The Boys finally returned with two new episodes this week, reuniting viewers with Butcher and the gang in a new, unrecognizable America under Homelander’s control.
Antony Starr‘s chilling Supe has been controlling the country with an iron fist in the year that’s passed between The Boys Seasons 4 and 5. It’s clear by the time viewers reunite with this toxic bunch that his grasp is slipping, making him even more desperate for control. But his personal vendetta against Butcher (Karl Urban) and The Boys leads to fatal consequences in the two-episode Season 5 premiere.
**Major spoilers for The Boys Season 5 ahead!**
The Boys Season 5, Episode 1 kicks off with Annie (Erin Moriarty) leaking the Flight 37 footage that shows Homelander letting an entire plane of survivors crash to their deaths, despite Queen Maeve’s pleading. Vought successfully spins the story in his favor and convince the public it was A.I.-generated, leading Annie to think her plan failed, but it actually humiliates Homelander into action as he becomes dead-set on killing her and Butcher once and for all.
This false start is almost enough to lull viewers into a sense of calm. But the first two episodes of The Boys Season 5 go into hyperdrive by killing A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) and Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles). But is Soldier Boy dead?
Jack Quaid and Moriarty told DECIDER there are “quite a few characters who meet their end” this season.
“The most shocking thing that I would read on the pages wasn’t so much the big, gory, explosive moments. It was more so the character deaths. It’s a thing,” Quaid said, adding this season is “very weighted in that way, which I think is really, really cool.”
Moriarty also warned “no one is safe” this season. The actress suggested The Boys fans “mentally prepare” themselves for what’s to come.
“Do not get to get too attached to any character. If you are emotionally attached or invested in any character, mentally prepare yourself, because no one is safe at any given moment,” she said.
A-Train’s death is as tragic as it is sudden. Annie and The Boys have been attempting to flip A-Train for some time now. The Supe chose to keep his distance from the Starlighter movement in order to protect his family, but A-Train shows up just in the knick of time to save Hughie’s (Quaid) life when Homelander comes to kill him at the Freedom Camp.
But The Boys doesn’t take place in a universe known for its fairness. A-Train knew he was dead as soon as Homelander spotted him. His death is tragic considering the character’s redemption arc in recent seasons, but it was almost expected compared to Soldier Boy’s shocking death, which follows close behind in Episode 2.
Homelander unleashes Soldier Boy to hunt Butcher down once and for all, but the Supe gets unexpectedly captured in the Teenage Kix house with Rock Hard and Jetstreak just as The Boys release the deadly virus for the very first time. One thing’s for sure: That virus works. The three Supes – who are reach violent and psychopathic in their own ways – meet their end in bloody, pustule-filled deaths in what feels like a rare win for The Boys. Somehow, after several failed plans and false starts, they managed to finally hit Homelander where it hurts.
Soldier Boy, by all accounts, is very dead at the end of Episode 2, leaving Homelander to mourn his father once again. But is there a chance fans will get to see him again this season? The episode ends on yet another shocking note when Soldier Boy unexpectedly sits up in the stretcher, revealing The Boys’ fatal virus is not as deadly as they thought.
There’s plenty more Soldier Boy where that came from. Fans may remember seeing a glimpse of Ackles’ highly anticipated reunion with his former Supernatural co-stars Jared Padalecki and Misha Collins in The Boys Season 5 trailer. Ackles told DECIDER fans should expect a “disgusting and outrageous” appearance from his former co-stars.
“I hope you like it – for their sake,” Ackles added.
New episodes of The Boys air Wednesdays on Prime Video.
