Critic’s Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
3.5
The Boy Season 5 premiere gives a strong sense of deja vu because didn’t we already spend an entire season trying to kill Homelander with a virus?
While it feels good to have a show that hits all the right notes back, parts of it repeat the same beats over and over again.
The biggest culprit is the team’s effort to neutralize Homelander once and for all.
But the writers stretched out this premise by introducing several bottlenecks, the biggest one being the virus’ potency.
By the end of the two-episode premiere, it seems we might have found the perfect concentration to kill Homelander, but doing that is harder than developing the virus.
Once again, the team finds themselves burdened with the moral weight of committing a genocide even when the victims “deserve it.”
It’s a lot going on, as everything the show has been building competes for attention.
The two-episode premiere clocks in at nearly two hours, but there is not enough time to touch on every character or theme.
Some, like The Deep, don’t get much to do, but I’m not sure he could do anything more even if given the opportunity.
He’s never had an original thought in his life, always parroting the latest take on issues to appear deeper than he is.
Yet this could be deliberate because sometimes someone needs to hit rock bottom before they feel something. The Deep’s rock bottom could be a boring manosphere podcast or advertising sex toys.
Real Life Imitates Fiction
Following their arrest in the Season 4 finale, The Boys are being held at a camp dubbed “Freedom Camp” because America loves nothing more than projecting an image of freedom.
It’s the kind of political posturing that is so blatant nowadays that it doesn’t seem out of the ordinary that a government can be hijacked by special interest groups and literally jail its own citizens for mild dissent.
The political commentary this season does not even feel on-the-nose because these things are happening daily.
Created a gulag? No, call it a Freedom Camp. Started a war of choice? No, it’s a special military operation.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the current administration mandated that convicts wear uniforms with Trump’s face and an American flag on the back.
Homelander is embedded in every facet of the nation, and removing him won’t guarantee change.
It might make it easier to undo all the damage he’s done, but that doesn’t mean the most loyal will abandon his teachings. People like Homelander win many over, not because of his superior intellect, but by exploiting fear.
When people feel unseen and ignored, they start being afraid and will do anything for validation. And if that validation comes at the cost of human rights and free will, so be it.
However, fear can be mistaken for something else, and Homelander is coming alive to this fact now.
Butcher and his crew might not even need that virus after all because the natural consequences of Homelander’s actions throughout the years are finally catching up with him.
If I Can’t Have Love, I’ll Have Fear
He’s beginning to understand the fact that fear can only take you so far.
It was fun for a while while the outcome was indistinguishable, but the vibe is vastly different now.
When people love you, they don’t watch you self-destruct; they correct you with love and warmth.
Homelander can kill a litter of puppies, and no one would dare challenge him. It seems like freedom at first, but later morphs into nihilism, where nothing has consequence.
He can’t seem to understand why people are so loyal to Hughie.
That was the biggest mistake Homelander made: mistaking fear for loyalty. He doesn’t know who to trust.
He treats people as disposable, so he can always replace them when they step out of line.
Since A-Train went off script, Homelander has been hunting him down, not because he cares what some speedster does, but because he can’t understand why.
We’ve seen many Supes make a slow shift to the right side, and there is always a price to pay.
The Bodies Continue Piling
A-Train pays the ultimate price when he meets his end after saving Hughie from Homelander.
It’s a poetic end to his and Hughie’s story, given that all this started when A-Train ran into Hughie’s late girlfriend, killing her instantly.
Faced with the same choice, he does the right thing that costs him his life. While it doesn’t excuse all the awful things he’s done, his final moments redeem A-Train.
The death hits hard because the guy had only started playing for the right team, and he lost Homelander of all people.
The Boys is firing on all cylinders for the final season, and no one is safe. But instead of shock value, the A-Train’s death means something.
His final words carry an ominous prediction for Homelander. Stripped of all the fluffy superpowers, he’s a scared man with multiple complexes.
And the optimist in me hopes that Homelander’s recent realization will lead him down a different path. I hope he will start building relationships based on love, not fear.
But who are we kidding? That man is addicted to being adored; he’d rather burn the entire world to ashes before he works for affection.
Pop quiz: How do you achieve 100% adoration rates? By killing everyone who doesn’t adore you, of course.
So that brings us to the question at the center of it all: Is killing all supes — even the good ones — worth it just to take out one man and his minions?
The Boys are left divided: some see it as a fair trade.
Kimiko and Frenchie’s romance complicates their decision, while Mother’s Milk’s interaction with a teen Supe prompts him to question things.
But in the end, it might not matter since the virus might not be strong enough to end Homelander. It doesn’t seem to work on Soldier Boy.
Gut Check
This premiere is a mixed bag.
A lot of it is redundant, as the writers introduce detours instead of a direct plan to get us to Homelander six feet under. Additionally, there are some huge gaps in the story.
Sister Sage has been touted as the smartest person in the world, but we’ve yet to see those smarts. Thus far, she’s just a woman doing her best to stay alive while working for a murderous prick.
Also, what happened to Marie and the rest of the gang? In Gen V Season 2, they joined Starlighters, but they are nowhere to be seen in this episode.
I appreciate the shows trying not to lose viewers who don’t watch both, but it’s jarring to ignore one in the other.
Could Thomas Goldkin be the secret weapon to end Homelander? Is that why they’ve brushed past the fact?
Intrusive Thoughts
- Ashley!!! It’s so good to see you — or both of you. Girl, what a way to fail upwards. Vice President? Wow! We missed you at God U last semester.
- Does Kimiko come with an off button?
- Are the writers subtly preparing us for a disappointing finale? All that meta commentary about not being able to satisfy everyone with the ending feels like priming.
Over to you, The Boys Fanatics. What did you think of the premiere? I enjoyed the fights so much, but wasn’t so crazy about Kimiko and Frenchie’s thing. And that cliffhanger? Is Soldier Boy totally indestructible?
Say something in the comments, share if you’re moved to do so, and keep reading. Independent voices need readers like you.
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