Review - The End of The Boys: Did the Shock and Violence Work 'til the end?

The Boys dives into the narrative of a realistic world where some people possess superpowers, showcasing a massive variety of mutations and their consequences. There are characters with super strength, high speed, ways to manipulate their own bodies, telepathy, and many other abilities.

The series innovates by bringing realism to something so unrealistic, introducing the Vought corporation, which manages these heroes, known as Supe. Vought hires and organizes how they should behave and act in society, turning the role into something close to a regular job. The company also covers up many irregularities in exchange for fame, publicity, and, of course, money.

With the conclusion of the series, we can finally analyze whether this eccentric attempt to create new superheroes actually worked.

One of the major problems with The Boys was how the story dragged on. At certain points, it felt as though the script was being stretched out. The organization of events left gaps that highly bothered fans, an effect that had already been felt since the third season.

We cannot deny that it was a very entertaining production. The dark humor, filled with scenes of extreme violence and heavy jokes, always surprised us. We found ourselves wondering if there were any limits to the madness we were watching, and we were easily impressed. This was one of the main attractions of the series.

Looking closely, all of this stretching was unnecessary, especially just to reach a fifth season. The plot could have been better optimized at various points, but the fear of ending caused the formula of violence and sarcasm to extend all the way down this path. Over this seven-year run, certain character arcs and setups likely lost their way due to a lack of proper maintenance.

Official Trailer

Character Development

Billy Butcher suffered from this pacing issue, as it felt like the writers could not stabilize his position. He constantly swung between a tormented vigilante seeking vengeance with good intentions and a bloodthirsty madman who tramples over everything in his path. The story itself seemed at a loss for what to do with him. Even though the plot built the idea that all characters were losing their humanity due to the tragedies they faced, Butcher never found his footing. I even thought he might become the ultimate villain in the end, which the writers did try to pull off, but without success.

Mother's Milk, on the other hand, was a well-crafted character, and his development arc unfolded naturally. He evolved from a dreamer trying to end malicious supes to someone who gave up on his own success, ultimately returning to his senses in the end to do the best job possible alongside the group. The series even explained the origin of his nickname, which was something everyone was waiting for.

Characters coming and going also highlighted the structural flaws, since many were simply written out when the script did not know how to handle them. Firecracker, Sister Sage, Black Noir, Soldier Boy, and others left the story without their arcs ever reaching a true conclusion.

The same thing happened with Ryan, Homelander's son, who kept drifting in and out of the plot. He was a key element in the beginning and one of the biggest hooks in the story. The series made us believe he could become just as strong as his father, but he ended up becoming merely a recurring character. Prolonging the narrative so much without knowing the destination was the most frustrating part. They built up massive expectations and failed to deliver on the promises made over time.

Gen V

Still speaking of scripts and building expectations, the series falls short when it comes to the characters from Gen V. Amazon Prime produced a two-season spin-off series set in the world of The Boys, introducing another group with new stories and conflicts. There, we follow a Supe with extremely powerful abilities, making her nearly one of the strongest characters in the entire franchise universe.

Personally, I loved the production, which has a fun atmosphere and features the same core elements as The Boys. In the end, the expectation was that both storylines would intersect, forming two teams to defeat Homelander.

Instead, they were completely sidelined, serving only to deliver a few motivational speeches near the end before being sent away. Many fans were looking forward to seeing the grand crossover between both shows, but the result was a major frustration and a total waste of potential.

Without a doubt, one of the best parts of the series lies in its uncomfortable moments, which are almost always driven by the villain himself, Homelander. From the very start, we felt the weight of this man's madness. Even when he cracks a slight smile, everyone around him feels pure terror.

With a childhood stolen by Vought, being tortured and having his physical limits tested to create the perfect super, Homelander never had a mother or a father, comfort, or safety. Everything was artificially manufactured to profit off his painful background. This left him with so many scars that, even by the finale, we see just how broken his psyche truly is.

Even so, he clings with all his might to a desperate search for acceptance and family. In the beginning, this happens obsessively with Madelyn Stillwell as a mother figure, then with his son Ryan, and later with Soldier Boy, his biological father. Homelander attached himself violently to each one of them, but they all rejected him and built increasingly distant barriers.

