is probably lying low and pretending to be a Homelander supporter. Since this makes her character quite insignificant in the overarching story, her absence makes sense.
However, if Homelander’s reign keeps growing from strength to strength, even characters like Queen Maeve would likely not stay quiet. There isn’t much she would be able to do without her supe powers. However, she could still join the resistance and help Starlight and the team plan their next move against Homelander. With only two episodes left to end The Boys‘ run, though, it seems unlikely she will return.
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
