The Boys Season 5, Episode 2’s Soldier Boy Ending Twist Changes Everything for Homelander & Butcher

The Boys Season 5 delivers multiple twists in its opening two episodes, including one with Soldier Boy that is going to have major ramifications on the remaining episodes. With the fifth season the show’s last, the Prime Video superhero series isn’t wasting any time. We know that this year is all about the war between Homelander and Butcher and how that will conclude, and with a big death and several more surprises, it’s already off to a strong start. Warning: SPOILERS ahead.

While The Boys Season 5, Episode 1 ended with the death of A-Train, the shocker at the end of Episode 2 is a survival. With the Supe-killing virus having been successfully used on two members of Teenage Kix, it also seemed as though Soldier Boy was done for as well, with the virus clearly having a major impact on him. Even Homelander walks off believing that his father has been killed, before Jensen Ackles’ character does his best Undertaker impression, sitting bolt upright before the credits roll.

How Did Soldier Boy Survive The Supe-Killing Virus?

While it would be quite the fun twist if Soldier Boy had “died” and we then got a Zombie Soldier Boy for the remaining episodes, that isn’t what has happened. Speaking with TV Insider, showrunner Eric Kripke confirmed the character is “not dead.” That, of course, then raises the question of just how he was able to survive something that’s believed to be capable of killing Homelander himself.

The most likely answer to this likes in V-One, or V1, the original form of Compound V that was given to the likes of Soldier Boy and Stormfront (who, perhaps not coincidentally, will both return in The Boys‘ 1950s-set prequel Vought Rising). In contrast to the later versions, this essentially made them immortal: unlike even Homelander (who was rather obsessed with his own mortality in Season 4), they don’t age.

The Supe Virus was developed using regular Compound V, not V1, and so it would make sense as an explanation as to how Soldier Boy was able to survive when other, extremely powerful characters like Rock Hard were killed.

Soldier Boy’s Survival Sets Up A Race For V-One Between Butcher & Homelander

In that same interview, Kripke said that the reason for Soldier Boy’s immunity becomes the “MacGuffin” of The Boys Season 5, setting up a race between Homelander and Butcher. That further supports the notion that they’re both going to realize the secret ingredient is V-One, with each team working to find or manufacture it: Homelander to survive, and Butcher to kill him. The trailer for The Boys Season 5 had already established Homelander looking for V1, and seemingly working with Sister Sage to create it (because if anyone could, it’s her), and this would explain why.

For Butcher and the rest of The Boys, getting their hands on V1 would have a couple of advantages. If they could get it without Homelander also doing so, then it’d mean Butcher, Kimiko, Annie, and other Supes could become immune to the virus, removing the remaining risk of using it (since it was already confirmed it doesn’t impact humans). But it’d also mean that Dr. Sameer Shah could create a new virus with the V1, which may allow them to kill Homelander.

If Homelander is able to get true V-One into his blood, then he too would become functionally immortal. While Homelander is one of the only survivors of Project Odessa (the other being Marie Moreau), a project that started with an unstable variant of V1, it seems as though this is different enough from the original version to mean he still requires it. The obvious route to this would be Soldier Boy himself, with Sage likely able to use his blood to re-create V1, though he might not be too happy about it.

Will Soldier Boy Turn Against Homelander Now?

Soldier Boy was basically sent to his death by Homelander, a fact he has presumably realized now that he’s survived. The pair already had a complicated father-son dynamic before this, and the near-death experience probably won’t help. However, based on the trailers, it seems as though Soldier Boy does remain on Homelander’s side for the foreseeable future, as the pair visit a medical facility together. There’s a reasonable chance this is also linked to V-One and the quest to become immortal, but whether Soldier Boy will eventually turn against his son remains to be seen.

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

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