There are plenty of times in the past seven years when I’ve fought the instinct to turn off The Boys, get up off my couch, and never think about the show again. That I’ve lasted this long is thanks to a myriad of things: I write about superhero stuff for a living, my partner loves the show, etc. But I also, deep down, kinda care about the characters. Prime Video’s God-forsaken supe satire has always had a way with its heroes and its villains. Whenever I felt my hand itching for the remote, they’d dangle a juicy morsel of pathos right under my nose. I’d soldier on, wincing through the gauntlet of sex jokes clearly written by a 15-year-old, wading across rivers of blood and guts, because I knew something worthwhile (something human!) was waiting for me on the other side.
With Season 5, I’m convinced there’s no humanity left. Or if there is, I just don’t care anymore. And that’s something I never thought I’d say, given this season’s introduction of a drug that can make its terrifying Superman stand-in, Homelander (Antony Starr), truly omnipotent, or a virus powerful enough to stop him and every other supe, permanently. At this point, though, Homelander can have his immortality; the Boys can unleash the plague that will surely murder every supe on the planet and maybe some humans along with it. I no longer care what happens to anyone — in fact, I wouldn’t bat an eye if they all just bit the dust.
