Warning: Spoilers for The Boys’ series finale are discussed below.
Amazon released the highly anticipated series finale of The Boys late last night, prompting a mixed bag of reactions from fans. Throughout its run, the series has been building towards a final confrontation between Homelander and Billy Butcher. However, some viewers began to question whether the finale could live up to expectations early in Season 5.
Concerns arose as some fans felt the show was losing momentum, with too much to resolve in the remaining episodes. Others believed the series wasn’t effectively using its time or escalating the stakes sufficiently. Hope persisted that everything would come together in the end, but reactions to the finale have been varied.
“The Boys Series Finale is absolutely perfect,” said a
. “An emotional, gory, irreverent end that honors the core of the show, namely the conflict between Butcher and Homelander. So many moments I couldn’t believe I was witnessing. Will be VERY surprised if this isn’t loved by the fans.”
“The Boys finale was disappointing, and all the posters and marketing were lies,” said
. “We all said it would be impossible to wrap everything up in a single episode without it feeling rushed and unfortunately, this finale does feel rushed.”
The series finale saw Butcher finally kill Homelander, along with the demise of several other characters. The Deep, Butcher, and Oh Father all met their ends in various ways, but Homelander’s death has been the most contentious. During a broadcast from the Oval Office, Kimiko used her radiation blast to depower Homelander, stripping him of his strength. Realising he was defenceless against Butcher, Homelander desperately begged for his life, revealing his pathetic nature without his powers.
Unmoved by Homelander’s pleas, Butcher drove a crowbar through his skull before wrenching his brains out onto the Resolute desk. Some fans felt the final fight was underwhelming, particularly as they had hoped for a “scorched Earth” style finale with a greater sense of scale.
“The Boys ending was supposed to be enormous,”
. “Not just Blood and Bone but something huge; something Scorched Earth. This was genuinely a disappointing finale for a show this huge. Even Homelander’s death felt lackluster.”
The marketing for The Boys did little to help, as it set high expectations that weren’t met. One of the posters for the final season showed Homelander floating above Earth with fire and explosions consuming it, a scenario that didn’t materialise in the finale. Some fans also felt the show never showed Homelander truly snap.
“The single biggest missed opportunity in The Boys is that we never truly see Homelander snap,” said
. “They tease it so much throughout the show, but he never gets a chance to let loose. Even after taking the V1, he acts the exact same way.”
Overall, the finale has proven to be divisive. Showrunner Eric Kripke admitted at the start of Season 5 that he was anxious about how fans might respond to the finale, especially as viewers often reassess the quality of an entire show based on its ending. It seems to have received a better reception than the finales of Stranger Things and Game of Thrones, partly because it took some significant risks and killed off numerous major characters.
The Boys franchise will continue with a spin-off called Vought Rising in development. However, Prime Video has cancelled Gen V, leaving fans with fewer options for more shows in The Boys universe.
