The Boys Season 5 is nearing its end, and the series finale has many questions to answer and lingering plot threads to resolve before its runtime is through. With the last episode expected to run a little over 60 minutes, it will need to be concise if it hopes to cover everything. The final showdown between Homelander and The Boys is inevitable, but the show also must reveal each surviving character’s fate — and grapple with the state of the world following Homelander’s takeover.
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On top of it all, The Boys Season 5 sets up multiple possibilities for bringing down Antony Starr’s supe. One is likely to reign supreme, but the series needs to tie up all those loose ends if it hopes to make them worthwhile. It’s a hefty job, so hopefully, Prime Video’s superhero show is up to it.
11) Can Kimiko Really Blast Away Other Supes’ Powers?
The Boys Season 5, Episode 7 sees Frenchie, Kimiko, and Sister Sage working together to recreate the experiment that gave Soldier Boy his radiation blasts. They want to give Kimiko the same power, hoping she can use it to depower Homelander, even with the V1 in his blood. Before Frenchie’s death, he tells Homelander that they were successful. But while Kimiko survives the intense levels of radiation she’s exposed to, we don’t actually see what it does to her. The Boys‘ series finale will need to properly show us the aftermath, revealing whether she’s capable of replicating Solider Boy’s most powerful attack. If she is, she could be the most important factor in defeating Homelander.
10) How Will Gen V’s Characters Factor Into The Boys’ Series Finale?
Kimiko is poised to play a crucial role in stopping Homelander, but another character is also set up to destroy him: Gen V‘s Marie Moreau. The Boys Season 5 leaves Gen V’s characters out of the equation until its penultimate episode — and even then, Marie and Jordan only feature briefly. Given their limited screen time, it’s unclear how important they’ll be in the series finale. Marie’s blood manipulation is another possible way to strip Homelander of V1, but that might feel underwhelming after her lengthy absence. Starlight’s odd comment about her inability to control her powers also raises questions about whether it’s even possible. As Starlight asks the duo for help, we can expect them to be involved in the final conflict some capacity. Whether it’ll be satisfying after Gen V‘s cancellation is another story. It’s also unclear if any other Gen V characters will show up.
9) Does Sister Sage Really Not Have a Grander Plan?
Sister Sage’s Season 5 character arc is a point of contention among The Boys‘ fandom, and it’s not hard to see why. Early in the season, she tells Ashley that her grand plan is to let the world end while she reads inside a bunker. It’s an underwhelming (if a little relatable) motivation for the ever-scheming supe. And it’s followed by more perplexing twists. Sage shows up to help The Boys in Episode 6, then makes the misstep of trusting Soldier Boy to keep the V1 from Homelander. He doesn’t, leading to a whole scene about Sage not understanding love. Considering she’s set up to be a master of manipulation, there’s only one way any of this checks out. There’s a slight chance Sister Sage is still playing the long game, even now. After the series finale, we’ll know for sure if she’s aiming for something bigger — or if she’s a victim of convenient writing.
8) Will The Deep Be Eaten by Sharks, Killed by Starlight, or Be Punished by Surviving?
Almost five full seasons into the show, The Boys fans are still waiting on The Deep’s demise. The series finale will reveal what becomes of Chace Crawford’s supe, and there are a few satisfying ways he could go. Episode 7 works as a send-off for the character, as he’s stripped of his job, power, and connection to the sea, then exposed as a coward. However, the trailer for The Boys Season 5, Episode 8 (via Rotten Tomatoes TV) confirms he’ll be back in the finale. It looks like he and Starlight will face off one last time, which raises the possibility of Annie killing him. It’d be a fitting end for the character, though we also wouldn’t mind if he gets eaten by sharks (especially ones voiced by A-list stars like Samuel L. Jackson).
Watch the trailer for The Boys‘ series finale below:
7) Whose Side Will Ryan Take in the Final Showdown (Or Will He Sit It Out)?
Ryan’s limited screen time in The Boys Season 5 sees him facing both Homelander and Butcher — and neither reunion ends on a positive note. The end of The Boys Season 5, Episode 3 sees Homelander beating Ryan bloody. And although Butcher tends to the boy’s wounds, he neglects his emotional needs, prioritizing revenge over everything else. Needless to say, Ryan has little reason to side with either father figure in the coming conflict. It’s possible he’ll still take a stand, but with the finale trailer showing him with Homelander, that may not be a good thing. Of course, he could also sit this fight out. It would put him in the perfect position to become Vought’s new puppet once Homelander’s reign is through.
