Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for The Boys series finale. Series finales are tough. Just ask Eric Kripke, who knows just how big the stakes are for ending a show as big as The Boys. Final episodes can range from being the cherry on top (Breaking Bad), flawed yet satisfying (Stranger Things), or Game of Thrones. The fifth and final season of The Boys started exceptionally strong with the heroic death of A-Train (Jessie T. Usher), and it has had some fantastic episodes, including the anthology-style episode “One-Shots.” It’s also not been lacking in rough patches, including an obvious setup for the upcoming prequel spin-off Vought Rising, underutilizing once-important characters such as Ryan (Cameron Crovetti), and a shaky penultimate episode that was ultimately saved by an emotional final scene. The Boys still had a lot of storylines to wrap up in its final hour — so much so that the runtime raised some eyebrows. There’s no need to worry about Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) anymore, as last week’s episode saw Homelander (Antony Starr) putting him back into his stasis chamber. It’s also unclear whether Frenchie (Tomer Capone) was successful in giving Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) Soldier Boy’s powers, especially in the wake of his tragic death. The Deep (Chace Crawford) seems to be destined to die in the wake of the Vought pipeline disaster, as a former shark friend (Samuel L. Jackson) has vowed that he’ll die if he ever steps foot in the water again. The Boys’ series finale, “Blood & Bone,” thankfully, isn’t a disaster; it has some extraordinarily high highs, but as some may have expected, the runtime does mean it feels rushed.
Kimiko Tests Her Powers in ‘The Boys’ Series Finale

Image via Prime Video

“Blood & Bone” opens with Billy Butcher (Karl Urban), Hughie (Jack Quaid), Annie (Erin Moriarty), MM (Laz Alonso), Kimiko, and Sage (Susan Heyward) mourning Frenchie at his gravesite. Kimiko has seemingly gone mute once again, overcome with grief over her soulmate’s demise. Hughie reads Frenchie’s last will to the group, which begins sweetly, but then shifts into talking about how he has seen all their assholes. There’s a point to it; Frenchie saw this as a true mark of family, and eventually refers to Kimiko as his “Heaven on Earth.” Ryan (Cameron Crovetti) is living in a remote cabin, watching an advertisement about Homelander’s upcoming Easter Sunday announcement, titled “Homelander Reboots the Universe.” Homelander shows up, but promises Ryan that he doesn’t plan on hurting him. He tells Ryan that he is the “Son of God,” and offers him a room at Vought Tower, adding, “I know you because I am you, and you’re me.” Ryan tells Homelander to “get fucked” and that he’s nothing like him, before further denouncing him. Homelander looks to be on the verge of snapping once again, but instead, he simply leaves. It’s revealed that the Boys have been staying with some of the Gen V kids: Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair), Jordan Li (London Thor), and Emma (Lizze Broadway). Hughie asks MM if Sage has given any update on whether Kimiko’s powers work, to which he says no, lamenting that it could mean that Frenchie died for nothing. MM tells Jordan and Rachel (Marisa McIntyre), one of the survivors of the focus group massacre in last week’s episode, that they need to flee the country and hide out in Canada. Annie tells Marie and Emma that they need to take as many people with them as possible. To be true heroes, they need to save everyone from Homelander’s wrath. Annie then talks about how, growing up, she always looked up to Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott), but was heartbroken upon joining the Seven when she realized that Maeve was suffering from burnout, which nearly happened to her too. Annie tells Marie that she is not on a “suicide trip” anymore; she needs to keep the light burning. They hug, with Marie telling Annie that she is her hero before departing with Jordan, Emma, and Rachel. At the White House, Ashley Barrett (Colby Minifie) has now become the President and celebrates her anniversary with Oh Father (Daveed Diggs) by giving him a special ball gag. Once he leaves, Ashley tries to initiate a conversation with Other Ashley, who is still not talking to her, pondering if there’s a chance to “flip” Oh Father against Homelander. Kimiko grieves at Frenchie’s grave, and Sage approaches her, taunting her by belittling Frenchie and her relationship to test if her new powers work. In response, Kimiko blasts Sage, and after staggering to her feet, Sage realizes that she no longer can quote Othello by heart: “My brain was so loud, and now it’s…” Butcher and Sage then realize that Frenchie’s tests worked; Kimiko can now take other Supes’ powers away.
Homelander Dies in Appropriately Pathetic Fashion in ‘The Boys’ Series Finale

