By Chris Snellgrove | Updated
Since its inception in 2019, Boys (paraphrasing Garth Ennis’ insane joke of the same name) has done a great job of spoofing franchises like the MCU and DCU. Long before the term “champion fatigue” entered the public lexicon, the show exposed the problems found in movies and shows that focused on wearing tights and airplanes. In short, the show’s thesis is that caring about superheroes is childish, expressing a desire to let someone powerful control us instead of taking responsibility for our messy lives.
Indeed, “dirty” is how many fans described Season 4 of the show, which focused more on horror spectacle than risqué comedy. Fortunately, the fifth and final season kicked off with a bang, successfully re-establishing its creative focus as it breathed new life into old and classic characters.
Not all jokes hit their mark, of course, and not all character changes are great. And, if you hate the show’s increasingly political tinge, you’re going to despise how Season 5 delves into political fiction. But if you ever loved The Boys from the beginning, you’ll enjoy this season premiere that returns to form and easily sticks to its arrival of the super hero.
The Inevitable Time Skip
Season 5 of Boys revives the show with the oldest television trick in the book: the inevitable time skip. Taking place one year after Season 4, the premiere finds our esteemed heroes in a very precarious position.
Hughie, Frenchie, and Mother’s Milk are captured and put in a prison camp for murder. Miko has been fired, and Starlight continues her one-woman rebellion against the Homelander dynasty. Butcher is lying low, but comes out of hiding and leads the gang back when he hears that his friends in the prison camp are about to be executed.
For the most part, this time jump works very well: it shows how Butcher has disappeared into the depths of the all-consuming rage that drives him while showing how Starlight has grown. like Butcher, one moral compromise at a time.
That compromise and Hughie’s abuse (which includes constantly seeing camp friends being beaten and torn apart) threatens to drive a wedge between the two lovebirds. Also, skipping makes it easier to accept that Homelander has come in More confused, ready to go to jail or kill someone you make fun of on social media.
Arguably, the most surprising result of the time jump is that the mute and murderous Miko has learned to speak. This becomes an unexpected source of humor, as he does a ridiculously awkward job of expressing his thoughts and has no filter (“listening to him makes me want to kill myself”). The change adds some much-needed levity to certain scenes, but undeniably changes his character for the worse. Instead of being a silent killer with the soul of a poet, she is now an obsessed TikTok girl, although she has healing properties that even Deadpool would envy.
Getting the Band Back Together
While Boys has been subverting the conventions of superhero media, the show is often at its best when it leans on tried and true tropes. The Season 5 premiere episode “Fifteen Inches of Sheer Dynamite” successfully combines two popular storytelling tropes: the prison break and the “getting the team back together” story.
They come together really well, as Butcher brings his old team back together it helps bring back their old powers while also showing how much each character has changed. Meanwhile, the prison break provides a beautiful climax full of unexpected moments, including the heartbreaking redemption of the show’s original villain.
If this sounds a little by the numbers, don’t worry: the second episode of Season 5, “Teenage Kix,” takes the story in unexpected directions while moving. Boys‘ gross-out humor turned up to 11. This episode features a Catwoman-like character with her trash can and a superhero turned mountain of a man due to his gradual fall.
Sadly, this episode also features the return of Soldier Boy. His presence threatens Homelander’s soft-spoken nature while heightening the existential threats facing our favorite antiheroes.
Are The Boys Really Back In Town?
It’s an open secret that Season 4 of Boys it was the low point of the series. If you were someone who was disappointed by that season, you probably want to know if Season 5 has completely turned the ship around. The honest answer? It’s too soon to tell.
The first two episodes are solid and easily on par with the best that season four had to offer. However, with six episodes left, there’s still time for the show (as Butcher might say) to do more.
As a follower of Boys from its days as a violent comic book, however, I have high hopes for this fifth and final season. The actors clearly bring their A-game: Antony Starr has never been more silent as Homelander, and Karl Urban has never been more dangerous as Butcher.
The first two episodes are simply a prelude to the final showdown between the two, with some strong tactics that Butcher may ultimately prove to be more dangerous than any of the villainous heroes he puts down. Will Season 5 end Boys on a high note or are you just a huge train wreck in every stream?
Either way, true believers, I bought the ticket, and I’m more than ready to board.