6) Will Homelander Be Defeated in The Boys Season 5 Finale & How?
The biggest question The Boys Season 5 finale must answer is whether Homelander will be defeated — and it’s hard to imagine the answer being anything other than “yes.” There’s a small possibility that Homelander will win, but it wouldn’t be a very hopeful conclusion. (It wouldn’t be a conclusion at all, as it’d leave viewers wanting The Boys Season 6.) The better question is probably how Homelander will be brought down, especially now that he’s more powerful than ever. Kimiko’s radiation blasts, Marie’s blood manipulation, Ryan, and Butcher’s supe virus are all potential threats. It’ll likely take a combination of these things to stop Homelander once and for all. Even then, it’s really difficult to see how The Boys‘ heroes are going to pull this off.
5) Will Butcher Unleash the Supe Virus?
The supe virus is a major plot point of The Boys Season 5, and even if it’s not used to take down Homelander, it deserves a proper resolution in the finale. Fortunately, it looks like it’ll get one. The preview for Episode 8 reveals that Butcher could be The Boys‘ final villain after all. Despite his brief show of humanity in The Boys Season 5, Episode 5, Butcher still appears hellbent on ridding the world of supes. “We need to end the whole bloody notion of supes,” he says in the trailer, which ends with him saying, “Superheroes are done.” From that, we know he’ll attempt to unleash the virus in this week’s episode. Whether he succeeds largely depends on what the rest of The Boys do. If the series follows the comics, things could get bloody.
4) Will Starlight’s Name Finally Be Cleared?
Starlight’s opposition of Homelander makes her Enemy No. 1 among his followers, and she deserves justice before The Boys is through. Vought’s propaganda paints Starlight as a comically over-the-top villain, and it’s not much kinder to her followers. Much of the public eats this up, but they could come to see the truth in the series finale. We get a glimpse of this in The Boys Season 5, Episode 7, when Starlight rescues those about to be killed for “heresy” for supporting Homelander but not believing he’s God. If Starlight saves people on a much larger scale, it’s possible she can clear her name in The Boys‘ last episode. She deserves to, just as characters like The Deep and Homelander deserve to be exposed.
3) What Becomes of the U.S. Government If Homelander Falls?
Homelander takes control of the U.S. government at the end of The Boys Season 4, but he’s still operating under the guise of President Steven Calhoun being in command. That’s thrown out the window in The Boys‘ penultimate episode, and it’s unlikely Ashley Barrett will last much longer in the Oval Office. Assuming Homelander is defeated, the U.S. government will need a total overhaul. Perhaps former candidate Robert A. Singer will see his name cleared and be able to clean up this mess. It’d be nice to see Jim Beaver on-screen one last time, especially after all of The Boys Season 5’s Supernatural cameos.
2) How Many Members of The Boys Will Survive?
The Boys isn’t shy about killing characters, so most fans are going into the series finale wondering who will live and who will die. We can expect The Boys‘ final episode to claim at least a couple of lives, and after watching the trailer, I’m starting to think it’ll be more than that. If Butcher is serious about releasing the supe virus, it’s unlikely the entirety of his team will survive. Whoever doesn’t perish in the fight against Homelander could die fighting him. It’s hard to say if M.M. will truly side with him when all is said and done. Whatever happens, we can expect in-fighting among the show’s main characters. Their split could mean the show is adapting some version of the comics’ bloodbath. At least Frenchie isn’t around to witness it.
1) Will Something Just as Bad Take Homelander’s Place If He’s Defeated?
One of the most chilling moments of The Boys Season 5 is Stan Edgar’s conversation with M.M., during which he insists that Vought will outlive supes — and that the nature of corporate greed will cause something else to take their place. The series finale will determine whether Stan is right about this, and I have a sneaking suspicion that he is. If Homelander and Butcher are both defeated, it’s likely Vought will continue to function. Stan might even regain a place among its leadership. It’s possible another supe, like Ryan or Marie, will become its figurehead. However, Vought could also find another means of subduing and manipulating the populace entirely. Only time will tell.
What do you hope is addressed in The Boys‘ series finale? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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