Do The Boys season 3's hilarious VNN "Seven on 7" promos prove Vought and Victoria Neuman are working together? The Boys season 2 introduced Claudia Doumit as Victoria Neuman - a young and aspiring congresswoman with an axe to grind against Vought. Organizing rallies against the corporation's immoral practices and the unchecked autonomy of The Seven, Neuman partnered with Billy Butcher and his Boys to take Vought to court but, as the hearing began, an unknown supe started detonating attendees' heads. The messy crimson bursts were eerily similar to how Butcher's CIA ally, Susan Raynor, perished, and The Boys' season 2 finale revealed Neuman as the culprit. Neuman's final victim in The Boys season 2 is Church of the Collective leader Alastair Adana, but we don't yet know her goals or backstory.
Ahead of The Boys season 3, Amazon has released several spoof Tucker Carlson-style newscasts offering snippets of season 2's aftermath, such as Homelander becoming reclusive or "Dawn of the Seven" getting delayed. Both "Seven on 7" segments also reference how Alastair has recently been "unaccounted for." That's quite the understatement given the sudden redecoration of his office ceiling. Evidently, someone is covering up Adana's death, and while the Church of the Collective might be responsible, Vought could've also played its part.
"Seven on 7" and it's wonderfully awful host air on VNN - the Vought News Network. Every story is heavily biased in favor of Vought and its political values, whether that be championing Homelander, drumming up supe-terrorist fear, or portraying Hugh Campbell as America's most wanted criminal. "Seven on 7" is Vought's propaganda arm, and if VNN is reporting Alastair Adana as "unaccounted for" rather than "in chunks," it's because doing so helps Vought's cause... whatever that might be. Vought deploying its news network to cover up Alastair's death would make sense if Victoria Neuman was secretly on the company's payroll. Stan Edgar wouldn't want his clandestine head-popper to get caught, and reassuring the public that Alastair Adana is merely missing would help keep Neuman in the clear.
But why would Vought and Victoria be working together, especially after the politician tried hauling Edgar's company over the hot coals of Capitol Hill? The Boys has dropped numerous hints that Stan Edgar's designs extend far beyond just cheesy music videos and endless merchandise deals. The CEO's goal is more likely the White House, but since he can't just buy the presidency openly, Edgar needs to create the perfect electoral candidate who can do Vought's bidding in the Oval Office. Neuman might be exactly that. The woman who stood up to greedy corporate America and a lightning-throwing Nazi, secretly controlled by the greedy American corporation who created a lightning-throwing Nazi.
While Vought's news outlets are certainly complicit in hiding Alastair Adana's death, the Church of the Collective could be the real driving force behind the lie. If Vought wanted the American public to believe Adana's head still sat upon his shoulders, "Seven on 7" could report false sightings of the cult leader or, better yet, not mention rumors of his disappearance at all. The Church of the Collective, on the other hand, is like any cult - lost without its head, giving those shady Fresca-obsessives a far more obvious reason to pretend Adana is alive. Are Vought the ones covering up Alastair Adana's demise, or is it the Church of the Collective? If The Deep is announced as its new leader in The Boys season 3 we'll have our answer.