Antony Starr as Homelander standing tall and saluting in The Boys Season 5Image via Prime Video

Butcher and Sage fill in the rest of the team on Kimiko, with the former announcing that now is the time to strike. They are mere hours away from Homelander’s big Easter Sunday announcement, and once he declares that he is God, there’ll be a genocide. MM reveals that he had acquired the blueprints for the hidden tunnels under the White House back when they were protecting Robert Singer (Jim Beaver). Nearly everyone on the team agrees on the plan, except for the now-powerless Sage, who calls it a suicide mission and tells them she is going to Harry Potter World in Orlando. At the White House, Oh Father introduces Homelander to the richest man in the world, Gunter Van Ellis (Ivan Sherry), who has already pledged his allegiance to him. Oh Father then tells Homelander that they need to postpone his announcement, as the Boys may have already given Kimiko Soldier Boy’s powers. Just as Homelander refuses, The Deep walks into the room, telling him that he wants to be one of his “crusaders.” Homelander quickly kills Gunter by flying the billionaire out into space, and then tells Deep that he doesn’t need him. “I don’t need perverted fish fuckers who debase themselves for mere drops of my affection.” Heartbroken, The Deep bursts into tears. The Boys arrive at the entrance to the White House tunnels just as Homelander begins his live-streamed announcement from the Oval Office. When Ashley and Oh Father are informed by a Secret Service agent that the Boys have infiltrated the White House, Oh Father doesn’t seem all that nervous, telling Ashley, “Don’t worry, we’re ready.” A Supe-harming whistle is activated in the tunnels as armed men fire through the ceiling, forcing Annie and Kimiko to shield Hughie and MM from the gunfire. As Ashley is being escorted to a secret facility, she ditches her Secret Service detail and makes a run for the tunnels, helping the Boys escape before turning tail to get to safety herself. Butcher and the Boys make their way into the White House, where they find The Deep, crying alone in the corner. The Deep threatens to kill Annie, who simply rolls her eyes, picks him up, and flies off with him to the beach. Butcher and Kimiko head to the Oval Office as Hughie and MM attempt to distract Oh Father. Oh Father begins using his sonic scream and corners Hughie, only for MM to come up from behind him, covering his mouth with Ashley’s recently-gifted ball gag. This causes Oh Father to use his sonic scream on himself, and his head explodes, killing him.

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Homelander begins to go off-script in his announcement, telling the world, “You never loved me.” Butcher and Kimiko burst through the door and attack Homelander, who instantly retaliates, but the livestream continues even after the cameramen flee the Oval Office. Annie continues to fight with The Deep at the beach and blasts him into the ocean. A large group of sharks, octopuses, and various sea life surround The Deep, and a large octopus sticks one of its tentacles up his butt and through his throat, killing him. Ryan, who was previously watching the livestream, flies into the Oval Office to help Butcher and Kimiko fight Homelander. Kimiko struggles to get herself angry enough to use her blast until she begins to envision Frenchie, who tells her that rage is not what makes her strong. This is enough for Kimiko to activate her powers, knocking out everyone in the Oval Office. Butcher wakes up to find Homelander pathetically trying to use his powers, but failing, and begins beating Homelander to a pulp as the world watches. A bloodied Homelander pleads with Butcher, offering him a variety of empty promises, including bringing back Becca (Shantel VanSanten) via a shapeshifter and giving him control of Vought. Butcher then tells Homelander, “This is for my Becca,” and uses a crowbar to open up the Supe’s head. Butcher finally kills Homelander, giving him the cruel and embarrassing death he has long deserved. When Ryan finally regains consciousness, he can only stare wordlessly at Butcher.
Billy Butcher Meets His Tragic End in ‘The Boys’ Series Finale

