The Boys season 5 finale review: "Should have felt bigger, but a fitting end"

“How about it, you lot,” Butcher says, looking at his team. “One last go?”

The miserable c**t was always blunt, but never on such a meta level. As with so many other finales, 'Blood And Bone' plays into this being the very end; every scene is loaded with knowing exposition, showrunner Erik Kripke attempting to stick the landing by calling back to the series’ beginnings, rounding off character arcs that started seven years ago, and reminding us how far – or how little – some of these Supes have come.

We start with the episode’s first eulogy, self-written by Frenchie, in which the deceased vigilante confesses to seeing everyone’s arseholes at one time or another, but, by knowing them all so intimately, they felt more like family. It’s a reminder of how the show balances the crude (many times cringeworthy) humor with a certain heart, and sets the tone for what’s to come: an ending that doesn’t shy away from sentimentality.

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Butcher's way

Homelander flies to Ryan, his son, to invite him back to Vought Tower, where the two can reign over the world as gods. "The more powerful you get, the lonelier you become," Ryan says, neatly spelling out Homelander’s entire thematic arc – this is the finale, after all. Then, back to The Boys’ hideout, where Annie has her moment of enlightenment – she's no longer suicidal and wants to help the world – while simultaneously sending the Gen V kids on their way to a doomed season three. Seeing Marie Moreau again would have felt extra even without Gen V season 3's cancellation, but now it's almost completely superfluous (let's not talk about how the groundwork for Vought Rising was heavily laid earlier this season, too).

A couple more scenes to neatly tie narrative bows – Sage has her brainpower wiped and heads to Harry Potter World, The Deep is called out as a snivelling Homelander simp – and we're off to the races, Butcher's crew beelining to the White House.

It was inevitable that the season would come to this point, but it's strange how low-key it feels. When I interviewed Kripke before the premiere, he told me there would be no Game of Thrones-level battles, but that doesn't stop the final confrontations from being on the small side. The Deep and Annie disappear to a beach, surely strategically bad for Annie, unless she knew the fish would turn on Deep? A quick bust-up and that's over too quickly – but, then again, Deep hasn’t been much more than a punchline for a while now. Meanwhile, Hughie and MM are sidelined by Oh Father, an impactful Daveed Diggs, one of this season’s strongest performances. He dies from screaming into his kinky gag, introduced literally two scenes ago – an instant end to that threat.

And then Butcher and Ryan throw down with Homelander in the Oval Office, and only within those rounded walls, keeping everything feeling a little too tightly controlled. Perhaps it's because Thrones and Stranger Things had massive final set pieces that The Boys purposefully went the other way, yet you can’t help feeling like it should have gone bigger, for the White House to be torn to shreds and for Homelander to put up more of a fight. Not exactly the "scorched earth" that was promised.

Boys to men

Still, there are great moments littered throughout, none as funny as seeing Homelander trying to use his powers after they've just been eradicated. His little bounce as he attempts to fly has all the makings of another meme. Anthony Starr has given a powerhouse performance throughout the entire show's run; there was no way the series could continue without him, and no way it could not kill him. Again, it was inevitable we would get here, Homelander's brains blown out on the President’s desk, but it's still gratifying to see such evil brought to justice.

But that’s not all. Anyone who has read the comics will have a sinking feeling as Butcher's eyes glint after Ryan rejects him and his dog, Terror, dies. He does not, thankfully, start systematically killing all the other Boys, though he does try to unleash the Supe-killing virus that multiple seasons of both The Boys and Gen V spent a long time setting up.

Once more, we have a low-key confrontation, this time between Butcher and Hughie. To some degree, the pair's relationship has been treading water as the likes of Soldier Boy, Firecracker, and Oh Father stole the spotlight. Yet, as Hughie gives the episode’s second eulogy, it neatly concludes Butcher's story, casting a long look at the scope of the entire show. (A shoutout to Karl Urban, who managed to play hammy, sweary Butcher to perfection while also knowing when to do more subtle, emotional work.)

A montage of endings concludes the episode. First, MM takes in Ryan and finds his family, a significantly rushed plotline that hammers home that MM's story was pretty much finished a season ago. Kimiko heads to Marseille, in memory of Frenchie. And finally, Hughie turns down a government job to run an electronics store with Annie, who's now pregnant and fighting crime. It's hopeful in the way The Boys hasn't been in a while, and seeing Hughie look up at the sky, a smile on his face, is exactly what we wanted for him. Anticlimactic? Slightly. Inevitable? Certainly. Fitting? Just about. This was a mixed season that lasted a little too long and should have felt bigger, but, in the end, gave its titular motley crew a fitting end. Now, as Butcher would say, we can all f**k off.

The Boys season 5 finale is streaming now on Prime Video now. For a full breakdown of the finale, check out our The Boys season 5 finale ending explained or our The Boys season 5 episode 8 recap.