he Boys Avoids A Mistake That Would've Made Season 5 Hard To Watch

As one of the streaming era's defining shows, The Boys has a lot riding on its ending. The Boys season 5 must resolve the ongoing struggle between Vought and the Boys, as well as the more personal battle between Homelander and Butcher. There's Ryan's allegiance to sort out, Sister Sage's masterplan to reveal, and a supe virus to either release or destroy, depending on which character gets their way.

To avoid becoming the "next Game of Thrones," The Boys needs to avert any annoying TV tropes at all costs - twists that come out of nowhere, "it was a dream all along," the real prize was the friends we made along the way, etc. Most of those don't apply to Butcher and the gang, but The Boys season 5's trailer does confirm one problematic error has thankfully been avoided.

The Boys Season 5 Avoids A Tedious Opening

The Boys season 4 ended on an almighty cliffhanger as Hughie, M.M., Frenchie, and Kimiko were captured by Vought agents and Homelander's army of supes. It was a hugely impactful moment that solidified the dire situation heading into The Boys' final season and upped the stakes by making Homelander more powerful and influential than ever before.

At the same time, the scene created a conundrum for season 5. The four incarcerated members of the Boys breaking out of Vought's internment camps could provide enough narrative for half a season, but with this being The Boys' final run, four episodes where the gang are languishing in various different cells would be an incredibly dull way to kick off the show's big climax.

It would be a waste of the cast too. The show's title isn't just there for decoration - the entire story is about the core group of Butcher, Hughie, M.M., Kimiko, Frenchie, and Starlight. A final season where all six characters are spread across the United States would be an underwhelming way to say goodbye. Far better to spend as much of The Boys season 5 as possible with the team reformed and bringing merry havoc.

Thankfully, that's exactly what we're getting. The Boys season 5's trailer shows Hughie in one of Vought's camps, but it appears that Starlight frees her trapped boyfriend, and they quickly reunite with the rest of the Boys. Indeed, the vast majority of season 5's trailer footage shows all six heroes together, the way it should be.

The amount of trailer scenes where the Boys are united, combined with the fact Prime Video pretty much gives away Starlight rescuing Hughie, suggests the breakouts will happen very early in the season. If that weren't the case, such details surely wouldn't be given away in the trailer. It seems likely that we'll see the Boys all in the same room before season 5's premiere rolls its end credits.

Gen V Season 2 Proved A Quick Breakout Can Work

It was a very similar situation for Gen V between the spinoff's first and second seasons. Gen V season 1 concluded with the main characters being rounded up and imprisoned at Vought's behest.

Rather than spending the first episodes of season 2 in jail, putting viewers through endless scenes of the same characters doing the same things in the same setting, Gen V's sophomore year began with everyone getting released. Marie had already escaped offscreen, while Andre tragically died during a separate attempt, then Emma and Jordan are moved back to God U in episode 1, allowing the action to kick off right away. At no point does the viewer ever feel like they missed out by not seeing the group's time stuck in Elmira.

It's the same for The Boys season 5. By getting the breakouts done quickly, The Boys can restore the character chemistry audiences really want to see - especially since our time with these characters is rapidly running out.

TV-MA | Action | Drama | Crime | Comedy

Release Date : 2019 - 2026-00-00

Showrunner: Eric Kripke

Directors: Erin Moriarty, Karen Fukuhara, Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Eric Kripke

Writers

Eric Kripke

Franchise(s)

The Boys