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In a world overshadowed by a volatile figure fueled by anger and insecurity, tensions run high as he threatens global chaos.
Fortunately, the chaotic universe of The Boys remains fictional as it embarks on its fifth and final season. It’s been about a year since the dramatic events of Season 4, and the story unfolds in an America under the fascist grip of Homelander. With The Boys mostly incarcerated, Annie January, known as Starlight (played by Erin Moriarty), spearheads a faltering resistance, while Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) remains a lurking danger, though he’s now battling illness. Homelander (Antony Starr) revels in his unchecked power, basking in the adoration of a sea of supporters at a Vought International shareholders’ meeting. These followers idolize him, oblivious to his threats of violence.
President Steven Calhoun (David Andrews) appears to be a figurehead of surrender, with Vice President Ashley Barrett (Colby Minifie) serving as the regime’s propaganda machine. Meanwhile, Vought’s CEO, Sister Sage (Susan Heyward), is orchestrating her own strategic maneuvers. As a key influencer, she fields inquiries from tech giants to political figures. Even Annie’s daring broadcast of the harrowing Transoceanic Flight 37 footage on Vought’s live feed fails to disrupt the regime’s grip. The fervent crowd, undeterred by past threats, continues to view Homelander as their savior. Sage intervenes, momentarily halting Homelander’s violent impulses.
With intellectual prowess, Sister Sage navigates her complex relationship with Homelander. Despite his jabs about the second season of Gen V and her troubled past with Thomas Godolkin, she’s unfazed. The campus tragedy was conveniently pinned on Starlight, allowing Sage to manipulate public perception. She maneuvers the narrative, hinting at more chaos as Homelander grapples with his own insecurities. Although victorious in many respects, Homelander’s triumph is hollow, leaving him embittered and preoccupied with trivial grievances.
Meanwhile, Butcher remains both ailing and dangerous, having fused with the Kessler virus, which has transformed him. As he journeys across the globe, he confronts his abusive father in London and reconnects with Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) in Manila. Those close to Butcher tread cautiously, much like those wary of Homelander’s wrath. Reuniting with Annie, Butcher and Kimiko are determined to free Hughie (Jack Quaid), Frenchie (Tomer Capone), and Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso) from the notorious “Freedom Camp.” While Butcher focuses on reviving Frenchie’s work on an anti-supe virus, for Kimiko, the mission is personal, driven by her desire to reunite with her true love. In a moment of joy, Kimiko finally finds her voice.
The Freedom Camp raid goes haywire immediately, always a feature not a bug of any Boys op, because Homelander is there. He sniffed out Hughie’s Hogan’s Heroes act, the Molotov cocktails stuffed under floorboards, and carnage kicks off as his eyes slice the regenerating Kimiko in half. No matter – she and Frenchie kiss passionately as he carries her torso to safety. Butcher deploys his supe limbs, Starlight is airlifting people out of there, and just when Homelander’s about to ventilate Hughie’s skull, the Boys get an assist from the newest member of the resistance. A-Train (Jesse T. Usher) has been on the run ever since he switched sides, staying one step ahead, and keeping his loved ones hidden from douchey Homelander minion The Deep (Chace Crawford). But nobody runs forever. A-Train uses his powers to help the Boys crew escape, and draws Homelander away from the camp at breakneck speed.
As A-Train bolts from his former boss, there is a really nice reference to Season 1 and the TV beginnings of The Boys. An innocent young woman walking in the road, who A-Train changes course to consciously avoid. It speaks to the reclamation of his soul after too many years as a member of glorified Vought hit squad The Seven. But the redirect also knocks him off his pace, and Homelander corners him.
It is delicious to watch A-Train laugh in this evil fucker’s face. “What was I so afraid of? You’re just an empty suit.” He knows it’s the end of the line for him, and we also know this, considering Boys showrunner Eric Kripke has been teasing Epic Deaths since the series conclusion was announced. But it’s so powerful to watch the character, in his final moments, totally destroy Homelander’s fragile veneer of sanity.
“Take away these powers, and what are you? A pathetic, weak, sniveling fucking loser.” Antony Starr twists Homelander’s features from swaggering supe arrogance into the weak, desperate for love laboratory abomination he really is, and he snaps A-train’s neck. It’s the solution of a bully. Like any despot, cruelty and murder is all he knows.
Boys Noize for Season 5 Episode 1 of The Boys (“Fifteen Inches of Sheer Dynamite“):
- With Homelander targeting anybody even in the glow of Starlight, what of our young heroes from Gen V, who Annie recruited into her resistance movement? Their fight continues, off screen for now. “Marie Moreau and her team are scoring a few wins” against the regime, Annie says. “But not nearly enough.”
- The last time we saw Ashley Barrett, the Vought exec injected herself with Compound-V to avoid Homelander’s pogrom. Now, as VP, she’s got mindreading supe skills and a marriage, arranged for optics by Sage, to a corrupt supe faith leader named Oh Father (Daveed Diggs).
- Since Black Noir II (Nathan Mitchell) replaced the Homelander-murdered Black Noir, he’s become quite the Chatty Cathy. He was even in that Gen V Season 2 finale, musing on his actorly motivation in between kills. But Noir is on mute again in Boys Season 5, which annoys the shit out of Deep.
- And get ready for Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles). The OG supe’s cryo chamber from Season 4 finale midcredits reveal has been moved to Homelander’s lair in Vought Tower, where he stares at his biological father through the glass. Probably gonna be a problem!
Johnny Loftus (@johnnyloftus.bsky.social) is a Chicago-based writer. A veteran of the alternative weekly trenches, his work has also appeared in Entertainment Weekly, Pitchfork, The All Music Guide, and The Village Voice.