Queen Maeve must eventually die in The Boys to complete her journey towards becoming a Wonder Woman-style hero. For a show centered entirely around the super-powered, there are very few true heroes to be found in The Boys, and every character occupies their own morally-ambiguous space within the show. Especially despicable are The Seven - a group of (usually less than) seven superheroes designed by Vought to be the best of the best. The result is a nightmarish version of the Justice League where Flash is crippled by addiction, Aquaman sexually assaults his colleagues, and Superman thinks nothing of killing children if it keeps his public profile afloat.

One of the less awful supes in The Seven is Queen Maeve, based on DC's Wonder Woman. Played by Dominique McElligott, Queen Maeve arrives in The Boys as a jaded veteran hero with a heart of ice, but while she may be guilty of drowning her sorrows in a cocktail of booze and casual sex, Maeve is comfortably the most redeemable member of The Seven. While the rest of team commit one atrocity after another, Maeve's biggest sin is apathy - idly sitting by and saying nothing as her co-workers do what they please, regardless of the consequences.

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Throughout The Boys' two-seasons thus far, Queen Maeve has grown hugely as a character, and her journey is clearly one of redemption - moving from a place of inaction to fulfilling the superhero ideals she once aspired to as a fresh-faced young supe. Crucially, Queen Maeve is gradually inching closer to becoming Wonder Woman... albeit a snarky, sarcastic Wonder Woman with alcohol on her breath. Unfortunately for Queen Maeve, that arc can only truly conclude upon her demise.

Queen Maeve Was Partly Redeemed In The Boys Season 2

Queen Maeve subdues Black Noir

The redemption of Queen Maeve began modestly in The Boys season 1, when Starlight was inducted into The Seven. Having already turned a blind eye to The Deep assaulting Starlight on her very first day, Queen Maeve hardly presented the strong female mentor Annie January needed. When Homelander threatened to kill Starlight due to her unwitting association with The Boys, however, Queen Maeve stepped in, risking her own neck to save Annie's. Preventing the death of an innocent newbie was, quite frankly, the least Queen Maeve could do, but the scene provided a glimmer of hope for the Wonder Woman clone - a sign that Maeve's soul hadn't been entirely corrupted by Vought.

The Boys season 2 builds upon this brief moment of virtue. When a captured Starlight attempts to break out of Vought HQ, the flame-haired Maeve defeats Black Noir in an epic, one-on-one, drag-out fist fight (she forces an Almond Joy down his throat and triggers a severe nut allergy). The progression from grudgingly defending Starlight during a meeting to putting another member of The Seven in a coma so that Starlight could escape shows how invested Queen Maeve has become in doing right by Annie, but her evolution doesn't end there in The Boys season 2. After discovering Stormfront's Nazi origins, Maeve temporarily joins The Boys in taking the fascist down, then blackmails Homelander to ensure he leaves Ryan and Butcher alone.

By jeopardizing her own safety for other people, Queen Maeve is finally acting like a superhero, but her redemption is far from complete heading into The Boys season 3.

Related: The Boys: What Stormfront Says In German In The Season 2 Finale

Maeve Isn't Wonder Woman, She's Her Antithesis

Even more so than the mighty Superman, Wonder Woman is DC's most hopeful, optimistic hero. An Amazonian with God-like abilities, Diana chooses to enter the world of men as their guardian - mankind's representative in battle against any evil entity who seeks to corrupt and exploit. Despite witnessing the horrors of Earth first hand, Diana retains her eternally hopeful outlook, firmly believing that man is inherently good, given the chance, and that by acting as their protector, she can shepherd humanity toward a brighter future. Queen Maeve is essentially what happens if Wonder Woman decides humanity isn't worth saving and goes into business for herself.

Although The Boys never shows Queen Maeve's past, it's clear that she once held ideals similar to Wonder Woman. Alas, where Diana persevered through the adversity with her optimism intact, Queen Maeve has sold her soul to the Vought machine, convincing herself that saving the odd civilian here and there atones for The Seven's collective failure as superheroes. Completely aware that Vought aren't the good guys, Maeve maintains the public charade in exchange for a five-star lifestyle. She may not be speeding straight through innocent bystanders or conspiring with terrorists, but her inaction alone is criminal, and Maeve understands this.

