The Boys - Season 5 Review

Show Details

Creator: Eric Kripke

Episode Count: 8

Cast: Anthony Starr, Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Erin Moriarty, Jensen Ackles, Chase Crawford, Karen Fukuhara

Synopsis

As Homelander builds up more and more power, Butcher and his team of rebels push for one last desperate attempt to bring the world’s deadliest supe to heal.

My Review

As The Boys comes to its natural conclusion I find myself looking on at the finale season with fondness. Granted, it’s far from perfect but when push comes to shove, I believe it ended just how it was meant to for each of the major characters and thus, I can forgive some of the flaws in the writing. We had plenty of humour, plenty of silliness and plenty of gore that goes part and parcel with the franchise. 

There is no denying that political commentary played a huge part in the season 5 script and for the most part, that humour worked for me, it was hilarious. But I do believe Homelander quickly became an outtake of himself, yes in previous seasons he was still an entitled man child but the writing really allowed Anthony Starr to flourish, which wasn’t always the case in season 5. Butcher on the other hand, I thought he was handled really well, with an ending that felt perfect for the character, creating a brutal, yet beautiful moment between him and Hughie.

By biggest issue with season 5 had to be the inconsistency when it comes to the strength of certain supes. One minute they could be incredibly overpowered, shrugging off powerful attacks, the next they’re killed with incredible ease by an underpowered foe. How about The Deep, master of the seas, only able to muster a slow doggy paddle in the ocean like the average Joe, no super swim speed? Black Noir getting bested by a simple rear naked choke? Homelander somehow getting weaker with V1 and able to get tag teamed by Butcher and Ryan? There are so many instances where you can compare it to previous confrontations and quickly find it contradicts itself and those tiny details really matter.

I was very disappointed by Eric Kripke’s use of the Gen V characters. He built that spin off up to be a major plot point heading into the final season, yet the characters were absolutely useless and barely featured. That’s two seasons of television I won’t get back, what a waste of time! Don’t get me wrong, overinflated casts can doom TV shows, so I understand their absence, but why sell audiences a dream and completely mislead them, just to get viewers for a spin off that won’t go anywhere. Which makes the decision to cancel Gen V very silly now.

Ultimately it was due time for the show to end, there is only so many times we can ride the merry-go-round before going after Homelander becomes boring and repetitive. The Boys was a breath of fresh air to the superhero genre, those first three seasons in particular were outstanding and despite being a caricature of the genre, it’s likely a very accurate representation of what superpowered individuals would look like in the real world, a scary thought huh? Let’s see what’s next for this universe and if they can maintain the hype going forward.

Season 5 Rating: 6.9 out of 10

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