By Jamie Miller
“The Boys” first premiered all the way back in 2019 as both a loose adaptation of the bizarre comic book series of the same name, as well as a clever satire of the superhero genre. Well, after seven years, the show is finally coming to an end. Did it pull off the superhero landing or did it flop like “Morbius”?
“The Boys” season five, which premiered on April 8, picks up a year after season four, and most of the Boys have been imprisoned in a so-called freedom camp. With the villainous Homelander consolidating his power and turning the United States more and more into a fascist nation with him as its god king, things seem grim. However, hope is not yet lost, as Starlight continues her fight to bring Homelander down; meanwhile, the Boys’ wayward leader, Billy Butcher, has developed a weapon that might just put Homelander down once and for all if he can just find a way to use it. To stop Homelander, old grudges will have to be buried and new alliances forged.
The show stars once again Karl Urban of “Lord of the Rings” and “Dredd” fame as William Butcher, a foul-mouthed former black ops agent who has now become a supe with a body full of vicious tendrils and desires of vengeance against Homelander for the death of his wife. Jack Quaid of “Star Trek: Lower Decks” and “Novacaine” fame stars as Hugh Campbell, formerly a normal civilian until his girlfriend was killed through negligence by the speedster A-Train, and Butcher brought him into the Boys. Hughie, as he is often known, acts both as Butcher’s former protege as well as the moral center of the Boys. Tomer Capone, as Frenchie, a founding member of the group and one of its smartest members, who helps the gang by creating various explosives and even biological weapons. Karen Fukuhara, known for roles in “Suicide Squad” and “She-Ra and the Princess of Power,” stars as Kimiko Miyashiro, the boy’s first superhuman member and the girlfriend of Frenchie, who possesses superhuman strength and regenerative capabilities. Lanz Alonso of “Fast & Furious” and “Detroit” fame stars as Marvin T Milk, better known by the nickname of Mother’s Milk, due to his caring nature. He is another member of the group who has known Butcher for years. Erin Moriarty of “Jessica Jones” and “True Detective” fame returns as Annie January, aka Starlight. A former member of the superhero team The Seven and the girlfriend of Campbell, January continues the fight against Homelander even as she and her followers are turned into scapegoats by Homelander and the Vought corporation and rounded up into freedom camps. Anthony Starr, known for roles in the likes of “Banshee” and “American Gothic” returns to his career-making performance as the villainous Homelander, created to be a public superhero by the Vought corporation. Homelander has long since lost the plot, seizing control of Vought and believing himself to be the literal biblical god.
Also along for the ride is Colby Minfie, known for roles in the likes of “Jessica Jones” and “Fear the Walking Dead” returning as Ashley Barrett, former CEO of Vought, turned Vice President of the United States, who lives in constant fear of Homelander while enforcing his will. Susan Hayward of “Orange is the New Black” fame also returns as Sister Sage, a supe with superhuman intelligence who is helping Homelander for her own reasons.
My feelings on this season are….complicated. On one hand, the pace felt off with some of it feeling rather rushed, while other parts felt like they dragged on and got too focused on side quests, so to speak, which kinda hurt the season overall. However, that being said, I feel the last two episodes were able to, at the very least, avoid face-planting completely. The ending to the various characters felt deserved and fitting, and per usual, Starr, Urban, and Quaid’s performances were phenomenal, with Fukuhara also doing a phenomenal job. All in all, it was an ok final season, solid seven torches out of 10. It’s no “Star Trek: The Next Generation” or “Breaking Bad,” but the final season worked fine enough. I’d recommend it.