Karl Urban in The Boys Season 5Image via Prime Video

A global news report confirms Homelander’s death, with footage of Ashley at a press conference, telling the nation that “Homelander was deeply unwell,” before insisting that she will not resign from office. The reporter then reveals that Ashley was impeached and removed from the presidency after an “unprecedented unanimous vote in Congress.” Ryan is shown to be watching the report, back at the house from earlier, as The Boys celebrate outside, with Kimiko speaking again. Butcher privately speaks with Ryan, telling him that he did the right thing, and invites him to leave with him and Terror and finally live a quiet life. Ryan rejects Butcher, telling him that he is not a good person and that he wants this to be the end. A heartbroken Butcher sulks back into his room, where he discovers that Terror has died in his sleep. Believing that he has nothing left, he takes the vial containing the Supe-killing virus and drives off. The rest of the team watches a press conference of Stan Edgar (Giancarlo Esposito) announcing that he has become the interim CEO of Vought.

Hughie, noticing that Butcher is missing, checks his bedroom to find a blanket covering Terror’s body and the vial gone. He races to Vought Tower, where he finds Butcher watching over the city from the Seven’s old conference room. Hughie attempts to call Butcher’s bluff, but the latter retorts that he has already dumped the virus into the building’s sprinkler tank. All he has to do is pull the fire alarm. Hughie tries to reason with Butcher, stressing that he is not a monster; it just hurts to be human. Hughie draws a gun, and Butcher begins attacking him. Before Butcher can continue, he begins to see his late brother, Lenny, in Hughie, but it’s too late. Hughie has shot Billy Butcher. Hughie tearfully apologizes to Butcher, who assures him that he did the right thing. As Hughie takes Butcher’s hand, Butcher tells Hughie that he is the spitting image of Lenny and succumbs to his wounds as Hughie cries over Butcher’s body. The Boys bury Butcher next to Becca, with Hughie delivering a eulogy, saying that Billy made the world safer and that he’s “in hell, kicking the fuck out of the devil.” One by one, the team departs the cemetery. The episode ends with a montage, appropriately set to Billy Joel’s “Piano Man.” MM takes Ryan in and remarries his wife (Frances Turner), while Kimiko adopts a rescue dog and moves to France. Hughie receives a call from Singer, who has now become the President, and proposes that he lead the government’s Department of Supe Affairs. He declined the offer, saying that he is focusing on lying low and has even started a new business: an electronics store. Annie is revealed to be pregnant, and the two discuss getting married at the courthouse. A police scanner in the back of the store signals a crime in progress, and Annie and Hughie share a kiss before she leaves to help out, where it is revealed that they are naming their baby Robin. It was obviously a challenge to wrap up all the season’s remaining plotlines in a one-hour finale, but the final episode of The Boys mostly works. Homelander and The Deep are given the deaths that they have had coming since the series began, at the hands of the characters who deserved to kill them. Sage leaving the group after losing her powers made sense. Ashley, despite finally helping The Boys, still faced the consequences for her past actions. The main issue is Butcher’s death — not because it wasn’t executed well, but because it felt rushed. His decision to unleash the virus should’ve been its own episode, or the episode should’ve been extended by 30 minutes. His shift feels sudden, even if it does make sense for the character. We’ve spent so much of this final season seeing Butcher begin to finally soften, only for him to snap once more. Still, the episode’s final montage is emotionally satisfying, especially the sweet ending that Hughie and Annie are given as a callback to The Boys’ very first episode. As far as series finales go, while “Blood & Bone” could’ve and should’ve been better, it also could’ve been far worse.

Release Date

2019 – 2026-00-00

Showrunner

Eric Kripke

Writers

Eric Kripke

Franchise(s)

The Boys

Pros & Cons

Homelander and The Deep finally get what’s coming to them.
The ending is emotional and sweet, especially with where we leave Hughie and Annie.
Each character gets their moment to shine.

Billy Butcher’s end feels rushed, playing out in only 15 minutes.
The episode itself should’ve been longer.