Fans Are Asking — Why Did Soldier Boy Cry After Killing Quinn in 'The Boys'?

Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for Season 5, Episode 4 of The Boys.

The latest episode of The Boys saw Soldier Boy killing an individual named Quinn. While the bloodthirsty Supe murdering someone is hardly shocking, fans were surprised by what happened afterward. Upon putting Quinn out of his misery, Soldier Boy began to cry.

The Supe's breakdown doesn't really align with his character, as he often kills people without an ounce of remorse. Yet, he truly seemed reluctant to hurt Quinn, and only attacked him after extensive prodding from Frenchie (in fact, you could argue that Soldier Boy was aiming for Frenchie rather than Quinn). Naturally, fans want to know: Why did Soldier Boy get so emotional after realizing he'd killed Quinn?

There are two running theories about Soldier Boy's post-kill breakdown: The first is that it's because Quinn is a fellow original Supe. The second is that Quinn is actually Soldier Boy's brother.

We know that the original Supes were a mixed bag, as V1 has unpredictable results. Upon killing Quinn, Soldier Boy may have recognized just how fortunate he was, seeing how horrifying Quinn's V1 effects were. He may be feeling overwhelmed by realizing what his fate could have been if it weren't for sheer luck. Furthermore, yet another one of the original Supes dying could have forced Soldier Boy to face his own mortality. Remember, he'd also just learned that Stormfront/Liberty was dead, too.

While that's entirely possible, it does seem that the episode had set us up for the realization that Quinn is Soldier Boy's brother. This very same episode, we learn that Soldier Boy was jealous of his hero brother (who is never named), and only took V1 because he wanted that same adoration. This would explain why Quinn was so hateful — he spent all that time watching Soldier Boy enjoy the valor that Quinn had earned.

Our only issue with this theory is that Soldier Boy hasn't shown much concern for family in the past. He clearly despises his son, Homelander, and shows an utter lack of interest in his grandson, Ryan. Perhaps he'd feel closer to his brother since he actually got to know him, but still, he doesn't really strike us as the sentimental type.

Perhaps this issue will be re-addressed in future episodes of The Boys, especially because the camera zoomed in on Butcher noticing Soldier Boy's tears, teasing a possible future confrontation about it. However, the showrunners may just decide to leave the question open-ended. After all, not much more needs to be said about Soldier Boy killing Quinn. In fact, most of Episode 4 was about character development rather than driving the plot forward.

Our guess is that we won't get any answers here, and the script has purposely remained ambiguous. That said, we hope we're wrong, and we find out what cause Soldier Boy's rare display of emotion.