Another year, another popular series ended with some fans utterly frustrated and angry. The Boys' reputation and track record offered viewers some solace that maybe the king of satirical narrative might have something unexpected in store for its finale. However, the first few episodes had already left viewers skeptical and dreading the conclusion that followed.
Filler episodes, overflowing political satire, and low-stakes buildup had already set the series up for a huge disappointment.
Was it a complete disaster? No. Could it have been better? Absolutely.
While The Boys season 5 episode 8 carried a sense of urgency and delivered an entertaining final battle, it still failed to match the emotional and narrative impact of previous finales. Season 5’s lukewarm reception reflects the show’s inconsistent handling of several major storylines, though the ending wasn’t without its strengths.
From long-awaited happy endings to Homelander’s brutal downfall, here’s everything The Boys season 5 finale got right — and wrong.
Right: Homelander’s brutal death
There was nothing more satisfying than witnessing Homelander flapping about trying to fly and shoot lasers in the finale. Although it was for mere moments, it was a befitting ending for the superhero to live his final moments as a human.
Homelander’s begging and Butcher’s crowbar attack were like a cherry on top. Unfortunately, the moment disappeared almost as quickly as it arrived, and just when fans were finally ready to celebrate the downfall of the false god, the momentum abruptly shifted.
Wrong: There wasn’t enough buildup
As much as it hurts to acknowledge it, The Boys did exactly what Stranger Things was criticized for. Much like Vecna, Homelander was done and dusted halfway through the episode, and the entire sequence was so rushed that it felt like a mere formality. Homelander’s downfall should have been more dramatic, public, bloody, and elaborate.
The fans should have gotten an all-out Homelander Supes vs. Butcher and gang epic fight packed with the good old The Boys chaos, gore, and sarcasm. That final showdown also could have served as the perfect opportunity to redeem the Gen V characters, who were conveniently written off by simply driving into the sunset as heroes.
Right: Happy endings
As a show with a twisted sense of humor, it was refreshing to see that The Boys opted for a more emotional finale. MM, Kimiko, Starlight, and Hughie got their well-deserved happy endings with Ryan also finding stability in the form of becoming MM’s family.
Even Stan Edgar and Ashley Barrett managed to find their own twisted version of a happy ending by surviving the war and the former being reinstated as the new head of Vought. Sage became normal, Hughie continued his father’s business, Annie got to be a real hero, and there was no supe genocide.
Wrong: Butcher’s ‘soft’ death
The finale’s most glaring problem was obviously the inconsistent pace. Not only did the show blatantly ignore addressing a few plotlines, but the buildup leading to Butcher’s death lacked depth and connection. It made no sense for him to abandon his initial supe genocide plan just to suddenly go back to it because Terror died.
This sudden transition had no emotional weight whatsoever. It made his death just another lousy attempt at wrapping things up. Butcher has always been the show’s antihero, a morally grey character who didn’t flinch before doing what he thought must be done for the greater good.
So, it felt confusing for the show to take such a half-hearted approach just to make Butcher’s death seem faithful to the comics. The series was always destined to diverge from the original ending anyway, so it could have at least remained true to the core essence of what made The Boys such a dark and uncompromising story in the first place.
It would have worked far better if Butcher had chosen to release the virus immediately after killing Homelander. In that scenario, Hughie’s attempt to kill Butcher to protect Annie and Kimiko would have held far more emotional and narrative weight. Instead, the show’s need to turn Butcher’s death into a sentimental affair ended up stripping the finale of logic and depth.
The Boys finale wasn’t the worst, but it also didn’t fully do justice to the mayhem the viewers enjoyed for seven years.
The storyline deserved more, the characters needed to go out aptly, and there should have been more carnage. Undercutting the importance of an epic final battle wasn’t a strong choice even if it was done for satire.
In the end, the finale felt less like a thunderous conclusion and more like a muted echo of everything the series once promised to unleash.
You can now watch all five seasons of The Boys on Prime Video.
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