The Boys Just Became A Horror Show In Season 5

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Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Boys season 5, episode 4, “King of Hell.”

Since 2019, The Boys has become a top superhero show on television, mainly because it’s fresh and cleverly satirizes the genre. Though based on the comic book series by Garth Ennis, the show takes many liberties with the original story, helping it stand out from other superhero programs.

What really makes this series stand out is its ability to build intense, exciting drama that often leads to surprising and violent moments. But it’s not just serious – the show is also hilarious, with over-the-top spoofs of other superhero stories and a constant stream of perfectly delivered jokes, ranging from clever and understated to wildly inappropriate.

The show’s greatest strengths are definitely on display, but with the introduction of exceptionally powerful characters in season 5 of The Boys, it can also be genuinely frightening. The most recent episode felt like a horror film, especially as the group traveled to Fort Harmony – arguably the show’s darkest and most unsettling location so far.

Everyone – including Homelander, Soldier Boy, and the members of The Boys – was hunting for V-One, and all clues led to an old Vought facility, bringing them all together. But the real danger started when the facility itself began to amplify everyone’s anger, causing them to lose control.

Like many horror stories, the characters in this episode were affected by someone named Quinn, who made them reveal their honest feelings for each other, creating drama and tension. This resulted in several close calls, frightening chase scenes, and unsettling visuals. Combined with the grim and dirty environment, it made this episode of The Boys feel like a departure from its usual style and a dive into the horror genre.

“King Of Hell” Was The Boys’ Most Horror-Like Episode Yet

It quickly became apparent that episode 4 of The Boys season 5 would be different from the rest. The story kicked off with the main characters discovering a dead body in the woods while traveling to Fort Harmony, hinting at the events to follow.

The setting was creepy, but what truly made things frightening was how it affected the main characters. Soon, The Boys began to fight amongst themselves, and Frenchie figured out they were being influenced by spores in the air – spores he wasn’t affected by because of his high tolerance from drug use.

Honestly, despite everything he tried, it all fell apart. The Boys just lost it and started really going at each other inside Fort Harmony – nobody was pulling punches. It began with Kimiko and Butcher facing off, and Hughie and MM fighting too, but they quickly split up. Then things got seriously scary, with Butcher hunting Hughie down like he was some kind of monster in a horror movie.

Hughie surprised everyone by both hiding and managing to shoot MM, but the situation escalated quickly when Kimiko discovered them. Fueled by a desire to kill, and possessing dangerous powers, Kimiko turned the encounter into a desperate fight for survival for Hughie and MM, with potentially deadly results.

It turned out a man named Quinn was behind everything. He had a past with Soldier Boy and was originally a failed experiment involving V-One. The substance bonded with him and gave him a unique power: the ability to make others lose control, even powerful figures like Homelander and Soldier Boy themselves.

Let me tell you, Soldier Boy was genuinely frightening – he reminded me a lot of Vecna from Stranger Things. The scene where he finally lost it with Frenchie’s taunting and killed Quinn was brutal, and it effectively shattered Quinn’s hold over everyone at Fort Harmony. But honestly, the whole Fort Harmony sequence was deeply unsettling. It was by far the most horror-infused anything The Boys has ever done – a seriously creepy detour for the show.

Despite Going The Horror Route, The Boys Season 5, Episode 4 Still Had Some Hilarious Moments

Even though The Boys embraced a horror vibe in “King of Hell,” the episode was still genuinely funny. The dialogue was consistently strong, particularly when the characters playfully teased each other, and there were plenty of lighthearted moments woven throughout the intense action.

MM hit Kimiko with a metal pipe, then challenged Hughie to a fight. However, Kimiko quickly recovered and bent the pipe back into MM’s face. Instead of continuing the fight, MM surprisingly turned and ran, and the whole scene was played for laughs with perfect timing.

Outside of the events at Fort Harmony, a typically humorous and chaotic meeting was taking place at Vought. The interactions between The Deep and Black Noir provided some laughs, and the show even poked fun at The Last of Us during Frenchie’s explanation of what was happening, creating a clever and effective joke.

Although the episode had many funny moments, the car ride home was the absolute highlight, and possibly the funniest scene of the whole season. After hours of arguing and almost coming to blows, the group was quiet until Butcher decided to play some music.

He broke the uncomfortable silence by playing “Mambo No. 5,” which earned him some shocked looks from his teammates. The episode’s mix of comedy with its horror elements felt very typical of The Boys, and even though it didn’t move the story forward much, it was still fun to watch.

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2026-04-26 21:22