His endless search for adoration drove him mad, leading him to the point of creating a religion around himself where he would be a God to those who worshipped him. He needed to compensate for the lack of affection and feel loved, demanding validation from the world, even if through force and fear. This behavior only pushed people further away, and by the end, almost everyone abandoned him. This reopened his emotional wounds even further, leaving him with very few allies by his side.

Actor Antony Starr did an incredible job internalizing this insane character. His performance breathed life into the role throughout the entire series, and the madness felt entirely real. The laughter and tears were brilliantly portrayed, and we could tell just by his gaze when the character was about to cause a tragedy.

Two Sides of the Same Coin

Just like Homelander, Billy Butcher has his merits. In the beginning, his entire personality was highly cohesive. Up until the third season and the start of the fourth, we felt a very intriguing development where one of the good guys was ready to plunge into the role of a villain. Everyone around him, and even those of us watching, was bracing for that moment.

Both characters cultivated a deadly hatred for one another while walking very parallel paths, making their dynamic entertaining to watch as we rooted for the final confrontation, especially after Butcher leveled the playing field. His actor was also fantastic throughout the show, and his distinct expressions made him a highly unique character.

Social Commentary in The Boys

It is fascinating to see how The Boys delivers plenty of social commentary, portraying aspects of its own society that reflect our own. The series addresses everything from scientific denialism to intolerance, discrimination, and the spread of fake news.

For instance, in the final season, the superhero responsible for the oceans is paid to defend oil extraction and usage. Shortly after, a massive environmental disaster occurs, and countless marine animals pay the price.

There are also moments where corporations display utopian lives on screen, but the reality behind the scenes is completely different, all done merely to sell products and turn a profit. The series makes several direct critiques, exposing the realities of our world plain as day within theirs.

As previously mentioned, the script was not well-paced when analyzing the work as a whole. They dragged out the series, which resulted in a rushed finale. Homelander's character was built up to be an almost unbeatable adversary, super strong, immune, and indestructible. Conversations among the characters always followed the same track, claiming that facing him was practically suicide. This caused many to follow him out of pure fear.

An expectation was set that defeating him would be an incredibly difficult task, nearly impossible. One of the proposed solutions was a virus that could kill him, but it would also destroy every Supe in the world, including the good guys on the main team. This set off a race with the protagonists trying to develop the virus and Homelander attempting to find a serum to make himself immune. With that serum, all hope would be lost, since he would become virtually immortal.

In the final episodes, however, a different plan was put together and the plot rushed forward, pitting everyone left against him and his final followers. The last episode was burdened with wrapping up every single open thread, forcing it to be extremely rushed without giving the story room to breathe. Once again, the script proved to be the main drawback.

The way it unfolded made the resolution seem far too easy. The battle could have been much more thrilling, especially since Homelander did not display the absolute power the entire series had promised, and the plan itself was not exceptionally clever, even with Sister Sage, the smartest person in the universe, shifting to the protagonists' side. [Spoiler]{She lost her powers, but only after everything had already been set in motion}.

The writers could have handled this highly anticipated finale with more care. It was not a satisfying victory to watch, and we expected more, especially from the Gen V characters in this final clash. I spent the entire episode waiting for some major surprise, but it turned out to be a very safe conclusion. Even Billy Butcher's final descent into madness could not salvage the promises the show had made.

The Boys was a highly creative and original series. It took major risks with the superhero theme and broke away from conventional tropes. We are used to seeing heroes as symbols of peace and justice, but this work shows that in the real world, they can be deeply villainous, making for a truly innovative viewing experience.

Score: 7.5 out of 10

Despite the narrative structure issues, it remains a fun watch because so much happens and the pace is constantly lively. The characters find themselves in suffocating, violent, and bizarre situations, all wrapped in dialogue filled with explicit language.

If you do not mind graphic scenes of violence or nudity, foul language, and pure oddities, you will have a great time watching it. There is always a surprise in the next episode to leave you shocked or completely speechless.