As the weeks went on, criticism of The Boys' final season grew louder than Butcher on a bender. Still, it's not all bad, not by any means. Say what you want about season five, and the finale especially, but the one consistent thread unanimously enjoyed by fans throughout has been Antony Starr's performance as Homelander.
Note: full spoilers for The Boys season 5 episode 8 follow.
In fact, that's very much true of the series as a whole. Since day one, Starr's take on TV's most petulant villain has been a major highlight. From abandoning Flight 37 to throwing his son Ryan off a roof, Homelander has been a horrifying presence on screen, bringing endless tension to the show, knowing that he could effortlessly snap the neck of anyone around him at any given moment.
And yet there's more to Homelander than just these homicidal tendencies. Throughout his five-season arc, the leader of The Seven has also dealt with a very different kind of tension in perverse scenes you would never usually expect to find in superhero fare of this nature.
Take the moment when Homelander gets off on milking a cow or when he drinks a grown woman's breast milk straight from the source. And who else could pull off (so to speak) that unforgettable masturbation sequence on a roof at the end of season two? Flipping between his narcissism, sheer cruelty and a thirst for blood (or milk) must be no easy task, yet Starr embodies the character in all of his perversities as if it's effortless on screen.
Supe to nuts
Given that Homelander is the focal point of all that's wrong in this world of The Boys, it's no exaggeration to suggest that much of the show's success hinges on Starr in this performance, which could have so easily gone wrong in so many different ways.
And yet recognition beyond the show's fandom has mostly eluded him. Last year's Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series aside, Starr has been overlooked almost entirely come award season each year, despite giving what is consistently the best performance in the show and one of the best on TV today.
That's not to say his Saturn win should be deemed lesser, especially as he overcame a number of other actors in prestige fare (including Matt Smith in House of the Dragon) to win it. But as the Boys creator Eric Kripke pointed out to Variety a little while back: "Ant’s ability to give 16 facial expressions when another person gives one is just so astounding. Give that guy an Emmy already. I don’t understand why it hasn’t happened yet."
Agree or disagree on Kripke's approach to the final season of The Boys, it's hard to deny the point he's making here, where Starr is concerned. How Starr shifts through so many conflicting expressions at once, bringing to life a madman who would simply not exist in the real world, really is something to behold. Perhaps nowhere has this been more evident than it was in the season three finale of The Boys, which gave Starr plenty of material for awards season (and plenty of meme material for us watching back home, too).
From that murderous rage Homelander feels when a Starlighter speaks out at the rally to his realisation that publicly killing is now a-ok, it's remarkable to see Starr's performance in motion. You'd be forgiven for assuming Homelander had developed some kind of shape-shifting ability, so mercurial are the expressions his face goes through.
Since day one, Starr's take on TV's most petulant villain has been a major highlight.
The same is also true of everything Starr gives us in this final outing as the leader of the Seven (even if the Seven itself is no more). Offering to give Ryan one more chance, Homelander is horrified when his son not only refuses but actively pushes back with words that cut deep to the core of who Homelander really is. But the man's narcissism, combined with an almost superhuman ability to deny reality, ensures that this brutal exchange doesn't stop him in his tracks.
"It’s ok," Homelander says. "You don’t know what’s going on. But you will."
You can physically see Starr work through Homelander's emotions, pushing them down, before ending the scene on an incredibly chilling note. That coldness is wielded again later when Homelander finally tells The Deep what he really thinks of him: "I have never had less respect for anyone in my life. The only reason I haven’t fucking killed you is I want you to feel deep in your heart how truly worthless you really are."
Homelander isn't just cruel where his powers and physical might are concerned. He's also violent with his words, and it's to Starr's credit that we can flinch in horror at his actions one moment, then laugh at his cartoonish perversity the next.
Only human
Nowhere will you laugh harder at this weird child trapped in the body of a man than at the very end of the finale when Kimiko finally manages to rob Homelander of his powers. Suddenly, the monster who has plagued the world of The Boys for five long seasons is reduced to a laughable, snivelling creature.
Watching Homelander try to use his laser eyes on Butcher or fly into the air, only to fall back down, is equal parts hilarious and cathartic after all he's put everyone through. That Starr nails the physicality of this, a god suddenly reduced to nothing, shouldn't be overlooked either.
Realising that Butcher is about to kill him at last, Homelander begs and wails for mercy, offering everything he can think of to prevent his imminent death. And yes, this being the Boys, that includes sucking Butcher's dick or eating his shit live on TV for the whole world to see.
The Boys season 5 finale review: "Should have felt bigger, but a fitting end"
If you catch yourself almost feeling sorry for this monster, much of that is down to Starr, who really captures that desperation wrapped up in every fiber of Homelander's body. Again, the emotions he flips through here come so fast that you might find yourself pausing or rewinding to truly appreciate the work being put in here.
"Madelyn," Homelander cries to himself at one point. "You promised me…" And then, just like that, the child in Homelander comes back out, demanding that Butcher spare him because, and I quote, "I am the HOMELANDER!"
While that's Homelander speaking in character, it's fitting that these are Starr's last words in this role on screen. Because he really is Homelander in every sense of the word, just as Hugh Jackman is Wolverine and Heath Ledger is The Joker.
Maybe, just maybe, large award bodies like the Emmys might finally give Starr the same kind of recognition that's afforded more and more to other quintessential comic book roles in a similar way. It's now or never, given that The Boys has finally come to an end and Homelander is lying face up with Butcher's crowbar sticking out of his skull.
The Boys season 5 is now streaming in full on Prime Video. For more, check out our The Boys season 5 episode 8 finale recap, or here's everything we know about what's next in Vought Rising.
