The Boys wrapped up its fifth and final season recently. Showrunner Eric Kripke has exposed us to a plethora of hilarious and horrifying moments during its run, starting out as a faithful adaptation of a crude parody of superhero comics and evolving into one of the more impactful critiques of modern American society. Jason and I are going to discuss our thoughts on the show as a whole, but let’s start with the end. Jaypo, what did you think of The Boys finale?
Jason: While I had my issues with the finale, I thought it was an overall touching farewell to this superhero show I never knew I needed. I was not a comic reader, so I can’t critique the differences between the two but I thought Kripke wrapped everything up as best he could. While there were a couple filler episodes this season, I’m glad we didn’t drag the show out for another season. Frenchie’s death didn’t feel like an afterthought and almost everyone saw their arc come to a logical end. Homelander’s death had me audibly cheering from my couch. Once he lost his powers, it kicked off one of the most satisfying sequences in TV this year. I’ll never get over him trying to fly away and his soliciting and pleading of “favors” so Butcher wouldn’t kill him.
Steve: I loved pathetic Homelander at the end of the series. It really drills home the message that fascists are pathetic without their power at the end of the day. The comic did touch on some ideas of power and fascism, but it wasn’t a focal point like it has been on the show. The real-world parallels that have come into being with the current U.S. administration and Homelander is frankly stunning.
It’s strange that the final season both had filler episodes, yet also felt a little rushed in the third act of the finale. Karl Urban has been incredible as Billy Butcher throughout the course of this show, playing the character with winking mischief and menace. Ending with Butcher’s death in the way that they did, ehhhh, I’m not so sure. It was appropriate that it was Hughie that ultimately did the deed, but something about it just felt off.
Jason: How Kripke integrated the thematic themes of the show with current politics was pure art. A cherry on top was those the show was mocking not figuring it out until four seasons into the show.
Agree wanting more with Butcher’s death after killing Homelander. I didn’t get the motivation to still pull off the supe genocide after such a satisfying conclusion only minutes beforehand. Because Ryan peaced out on him and then Terror passed away? Speaking of the latter, how many seasons has it been since Terror even appeared? I hate seeing pets (especially dogs) die on TV/film, so I didn’t like this one bit.
The final montage almost felt like a parody of finales. Though I did read that it wasn’t, so I definitely view it differently now. I rolled my eyes REALLY HARD at Hughie blurting out the baby’s name as his murdered ex-girlfriend that I thought was meant to be a joke. MM’s daughter and Ryan eyeing each other up during MM’s wedding? It felt so weird. I really didn’t need to see any of it. The only one that even remotely worked was Kimiko’s.
Steve: Terror’s sudden quiet death really bugged me. There is a comic concept called fridging that comes from Gail Simone (the full concept is called women in refrigerators) that centers around the death of a loved one used solely as a motivating factor for the protagonist. Terror was fridged here and clearly brought back just to pull on the heart strings.
Regarding that final montage, it’s so tough to take anything seriously on a show filled with parodies, but all of that felt odd to me too. I’ve seen worse finales for sure, but the vibes were way off with everything after Homelander’s death. I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought that MM’s wedding scene was very weird.
So what are your thoughts on the show as a whole? Even with an off finale, I found it overall to be a great ride and one of the best comic adaptations that I’ve seen. It actually improved on the source material, giving a heart and soul to something that started out as a fairly mean-spirited parody. The show was incredibly relevant to the years it was made and was often downright hilarious.
Jason: Oh overall I thought the season was a massive success and I’m glad to hear that you thought it improved upon the source material because I know that is always a point of contention for purists. All the characters/actors were at the top of their game and it was just outrageously funny throughout while still diving into the dark themes of power and corruption.
Some highlights for me:
- Anything related to Soldier Boy. Jensen Ackles portrayal was Emmy-worthy and riotous. His downright distaste and pity he had for his “son” never failed to hit.
- I really enjoyed Kimiko being able to speak. Her lines were hilarious and were able to deepen/tie together her relationship with Frenchie.
- The rivalry developed between Deep and Black Noir. How everything eventually played out and focused segments on both of them were a delight. The Deep is just about one of the most pathetic and loathsome characters I’ve ever seen on screen (kudos to Chase Crawford).