Queen Maeve's position as the antithesis of Wonder Woman spells bad news for fans still hoping the character will survive beyond the eventual finale of The Boys. Maeve begins her story as an anti-Wonder Woman, before gradually adopting more and more of Diana Prince's trademark virtues. But where does that journey end? It's nigh-on impossible to imagine Queen Maeve living happily ever after as the Earth's protector in The Boys. More likely, her ever-more heroic path will culminate in tragedy.

Maeve Still Has Sins To Atone For

The Boys Queen Maeve Elena

Arguably the most intriguing facet to Queen Maeve's character in The Boys is her romance with Elena. Though they may love each other, a happy ending has eluded the couple so far, and Maeve's morality continues to drive a sizable wedge between them. Elena and "Maggie" first broke up when Queen Maeve joined The Seven, and while Elena believes she was dropped in favor of the celebrity lifestyle, Maeve maintains that she was only protecting Elena from Homelander's lethal jealousy. Both reasons contain a degree of truth.

Related: The Boys: Black Noir Reveal Makes The Comics' Homelander Twist Impossible

Elena and Maeve get back together in The Boys season 2 but, once again, it's Maeve's questionable decision-making that tears them apart, after Elena discovers the truth of the plane crash from season 1. While Elena doesn't blame her partner for this tragedy, she's horrified at what The Seven truly stands for, and how Queen Maeve has sat by and said nothing all these years. As Elena suggests, the plane crash is just the tip of a very deep, dark iceberg within Vought. How many other crimes has Maeve ignored, exchanging her silence for fame and luxury?

More importantly, Elena proves that Queen Maeve still isn't acting selflessly in The Boys season 2. Although Maeve hatches a plan to take down Homelander, this is only because the Seven leader finds out about her secret romance with Elena. Even while blackmailing Homelander in The Boys' season 2 finale, Maeve's prime motivation is to keep Elena safe. It's interesting to consider whether, had Elena not existed, Maeve still would've rescued Ryan and Butcher, or helped defeat Stormfront, or fought Black Noir. From her more human perspective, Elena seems to believe that Maeve should've stood up against Homelander from the beginning, not just after he threatened their relationship, leaving Maeve plenty to answer for in The Boys season 3.

Maeve Has To Die To Attain Full Redemption

As Dominique McElliogott confirmed in a recent interview, Queen Maeve is now firmly on the path to becoming a decent person, continuing the redemptive journey she began in The Boys season 1. But after years of ignoring The Seven's various crimes, she still has some distance to go before the Wonder Woman comparisons can be made in earnest. Crucially, this means doing the right thing because it's the right thing, not just when it suits her interests. Not only would this mark the final stage in Queen Maeve's development, but would likely also win the heart of Elena too, proving that Maggie has finally wrestled free of Vought's "Queen Maeve" persona.

But where does Maeve go after taking this last step towards true redemption? As alluded to previously, a "happily ever after" seems highly unlikely for a character who helped cover up the truth of season 1's plane crash, among a litany of historic deaths. For Maeve to get the girl and ride into the sunset seems unjust, considering all the innocent souls she could've laid to rest by revealing the truth. On the other hand, a noble sacrifice would atone for the wrongs of Maeve's past, especially if she died in the process of taking down Homelander, the true menace in The Seven, and ended his reign of terror. By dying in the pursuit of killing Homelander, Maeve's complicity in The Seven's misdeeds would finally be atoned for.

Related: The Boys: Homelander's Son Ryan Replaces Black Noir's Comic Book Twist

Fortunately, Queen Maeve's death needn't happen any time soon in The Boys. McElligott's character remains one of the most compelling figures in an impressive cast, and losing Maeve in The Boys season 3 would represent a huge blow. But so long as Queen Maeve dies by the end of The Boys, fighting for hope, truth and all those Wonder Woman ideals, she can claim to have finally attained redemption for the past.

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