Although she's a secondary character, Deputy Director Raynor plays a significant role in Season 1 because she's one of the few people that straddles the line between the legal system and the vigilante justice going on behind the scenes. Raynor needs to get concrete evidence of Vought's wrongdoing, but someone else has to do the dirty work. Butcher is more than happy to oblige, but in exchange, he wants a guarantee that the federal government will prosecute Homelander (Antony Starr) to the fullest extent of the law. Clearly these characters have a history together, and their interactions hint at Grace Mallory's (Laila Robins) importance in the narrative. However, both of them know it's not that simple.
Homelander is nearly untouchable and going after him would be a death sentence. Thankfully, Butcher and his team aren't easily deterred. They're able to secure proof of a dark secret that Vought's been trying to keep under wraps for decades: Superheroes aren't ordained by some higher power, they're just people who were illegally injected with Compound V as infants. This finally gives Raynor enough proof to officially level charges at Vought, though she still doesn't see any point in going up against Homelander. Esposito does a great job at portraying Raynor as commanding and capable, though she's clearly rattled when a supe terrorist kills a group of American soldiers abroad. Unfortunately for the CIA, there are quite a few more super-powered individuals out there than they thought.
