The Boys Season 5 Review: I’ve always believed that The Boys was a TV show so well done at two things that few shows ever did. First, it was always breaking the barriers. It brought ideas that most superhero stories would never dare bring into light and placed them in crazy, shocking and sometimes disturbing places. The show developed a cult following by not acknowledging bounds, ranging from a giant whale to someone getting into another man’s penis. Sometimes it seemed utterly mad, but that is what made it so. Second, though it had lots of crazy material, it also had great character drama. It didn’t have much on screen to keep me hooked, but the drama between its big name players, particularly Billy Butcher & Homelander did. The emotions were sometimes more intense than the show.
This is why I mumbled and grumbled my way out of The Boys Season 5. The final season is still fun to watch and generally a success, but it doesn’t have the character that made the series so special. The show’s shocking edge of previous seasons has been reduced considerably and the drama has not reached the heights of the show’s best years. It was a lot of fun to watch, but not as much as it was during Season 3, my favorite season.
One of my main problems with Season 5 is that it takes a lot of time to get to a big event, but doesn’t always get the big payoff in return. The entire season feels like something big is going to take place. Throughout the story there is a constant feeling that the world is on the verge of destruction. But when all those moments come, it feels like the pay-off is not as big as the build-up. The ideas are solid in themselves. The writers knew the characters’ final destination. It’s fitting that Homelander, Billy Butcher, Hughie and Kimiko all do what they do. The destination isn’t the problem. The trouble is, it sometimes fails to scale up to the grand demands of this grand finale.
The marketing for the finale is a good representation of this problem. The promotional material concocted the idea that there would be “a huge battle” on the horizon. The plot goes there, but the performance of the guys doesn’t really live up to the hype created in advance. This gap between expectation and reward can become a defining trait of the season.
Nonetheless, I would not say the finale was a letdown. Actually, that was quite an emotional one. The most successful thing about the final episode is how the main characters are dealt with. The writers know them well and provide them with satisfying conclusions. The many flashbacks to Season 1 evoke a sense of nostalgia. As the characters reached the end of their paths, I remembered how these characters captivated me in the first place. I can’t tell you how it made me feel, it’s a bittersweet ending for me. At some points I was smiling at what I had seen and feeling that I was going to miss this long journey, as it came to an end.
Despite all the previous years’ changes, Homelander is still one of the most interesting villains in TV history, and the finale treats him fairly. The character writing is true to all that has led up to it. Billy Butcher’s story also hits the nail on the head, hitting the emotional ups and downs without being too heavy handed. There is one drawback, however. Homelander, especially in the first few seasons (1-3), was a source of terror. Just his name caused tension because it was not known what he would do next. By the end of Season 5, despite becoming increasingly unstable, that terrifying unpredictability has faded somewhat. He’s still interesting, but not quite as terrifying.
Also a few creative moves made this season, which left me scratching my head. The treatment of Soldier Boy (played by Jensen Ackles) is especially dubious. It appears it was created to maintain future spin-off possibilities, not the present story. I guess it was meant to be or not, but the choice resonated with me.
Another interesting debate in the realm of the season is its size. Budget restrictions have been a possibility for the storytelling, as many viewers have wondered about that. The season is not really that wild, as yet no official confirmation. Many are big chunks that take place in the interior or are highly conversation-driven. As the online production figures suggest Season 5 might have been given a slashed budget per episode from Season 4. It’s hard to imagine it making much of a difference in the creative process, but it’s hard not to wonder what the final season might have been like with even more to work with.
The show’s signature satire is still on point. A key reason why The Boys has been so fun is its super-hero touch of commenting on real-world culture. By the end of the final season, however, the reality of the show is so farcical it makes doing the impossible seem impossible. But it’s not a fault of the writers. It only serves to make it more bizarre than ever since the show was first aired.
In the end Season 5 is successful where it is most needed emotionally. It is respectful to its characters, it recognizes its past, and it provides a sincere ending. But it never manages to come up with the same great power that many fans (including me) wanted out of the final chapter. It’s a nice conclusion, relatively nice, but not the epic, legendary work it could have been. When the credits were rolling, I did not feel angry or disappointed, I felt overwhelmed! It was a feeling of appreciation with a thought trailing: What if it had been?
Rating: 4/5
