The Boys isn’t exactly known for holding back. Just two episodes in, the new season features a human-centipede configuration made up of cloned men rimming each other in a sauna.

But the same can’t quite be said for how the show tackles LGBTQ+ representation, especially now that Queen Maeve, the show’s only queer hero of note, has seemingly left The Seven for good.

But wait, what’s going on with Frenchie this season?

Some fans might be surprised to see everyone’s favourite jack-of-all-trades suddenly smooching a new hottie named Colin (played here by Elliot Knight).

As Kimiko notes, “You’ve been spending a lot of time together in the bathroom.” And no, we don’t think they’re just sharing tips on a new skincare regime.

By the end of episode one, Frenchie even says to Colin the two words that everyone wants to hear from the rather dashing Tomer Capone. Namely, “I love you.”

Colin’s arrival might feel out of nowhere, although it’s made clear he’s long been important to Frenchie. But what perhaps seems even more random is Frenchie suddenly showing interest in guys. Although perhaps it shouldn’t.

Straight viewers especially might not have noticed, but there have actually been allusions to Frenchie’s queerness for quite some time now.

Aside from the fact he exudes “chaotic bi” energy in every frame of every scene, the three-way “friendship” he shared with Jay and Cherie in the past was giving Challengers to the nth degree.

Frenchie even compared this trio to The Golden Girls (!), a show that inspired him to form his own chosen family (!!) with them. Cherie was Blanche and Jay was his Dorothy (!!!), so Frenchie himself was of course Betty White.

It doesn’t really get more queer than that.

Never mind that time Frenchie kissed Hughie when they were all celebrating or when he told Mother’s Milk to be open-minded as Love Sausage wrapped his mutant dick around him.

Still in doubt? Ahead of season two, Tomer himself told ComicBookMovie that “Frenchie loves everything!” while discussing his 𝓈ℯ𝓍uality. So yep, Frenchie’s queerness — which is most likely bi, if we had to pick a label — shouldn’t come as too much of a shock just because it’s being foregrounded more now in season four.

It’s a welcome shift in the right direction, especially given what happened to Queen Maeve at the end of season three.

While season one often sidelined The Seven’s bi𝓈ℯ𝓍ual hero, season two centred a new arc around her that put queerness front and centre. Unfortunately, season three proceeded to undo a lot of that good work by reducing her role again, only for Maeve to show up at the end and “sacrifice” herself to take out Soldier Boy.

What seemed like the tropiest trope of all — an unnecessary and untimely death for the show’s only queer character of note — turned out to be anything but when it was revealed that Maeve had actually survived. She was even reunited with Elena, her lost love, and together, they went into hiding, safe from Homelander in a happy ending of sorts.

Except, by removing Maeve’s powers and seemingly writing her out of the show completely, The Boys still did her dirty in the end. At least that big gay void has been filled quite quickly with Frenchie’s heightened role this season. And that in itself is quite promising.

While Maeve was often relegated to the background (except for when the writers needed a token gay to engage with queer themes), Frenchie’s new romance has already been given more attention in three episodes than her entire relationship with Elena.

Things aren’t looking too good for Frenchie either in the love department. In episode two of the new season, we discover that Frenchie actually murdered his new boyfriend’s family, which isn’t exactly ideal. In-laws are tricky at the best of times, and that’s especially true when you’re responsible for their deaths.

Episode three rams home the fact that Frenchie doesn’t feel too good about this though, as he ends up imagining Colin’s family demanding retribution in a guilt-ridden drug trip. That guilt is sure to impact the relationship even more than it already has, so don’t be surprised if a happy ending falls out of reach when the truth does comes out.

But at least The Boys is no longer holding back now when it comes to foregrounding queerness, especially in the main cast. To go back on that now would be more shocking than any mere human-centipede orgy with oneself. That’s for sure.