The Boys came to an end this week, with a series finale that has proven to be almost as divisive as the fifth and final season overall.
Many viewers do feel that "Blood and Bone" delivered a satisfying send-off for the main characters, however, and most would tend to agree that the final scene between Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) and Hugh Campbell (Jack Quaid) packed an emotional wallop.
Major spoilers from this point on.
From the very beginning, Hughie has served as Butcher's conscience, pulling him back (or doing his best to, at least) from the brink when it looked like he was about to step over the edge. Hughie and the others hoped that things might return to normal after Homelander's defeat, but the combination of Terror's death, Ryan telling him he doesn't want to be a part of his life, and the news that Vought is back in business drives Butcher to enact his initial plan to eradicate all Supes.
Hughie follows his friend to Seven Tower, ultimately shooting him down to prevent him from releasing Frenchie's Supe-killer virus into the sprinkler system. Right before Campbell pulls the trigger, we see Butcher move his finger away from the switch after getting a vision of his late younger brother, Lenny.
Before he dies, Butcher tells Hughie that he did the right thing because he was never going to stop. Was he lying to ease Hughie's guilt, or did he know deep down that it was only a matter of time until he tried again?
During an interview with Goldderby.com, showrunner Eric Kripke was asked why it was important to have Hughie be the one to put a stop to Butcher.
"That was always going to be the thing. Besides Robin getting run over in the pilot, it's one of the more faithful things from the comics that we've done, and that was something we had the advantage of. I loved that their final moments together were intimate, just the two of them as Butcher dies. It was always going to be that, because Butcher was not going to stop. One good thing about Butcher is he was aware of his sociopathy, and he intentionally brought on someone to externally be his conscience. He had that with his little brother, and now he had that with Hughie. It was crucial that he knew he was going to go too far, and he knew he wasn't going to stop, so he brought Hughie on specifically to stop him. These were the roles that they had set themselves up for seven years now."
Kripke also weighed in on the very last scene, with Hughie smiling as he watches a pregnant Starlight take flight.
"Like I've been saying from the beginning, I find this show hopeful, and hope is possible. But it's really hard, and it requires great sacrifice, and it requires astounding amounts of failure before you can get to success. That's how the world works, in my view, and they went through a lot to get to that point. Again, it's not perfect. She's throwing up, she's fighting with her mom, but they have hope. Having a baby is a really major expression of hope for the future, and Hughie watching her fly off is hope that they're going to be OK. It'll require a lot of work and sacrifice, but they're hopeful they can get there, and I think that's as strong a message to end the show on as any we could think of."
What did you make of the series finale of The Boys? Let us know in the comments.
In the fifth and final season of The Boys, it's Homelander’s world, completely subject to his erratic, egomaniacal whims. Hughie, Mother's Milk, and Frenchie are imprisoned in a "Freedom Camp." Annie struggles to mount a resistance against the overwhelming Supe force. Kimiko is nowhere to be found. But when Butcher reappears, ready and willing to use a virus that will wipe all Supes off the map, he sets in motion a chain of events that will forever change the world and everyone in it. It's the climax, people. Big stuff's gonna happen.
The Boys stars Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Capone, Karen Fukuhara, Nathan Mitchell, Colby Minifie, Cameron Crovetti, Susan Heyward, Valorie Curry, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jensen Ackles, and Daveed Diggs.
Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty, Phil Sgriccia, Michaela Starr, Paul Grellong, David Reed, Judalina Neira, Jessica Chou, Gabriel Garcia, Ori Marmur, Ken F. Levin and Jason Netter serve as executive producers.