The Boys Season 5, Episode 6 was packed with twists and turns, some fans had predicted, others they had not. But after its dramatic conclusion, there is a clear theory for Homelander’s fate — with just two episodes of the entire show left to go.
Warning! The Boys spoilers follow:
It’s worth checking out IGN’s The Boys Season 5, Episode 6 review to find out what we thought of this week’s episode, but to briefly recap, supervillain Homelander finally gets hold of V-One after spending much of this fifth and final season searching for it. He injects it straight into his bloodstream and, suitably powered up with all the immortality this original super serum grants, lets off a red laser beam into the heavens.
It’s very bad news for The Boys, who had planned to use a supe-killing virus to put an end to Homelander’s tyranny. Now that (presumably) won’t work, how will Butcher and co. emerge victorious? Fans have a theory, and Homelander’s father, Soldier Boy, is the key.
Before Soldier Boy hands over the last of the V-One to Homelander, he gets it from Bombsight, a fellow V-One powered supe made famous in the 1950s. But Bombsight only hands it over to Soldier Boy because Soldier Boy promises to use his high-intensity radioactive blast power to destroy V-One in his body, thus ending Bombsight’s immortality and allowing him to live and die as a mortal. Episode 6 shows Soldier Boy doing this to Bombsight before Homelander enters the fray, and it’s successful. Bombsight appears fully mortal, and he is delighted.
You can probably see where this is going. The fan theory, based on the idea that Bombsight losing his powers is foreshadowing, is that Soldier Boy will, over the course of the final two episodes, come to his senses and do the same to Homelander, thus de-powering him enough to be killed. Some fans are so certain this is where the story is going that they’re saying the show has become predictable. “That’s so cool I wonder how they’re gonna defeat Homelander, wow what a mystery,” one person quipped. “That’s the only way now I think,” another added.
There are some wrinkles in this theory, however. For one, Soldier Boy handed Homelander the V-One because, according to Soldier Boy, mutual love interest Clara Vought / Stormfront would have wanted Homelander to be the most powerful supe of all time. Would he really flip flop allegiances again? After freely giving Homelander V-One, would he strip away its power?
There are other theories. Perhaps Sister Sage — allegedly the smartest person in the world — will work out a way to make more V-One. Perhaps Homelander’s son, Ryan, will come back into play and prove Homelander’s undoing somehow. Perhaps the V-One Soldier Boy gave to Homelander doesn’t work properly, or has been tampered with. In truth, it’s hard to see where The Boys goes from here, given Homelander can now begin his ascension to godhood. He is, for all intents and purposes, unkillable.
Fans won’t need to watch Prime Video to find out, though. The Boys will screen its series finale in theaters in 4XD, with Episode 8 set for May 19 at 9:30pm alongside the Prime Video release.
Last week, Homelander actor Antony Starr addressed concern that The Boys may join the growing list of controversial TV show endings by insisting it won’t conclude like a recent series finale that failed to kill anyone (he didn’t name it, but he was clearly talking about Stranger Things).
“As our boss Eric [Kripke, The Boys showrunner] has said, don’t get attached to any characters on this show because everyone’s head is potentially on the block,” Starr said.
Image credit: Jasper Savage/Prime.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
