2 CinemaBlend Writers Talk About (And Nitpick) The Boys Finale, With Big Thoughts And Spoilers

Kelly: Ok, one last thing from me, and then I'm done. I love the way the story left off for Hughie and Annie. Fighting crime and running an electronics store while they wait for their bundle of joy to arrive.

Plus, Annie fighting bad-guys in comfy clothes and a pair of accessorized Crocs? 100% here for that, especially given everything she went through with her Starlight suit.

Their final scene seemed to take Hughie's story full circle, as he ended up, once again, on the sidewalk, smiling into the face of the woman he loves. Obviously there's a happier ending this time around, but the callback to the series premiere episode was sweet.

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NICK: Disappointing that Marie Laveau didn’t have more of an active hand in taking Homelander down. Or any of the other Gen V characters, I guess.

Also, does anybody else out there think that Gunter Van Ellis might have been the nicest richest man in the world, and he might have really made a change before Homelander took him out into space?

Here's a few more of my favorite quotes from the episode, out of context:

• “We have to imagine the secret presidential f-ck tunnels must be pretty secure.” - Hughie
• “He’ll rip my t-ts out through my v-g.” - Ashley
• “You are not a monster, Butcher. It just hurts to be human.” - Hughie
• "Dad...get f-cked." - Ryan

There was something poetic about seeing all the Homelander posters being painted over as a stand-in for how the world is going to change now that he's no longer in charge. Big ups to Stan Edgar for swooping back in and taking charge once more. I fully believe Vought will be a respectable company now. [Snorts into hands.]

Kelly: Ok, this is a bit random, but did anyone else notice that there were lions on the TV screen in Hughie and Annie's electronics store? The reason I bring this up is because, well, there were lions on the screen at the store where Hughie worked in the very first episode...

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NICK: Fun-ish fact. "Iago" was a nickname of mine for a few years. Not that this has anything to do with Sister Sage forgetting Othello.

I wonder how many true believers thought that Homelander would rise from the dead after getting his brains, considering the Easter of it all.

Love that Queen Maeve got a shout out from Starlight, even though it was a negative one.

Kelly: Honestly, they clearly didn't think that thing through. That could've been quite the surprise.

What about Sage losing her super-intelligence and bailing just in time for the third act. From a plot perspective, it made sense, and I absolutely adored her exit.

On a completely unrelated note, I never would've predicted Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves being referenced once (let alone more than once) in this episode.

Other Deaths, Debauchery And Distractions

NICK: Props (literally) to everyone involved with crafting Chekhov's ballgag as a way to take out Oh Father in the most fantastic way possible. Although I do wish it had happened while he and the President were in the Oral Office, as such.

Hughie And Butcher’s Final Scene

NICK: After a lot of what some might consider wheel-spinning in terms of Hughie and Butcher’s relationship, The Boys really locked their horns back up in recent weeks, and it all built up to a deadly conclusion that many fans likely saw coming, but still had some impact.

This isn’t a show that could possibly end by having a guy like Butcher happily walking off into the sunset. He’s survived one grief after another, combined with cancer and Supe-dom, and actually succeeded in conquering the goal he’d been struggling with for years. But his subsequent goal of taking out all powered-up supes by virus-through-sprinklers was a step too far for Hughie.

No amount of Lenny comparisons could stop him from doing what needed to be done. Honestly, I’m surprised Hughie didn’t take a few extra shots for all the years of mental AND physical abuse that Butcher put him through. He should have at least had something funny etched on the tombstone. Sigh.

R.I.P. Terror. The biggest tragedy in the entire episode.

NICK: I also don't quite understand why all the other creatures knew about Ambrosius enough to say that justice needed to be served, but maybe word gets around in the sea faster than it does in non-watery atmospheres. Someone call a scientist.

I'm insanely glad that The Deep didn't get any kind of redeeming arc. He killed Black Noir 2.0, and that was just uncalled for. I bet his podcast numbers sucked, too. I hope no fish or other sea life choke on his bones.

Kelly: I WAS expecting the Deep to end up in the water the second he and Starlight landed on the shore, but I wasn't expecting Ambrosius' name to be brought up by the fish and other sea creatures. I thought they were just mad about the oil spill. Oh well, delayed justice served for Ambrosius.

The Deep vs. Starlight

NICK: This was a confrontation five years in the making, given Starlight and The Deep's introductions were so tied together. (But not tied up together, because ewwww.) Thankfully, it only happened after Chace Crawford's character totally ate sh-t mentally, with Homelander dropping this nugget:

• "I have never had less respect for anyone in my life.” - Homelander

Not to mention the shame he probably still didn't feel by admitting that he only knows the Crusades through a movie that isn't even about them.

Kelly: Homelander begging in front of the whole world. Seeing it broadcast in Times Square was the icing on the cake.

Or maybe that was the crowbar through the head. Either way, we got a nice, gross look at the inside of his skull. RIP Homelander.

NICK: I will say that I wasn't all that impressed with the way Homelander and Butcher's fight went down before Kimiko stepped in. It was fun to see Butcher's tentacles getting lasered through, but the editing was really choppy, and not in a Bourne-esque way, but more like if the scene was being viewed from bumper cars.

But herky-jerky action aside, watching Homelander become the most pathetic version of himself was valuable, but I'm not sure if I enjoyed it, exactly. It kinda just made me feel gross to hear him offer to suck d-ck and eat sh-t on TV to stay alive. And did he really think that Butcher was going to suddenly think that oral sex and coprophilia were more important than killing off the world's most powerful Supe?

Kelly: Kimiko! Love her. And getting to see Frenchie one last time 😭 and accessing her power. Loved it, but it broke my heart.

I'm also really glad that Homelander's undoing didn't happen in an instant. First, he lost his powers. Then he faced Butcher and lost again. I like that we got to see him powerless, attempting to fly and failing. Beautiful.

NICK: Ryan said it best — not a statement I've ever voiced during any of these five seasons — when he put this observation into words, no doubt crushing his old man's spirit.

• "Scaring people into making you god doesn’t make you god." - Ryan

In the end, I'm glad Ryan showed up to help save the day.

But I suppose the biggest hero of the day was Kimiko. (Eat it, Butcher.) Her suffering inside Fort Harmony's radiation pit actually worked!

Kelly: I love that he couldn't even get through everything on the teleprompter with a straight face. Ended up dropping the script and just threatening all of the non-believers.

TOPIC 1: What Happened To Homelander

NICK: What didn't happen to Homelander, amirite? He attempted to become a full religious entity, usurping Jesus Christ by calling himself the "First Coming." Who does that? The kind of guy who keeps his father locked up in cryosleep and then says he doesn't matter, that's who.