For something that's supposed to serve as a series finale, the fifth season of The Boys lacks the usual beats one expects from a final season. A good example comes toward the end of Episode 7, when Kimiko cries over Frenchie's death at the hands of Homelander. Given that the group spends the entire episode using a chamber of enriched uranium to give Kimiko Soldier Boy's power-sucking ability—the same one he used on Bombsight in Episode 6—you expect all that pain to culminate in a scream so anguished that it triggers those powers. The moment, however, is quiet and somber. The screen mournfully cuts to black. Does the show have no intention of actually killing Homelander? Will it end on a bleak note? Or will it clumsily rush toward his downfall?
It's a curious trajectory The Boys is on, and I can only hope the creators actually have a plan. From the current vantage point, the season seems headed toward a half-baked, sloppily concocted disaster. In Episode 7, Homelander kills the president, blithely dismisses Deep's request to run The Seven, and puts Soldier Boy back into his cryochamber. How will these events shape the final episode? Sister Sage, after suffering a major loss due to love interfering with her brainy equation, spends most of her time here watching Love Island. I never cared for her much. This so-called smart person is reduced to another crude joke as she lubricates her dildo before jumping back into action. Yawn.
Speaking of crude jokes, the show's sense of humor has felt stale for a while now. It's become only mildly amusing. What once popped with dirty effervescence now feels predictable. When two superheroes—one of them a cat—smell each other's butts, you dismiss the sight with an "I've seen it all before" shrug. The gags have become unremarkable.
If there is one good aspect to this new episode, it's the message it tries to communicate to the viewers. When Oh Father assembles various Homelander fans for a special screening of Homelander the God's promotion, only six out of the thirty attendees like what they watch. The implication is potent: not everybody loves fascists, even if their numbers seem large and significant. Most people simply submit out of fear. In reality, there are more "good people" than bad ones. It's a crucial reminder—one that should inspire real revolution (oh look at me, trying to be a dreamer). Here's hoping the final episode has something similarly revolutionary to offer instead of ending with the whimper it currently seems destined for. I admit it: I have very low expectations.
Final Score- [4.5/10]