Sage’s rare misstep highlights her vulnerability, despite her supreme intelligence.
Power’s allure tempts Sage, challenging her independence.
Sage’s lack of fear toward Homelander stems from understanding her oppressor better than he knows himself.
Everybody makes mistakes–even someone with the superpower of supreme super-intelligence.
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That’s a message made clear as The Boys enters its final stretch and Susan Heyward unpacks the mindset behind one of its most compelling additions.
Sister Sage is a character defined not only by her unmatched intelligence, but by the high-stakes consequences of a single miscalculation. And for Susan, the idea of playing the smartest person in the world was enough to spark conversation long before the supe ever appeared onscreen.
“There’s so much momentum culturally against intelligence being paired with Black womanhood,” Susan told BOSSIP. “Without even saying one first line of dialogue before she even shows up. People and their feelings about the idea. of a black woman being superior perhaps to them or to their loved ones in that way. So I thought it was a really smart way to immediately get people’s attention, immediately get an emotional reaction, get them to buy in, and get people curious. I know I was really, really excited.”
She also added that the role also hit close to home.
“I spoke to another journalist before this, and he talked about being bullied and having his intelligence not… valued as a kid. I’ve had a very similar experience growing up, so personally, I was also really excited to jump into the party from that point of view.”
Despite Sage’s near-omniscient intellect, recent episodes prove she is not infallible.
In a pivotal twist, Soldier Boy reverses course yet again and chooses to give Homelander the V1, the original Supe-creating formula that will make him immune to The Boys’ supe-killing virus and effectively grants him godlike, near-immortal abilities. The decision is centered around his lingering devotion to Stormfront, also known as Clara or Liberty, whom he references while justifying the move.
That moment underscored a rare blind spot for Sage, who, despite anticipating nearly every outcome, underestimates the emotional volatility driving the decision.
That miscalculation lands within a larger arc centered on power and its pull.
After joining The Seven, Sage is finally offered something she has long been denied: influence, but now it’s hanging on by a thread.
“Yes. Without mincing words,” Susan said to BOSSIP when asked if the power becomes intoxicating. “Yeah, I think. Homelander knew exactly what to offer her in her apartment. I’m going to listen to you. I’m going to give you power. It’s very, very seductive. And there’s, I think, a lot of pressure to hope that she’s going to resist that seduction. But I think it’s very, very human to not be able to resist.”
One of the season’s most striking dynamics is Sage’s lack of fear when it comes to Homelander, a character who typically inspires terror.
“Well, I think a lot of things,” Susan explained. “I love hearing [actress] Valorie Curry, talk about [the supe] Firecracker because she talks about her love and her belief in Homelander erasing fear.”
“I think Sage comes from the exact opposite direction. I think he’s a classic narcissist. He’s quite predictable. He does have laser eyes attached. So that’s new and exciting for her. But I think she knows his mindset. She knows kind of how he’s going to come at her.”
Susan added,
“I think a lot of people who deal with patriarchy and deal with systems that oppress them, you know the oppressor sometimes more than they know themselves. You know what’s coming.”
On top of that, Susan points out that Sage quite frankly doesn’t have much to lose, so she’s not afraid to take bigger risks than most when it comes to the psychopathic, narcissistic, and extremely powerful leader of The Seven.
“I think one of the tragedies of Sage is that she hasn’t necessarily built a life that she’s maybe sad to lose,” said Susan.
“When we find her, she’s quite lonely. She’s quite isolated. She doesn’t have any hate or grand mission like the boys. So to be surrounded by someone whose behavior is kind of predictable, you know how it’s going to go. You probably know how it’s going to end and you don’t feel the loss of life. I think it puts her in a place of, okay, if I die today, okay. If I die 30 days from now. Okay, too.”
Sage’s decision to reveal more of her long-term plan, including her so-called phase two strategy, also signals a shift in how she operates; one that could prove to be fatal.
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“I like the way you think,” Susan said. “I think two reasons. One, I was just really excited as an actor. I was really excited as an actor to present this point of view because there are people out there who really do believe that they’re just prepared for the fall of society. And I think it was a really nice surprise to hear that point of view from someone like Sage.”
She added,
“And then on the other hand, I think her whole through line has been about how she works independently. She’s secret. She works alone. And the main theme of the show is that the power of working together is what ends fascism. The power of working together is what takes too much power from one person’s hand. So she’s been on this journey of being forced to figure out what it’s like to share and reveal things and then have to work people and then need people. And it’s very strange for her.”
As the series approaches its conclusion, Susan is already reflecting on what she will miss most.
“I’ll miss how unapologetically supe-ist she is,” she told BOSSIP.
She continued,
“You know, there was that moment in the series, which is so powerful, when Homelander finally admits, he’s like, I’m better and better than all of you, and I think there is something really intoxicating about feeling better than other people. I think it’s, there’s something really playful about the way Sage does it. She’s very derisive and dismissive. It’s a terrible way to approach life. I do not suggest it, but playing it as an actor has been really, really fun to go with it.”
