True. How it should have been if you already go down that route, IMO: Billy should have been smart enough to ask Soldierboy to blast Ryan with a weaker beam and either force Homelander to take the blow or remove Ryan's powers, both should be W's in Butcher's book. But, Homelander ACTUALLY takes the blast, having his powers removed. Ryan, desperately trying to protect him uses his apparently newely learned flight ability to get the fuck out of there. Now convinced that Butcher tried to have him killed and Homelander saved him, Ryan sides with Homelander and protects him. Later on have an arc of Homelander learning how to cope without his powers, but ultimately not being capable of redeeming himself because he truly is evil and not even his son is worth losing his Godlike status for. Have him somehow put his hands on Compound V(maybe if he hadn't killed Noir for the dumbest reason and put his trust in people he never trusted to begin with)or maybe a blood transfusion from Ryan could...