- A-Train’s redemption. It kind of got lost as the season went on, but his entire arc felt so good. Getting closure with his brother and becoming an actual hero in the end was a nice finishing touch. Saving civilians was the last thing we saw him do after brutally murdering one to open the show.
- The shitshow at Mister Marathon’s mansion. I wasn’t a Supernatural watcher, but it was funny seeing Ackles and Jared Padalecki. The highlight of course was the discourse between the celebrities playing themselves: Seth Rogen, Will Forte, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kumail Nanjiani, and (very briefly) Craig Robinson.
Of course I didn’t like everything, some lowlights:
- The complete misuse of the Gen V stars. If you are going to tie in a companion series (not even a true spin-off), have the characters do something meaningful. During the entire S2 of Gen V, we are hyped up that Marie might be the only one powerful enough to defeat Homelander. What did Kripke do with that? Vaguely reference to them for half the season, eventually show Marie (and a couple others) briefly for some failed exposition and motivation for Starlight. Gen V was cancelled just recently and we got to learn that Gen V S3 was going to be a post-The Boys setting. Just…why?
- Speaking of companion shows, another one got shoehorned into an episode of the final season of a show. Vought Rising is coming out sometime soon and it will explore Soldier Boy and the origins of Vought in the 1950’s. This storyline did little to actually push The Boys season in any meaningful way other than introduce a new character Bombsight and of course remind us of Stormfront. It was a bad decision that I hope was Amazon pushing it more than Kripke.
Lastly, I’ll touch on one more thing that really bothered me about the finale. The Deep, still hilariously in denial about his worth, gets into a final battle with Starlight which is all well and good. Why on earth would Starlight BRING HIM TO A STONE’S THROW AWAY FROM THE OCEAN. His only advantage (if you can call it that) is to be in water. She doesn’t know that the entirety of the ocean creatures hate him. It felt lazy, though I wish we got Samuel L. Jackson’s voice again during his demise.
Steve: I love you going off here, Jason! Jensen Ackles is so good as Soldier Boy. He plays the character perfectly as a cynical version of Chris Evans’ portrayal of Captain America. I am dubious about Vought Rising, but if it plays the same subversive angle that The Boys and Gen V have, then I’m sure it will be at least solid.
Thank you for mentioning the Starlight / Deep fight. It was bonkers that someone with electricity powers would take someone with water-based powers to the BEACH and not the middle of the city or a power plant or something.The Deep was also Starlight’s first real traumatic experience with the world of superheroes (at least on the show). It felt like a missed opportunity to not have her get some sort of revenge on him or confront him for that incident. It would have made a great bookend for the series. It was funny to see him get torn apart by his former best friends – the creatures of the ocean, but yeah, why use Samuel L. Jackson’s voice just the one time? The Deep letting that guy down was great dark comedy, but then they didn’t quite fulfill the premise to its fullest degree. This seems to sum up the last season of the show, in a sense.
Jason: Indeed, that drowning guy moment was a good one and I was hoping for a bit more there.
A minor quibble, but when we got the “Previously On…” segment in front of the finale, they showed a scene with Queen Maeve. This got me all excited that they were bringing her back for the last episode and I loved this character. Alas, it was just a frame of reference for a useless scene with Starlight and Marie. I read that the Maeve actress didn’t want to come back, but felt like an unnecessary tease nonetheless.
Speaking of not utilizing characters, I find the character of Stan Edgar fascinating and felt like while he was present for this season, he didn’t get to be fully showcased. Giancarlo Esposito is a phenomenal actor that I wish got a little more to work with. Maybe if they had explored his background, hidden motivations, etc.
Steve: Misuse of Giancarlo Esposito is criminal, and it feels like nearly every role he’s been in since Breaking Bad / Better Call Saul has misused him. I’m especially looking at you, Captain America: Brave New World. Stan Edgar having as much power as he does in that world without having a superpower is a fascinating situation. We saw Homelander get rid of an Elon Musk analog in the finale by just flying him into space, how does Edgar get away with not getting similar treatment? It seemed like The Boys decided to focus on the core group and their issues for the final season and not touch on some of the broader universe questions. That likely might have been the right call, but it ends up with characters being underutilized in a fairly rich universe that has been built.
Overall, The Boys was a ton of fun. It skewered superhero films and series while giving us a compelling weekly storyline and surprisingly potent political commentary. There were missed opportunities and flaws, like with any series, but they mostly stuck the landing in their final season.
