The Boys Doubles Down on Warning You About Its Disappointing Series Finale (& Admits Its Gen V Problem)

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Episode 4 of The Boys Season 5, titled “King of Hell,” hints that the show is nearing its conclusion, with just four episodes left in the series. While some fans felt this latest episode focused too much on setting up the upcoming Vought Rising prequel (featuring Jensen Ackles and set in the 1950s), the writers are conscious of the need to deliver a satisfying finale.

In Season 5 of The Boys, the new superhero character, The Worm, acts as a mouthpiece for the show’s writers’ anxieties. He previously alluded to difficult series finales, even mentioning the controversial ending of Lost. Now, a conversation at Vought Tower brings up the poorly received finale of the in-universe show Lamplighter: Light of Justice, which The Worm wrote and received a D- grade from The A.V. Club. While he attempts to defend his work, it comes across as showrunner Eric Kripke directly addressing the audience’s potential concerns.

It was really tough trying to wrap everything up. I had to juggle fourteen main characters and also deal with a lot of difficult people who carried over from the previous story. It wasn’t easy trying to create a satisfying ending with all of that going on.

The Boys Is Avoiding One Problem The Worm Calls Out

It’s becoming clear that The Boys has a huge cast to tie up loose ends with. Characters like Homelander, Butcher, Hughie, and Starlight have been central since season one and deserve proper conclusions. Then there’s a whole other group – Ryan, Soldier Boy, Ashley, the new Black Noir, Firecracker, and Sister Sage – and that’s not even everyone! With only a few episodes remaining, it’s going to be really challenging to give everyone a satisfying storyline, meaning some characters might have to be written off quickly to focus on the most important ones and serve the overall story.

It’s good that the show acknowledges these potential problems, especially the issues surrounding the “Avenging Squad,” and is actively trying to avoid them. This is clearly a nod to the show Gen V, and the fact that those characters haven’t appeared yet is a positive sign. The showrunner has stated he doesn’t want Gen V characters to steal the spotlight or overwhelm viewers with too much backstory, and so far, it seems he’s succeeding.

While earlier episodes of The Boys Season 5 have been well-received, reaction to Episode 4 is much more negative, showing how easily viewers get disappointed, particularly when a show is ending. It’s incredibly difficult to create a series finale that everyone loves. The Boys likely won’t achieve that, but fans are hoping the creators, led by Kripke, have remained faithful to the show’s spirit and the characters we’ve come to know. If the ending delivers on emotional impact, the rest of the season could still provide a satisfying conclusion. We’ll see if that’s the case over the next four episodes.

New episodes of The Boys release on Wednesdays on Prime Video.

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2026-04-25 15:40