The Boys Doubles Down on Warning You About Its Disappointing Series Finale (& Admits Its Gen V Problem)

The Boys Season 5, Episode 4, “King of Hell,” drops another warning to viewers about its upcoming series finale. The endgame of the hit Prime Video TV show is approaching, with only four episodes now remaining. The latest episode of The Boys already raised concerns among fans for being filler and set up for the planned Vought Rising prequel (which will star Jensen Ackles and be set in the 1950s), but the show’s writers are also very much aware of the concerns around sticking the landing.

The Boys Season 5’s new Supe the Worm is the character who serves the purpose of expressing the writers’ worries. Earlier in the season, he said that finales are hard, even referencing the much-maligned ending to Lost. Now, in a conversation at Vought Tower, the panned ending to in-universe series Lamplighter: Light of Justice is brought up, which was written by the Worm and apparently received a D- grade on The A.V. Club. He defends his work, but it really sounds like showrunner Eric Kripke speaking directly to the audience:

“Okay, I had to service 14 main characters and cross over a bunch of a**holes from the Avenging Squad prequel. You try and make a good finale out of that.”

The Boys Is Avoiding One Problem The Worm Calls Out

The message from the Worm is pretty clear. The Boys has a lot of characters to juggle: Homelander, Butcher, Hughie, Starlighter, M.M., Frenchie, Kimiko, and the Deep have all been around since the first season of the show and will be expected to get satisfying sendoffs, before even considering the likes of Ryan, Soldier Boy, Ashley, Black Noir 2.0, Firecracker, and Sister Sage, and that still isn’t naming everybody. With only a few episodes left, balancing all of those arcs is going to be very difficult, and some tough choices (and perhaps a few quick kills) will have to be made to best service the story and biggest characters.

Read Next

The Boys Officially Declares Homelander Is More Powerful Than Superman

Thankfully, the show is at least cognizant of these issues, as the meta-commentary makes clear, and in particular the “Avenging Squad” issues are something it’s taking steps to avoid. That is obviously a reference to Gen V, and while we know heroes from that show will turn up at some point, the fact they haven’t been a presence yet is an encouraging sign. Kripke has been clear that he doesn’t want them to overshadow things or for viewers to feel like there’s too much homework, knowing that would cause problems, and it does seem to be getting that right so far.

On the flip side, the reactions to The Boys Season 5, Episode 4 aren’t positive, and highlight just how quickly audiences can be frustrated, especially with a show’s final season. It’s a near-impossible task, with very few major series finales earning universal praise. The Boys probably isn’t going to achieve that, but the hope is that Kripke and his team have stayed true to the core ethos of the show, and to who these characters are. If it can get that and, crucially, the emotional payoffs, then the rest should hopefully work well enough for this to be a satisfying ending. We’ll find out in four episodes.

New episodes of The Boys release on Wednesdays on Prime Video.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!