With the fifth and final season premiere of The Boys nearly upon us, we recently sat down with stars Susan Heyward ("Jessica Bradley/Sister Sage") and Valorie Curry ("Misty Tucker Gray/Firecracker") to talk about what's coming in these last few episodes and what role their characters will play in Homelander's master plan.
First, Heyward talks me through Sage's endgame, and whether her true vision for the future is actually includes Homelander or not. Then, Curry offers some insight on where Firecracker is this season, especially after her faith gets challenged, and whether her love for Homelander is real or just another act.
The season five main cast features 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.
The Boys return with a two-part premiere on April 8!
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ROHAN: Susan, Sage ended last season telling Homelander to "buckle up for Phase 2." Without giving too much away, now that we’ve reached the endgame, does Sage actually want a world ruled by Homelander, or is there something else to her plan?
SUSAN: That's such a good question. You know, I think when John - I like to think that Sage thinks of Homelander as John - when he came to her door, she had found this nice little corner for herself in the world where she didn't really have any specific ambition. And now, with his power behind her, the world has completely opened up. So, we started with him kind of being in charge of Vought, that's where she started, so I think she wants to burst through that ceiling and see as high as she can go.
ROHAN: Valorie, you’ve mentioned before that Firecracker is a "survivor and a grifter." In this final season, would you say she's leaning more toward "true believer" status or is she starting to see the cracks in trusting Homelander too much
VALORIE: I think that's always been the question, I mean about any character, but particularly one that is sort of this vehicle for commentary about propaganda. Like how much does she actually believe it, and how much is this just a weaponization of the media? You know, the fact that she will say whatever she needs to say to influence the person in front of her? And I do think that's true, but at the same time, about Homelander specifically, I think it's been made pretty evident that her love is very real, perhaps more real than anyone we've seen so far, because she hasn't been driven by fear, which has allowed her to make these really bold choices with him that other people would not. She's stupidly fearless, but I think her love is real, absolutely.
ROHAN: Susan, with a character as smart as yours, who can pretty much foresee every outcome, how is she sort of handling the endgame. Without spoilers, would and could anything surprise Sage heading toward the end?
SUSAN: We were talking earlier about someone talking about how she knows everything, she's controlling everything, and it was really important to me to talk about how she's actually very hands off. She's letting people be exactly who they are, and so if she moves the chess pieces on the board to allow them to follow through on that particular psyche, that's not so much her controlling everything and knowing everything. I feel like she's always gathering information to know enough to put someone in a situation where they're going to take actions that seem obvious. That's the way that I see her. So, yeah, that's kind of how I see it.
ROHAN: Valorie, Firecracker has been through a lot to get into Homelander’s good graces, what would you say her endgame is? Does she just want to be this huge influencer or does she have anything bigger at play?
VALORIE: I don't think she came there with an endgame, because this is an opportunity that really fell into her lap. It's not something that she was pursuing, but I think she will always try to make the most of an opportunity. I think it's really interesting too that the thing that was taken out for her is her body, and that's something that she has used so much in her life, this sort of weaponized feminine objectification thing, you know, and to have that taken away is very unfamiliar for her. - I lost my train of thought. I'm just thinking about her body. I'm thinking about the sweat and the Vaseline on my face. - But no, I think, you know, even before she was at Vought, she was this sort of Queen of her little media queendom, and having a larger platform for that, it's the same goal, it's influence, but also, you know, she said herself in her own sick mind, you know, she wants to make people that have been or feel disenfranchised feel seen.
Check out more of our The Boys season five interviews:
The Boys Season 5 will premiere the first two episodes on Wednesday, April 8th, followed by weekly episodes, leading up to the epic series finale on Wednesday, May 20th.
In the fifth and final season, 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.