(*Warning: Contains some minor spoilers for The Boys and Gen V.*)
Brutal kills, expansive plots, and diabolical mayhem: The Boys is back with its newest and final storyline, season 5, featuring main cast members Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, and many more.
For those unfamiliar with the Prime series, The Boys is a parodical spin to the classic depiction of superheroes that we’re familiar with, where instead of the usual good guys versus bad guys, the superheroes turn out not to be so “super”. In this universe, the supposed “villains” are still technically villains, however, the heroes turn out to be significantly worse in their pursuit of fame, power, and global stardom. Within the world of The Boys, heroes will stop at nothing to preserve their image under the Vought superhero industry, lead by Homelander, making a statement on the dangers of unchecked corporate power.
Since the first season, the show has stood firmly as a satirical piece, making a mockery of several things from the real-world: superheroes, wealthy individuals, social media influencers, politics, etc. This is what gave the show its uniqueness and separated it from other forms of superhero television. The Boys has never been just a superhero show, but rather, it’s been a statement on several real-life things. Miraculously, throughout each season, The Boys has managed to stay true to its original purpose while still being able to tell a compelling story under the guise of superheroes. However, the main question is, does the show still carry its momentum onto the new season?
As of the time of writing, only three episodes of season five have been released, with the fourth episode releasing on Wednesday, April 22nd. Although, despite this, I can confidently say that season five is off to a great start. The season picks up gently from the departure of the fourth season, choosing to pace itself instead of immediately rushing into all of the action and shock elements.
After all, at the end of the fourth season, with Homelander sending out every superhuman at his disposal to detain anyone deemed “anti-Vought”, the world felt very much like it was entering a state of endgame and apocalypse. With season five, the beginning takes its time, allowing the audience to, in a way, catch their breath from the heat of season four’s ending. We get to see the aftermath that the main characters have been met with following their detainment into freedom camps by Homelander, and we get to see how some of the lives of other side characters have either benefited or been ruined by Homelander’s political advancements. For example, Ashley Barnett has been uplifted into the spot of vice president in order to ensure supe-supremacy, whereas, the former Seven-member, A-Train has been forced to live on the run in fear of Homelander finding him. The season so far has made subtle references to Gen V, the spin-off of The Boys, which in accordance with audience expectations, will likely play a large role into the plot of season five. This brings me to the next topic which countless individuals have been wondering about online: Is it absolutely necessary to watch Gen V: Season Two in order to understand the events of The Boys: Season Five?
Simply put, yes. The second season of Gen V brings about new events and new reveals toward the overarching plot of The Boys, such as the Odessa Project, god-tier superhumans, and the superhuman-killing virus. All of these things will no doubt become quite crucial to the upcoming episodes of season five and will likely play a role in devising a way of finally killing Homelander. Of course, you could always watch a recap video on YouTube which can fill you in on some of the things covered in Gen V, however, as someone who has watched both shows, I would highly recommend just watching Gen V: Season Two in its entirety. It’s a fun, comedic, high-action show that carries the same savage flavor of its first season and The Boys.
Just within this season’s first three episodes, it has genuinely been fun, it has been interesting, and most of all, it has not held back on its brutal, vicious nature which made it so popular in the first place. This season pulls no punches in any type of way, both in terms of the gory combat and in its references to media and pop culture. The season has already parodied the unseriousness of TikTok and other short-form content platforms, Gen-Z media culture, the over obsession with AI, and even uses Homelander and his political downward spiral to be reflective of Donald Trump.
Despite all of its great praises, the season doesn’t go without its issues. For one, some find the pacing to be a little sluggish, which I can somewhat agree with. As mentioned earlier, while it provides a nice breath of fresh air from the end of the fourth season, given that the series has an eight-episode season structure, fans, myself included, worry that the showrunners won’t be able to dish out the entire plot, leading up to an ending that won’t be deemed satisfying. Additionally, the dialogue has become fairly questionable in the fact that it feels like characters are trying too hard to come off as “explicit” and “edgey”. For example, with the addition of Kimiko being able to talk now, almost everything she says is crude, sexually explicit, and downright excessive within all contexts. While her dialogue makes sense for her character, given her only introduction to English dialect has been through the internet, she has demonstrated that she can speak without swearing; She just primarily chooses not to. I can only hope that the character dialogue improves within future episodes and that the season’s pacing begins to pick up.
Overall, some will say that the show is on its last knees and are glad this is the final season, whereas others will say that the season is exciting, and a good time for all audiences. As for myself, I would definitely recommend watching the season for both new and returning viewers. The season so far has its issues, and it’s not perfect, but for the most part, it has stayed true to what it was always meant to be in the first place: a satirical piece on superheroes and modern society to which we can all gasp and laugh at. If anything, I think that’s worth watching most of all.
