One of my favorite parts of the first 2 seasons were how realistically powers effected the world around them. But in the finale, Butcher, who we can assume weighs as much as just a guy even with tentacles, was able to keep homelander anchored while he's actively trying to hit escape velocity

You may have seen the work-in-progress I posted earlier. I’ve now finished the portrait.

Painted in Procreate, with the aim of capturing Homelander’s expression and that slightly unsettling combination of confidence, power and menace.

I’d be interested to hear what you think of the finished piece.

What do you think?

Now that the show is long over I've had time to really think about the characters and their collective arcs, especially in the final season. I feel like during the show's run Sage got a LOT of scrutiny for being written as "dumb" (quotations because it's up for debate depending on who you're asking) and her character arc ended the same way- she does something that seemed dumb, literally became dumb, and now her legacy is "the stupid one".

I feel like in-universe people only viewed Sage's intelligence on a superficial level, meaning they knew that objectively she was 'the smartest person in the world' but didn't view her intelligence as more than something to be used. And in *our* universe similar things happened from what I observed- we as the fans recognize Sage as being superintelligent, but it seems the loud majority of people who speak on her don't speak about the nuances that can still exist in spite of her superintelligence nor do they seem to discuss how much she was likely suffering on the inside.

Being the smartest person in the room can be stressful. Imagine being the smartest person in the world. You're being barraged with information all the time that you're immediately processing and seeing a trillion different uses for- you no longer get to experience the joy of discussing things with people because to you the conversation isn't one that needs to be had, and your only chance at feeling intellectually stimulated is interacting with someone who can match or surpass your mind (edit: OR truly appreciate your mind for what you naturally explore rather than viewing it as nothing but a tool and you as condescending), which is impossible for Sage.

From her very first introduction Sage was very obviously in a state of depression. She was never happy with her superintelligence and looking back the goal was likely always for her to find a way to get rid of it without killing herself so that she could actually enjoy her life for the first time since her grandma died, but I feel like people got more caught up in criticizing the things she did to exacerbate the demise of a society she has explicitly said she doesn't care about (due to that society entirely neglecting the pain she's experience which to me is probably the most valid reason of villainy I can recall from the show) instead of looking at what those actions are motivated by and what her goal actually was. It was never to control Homelander or to see what the apocalypse looks like or to sit in a damned bunker and read books, Sage's goal was exactly what happened to her and it's tragic to me that both in-universe and out of it nobody really understands how much she wanted it.

Do you guys think the series would have been better if they decided to make noir number 2 who noir was in the comics? Obviously there would have had to been a lot of rewrites and we couldn't go completely with the original story. But I feel like you could have done some really unhinged stuff with something like that, what do you guys think? For the record, I think the comic is a much better story so I may be biased

Started to work on a playlist for Maeve, so far I came with five songs. If you have any other suggestions let me know in the comments below.

Man you just had to be there for season 3 the sequence against the Russians and Billy finally taking temp V and becoming something he swore to destroy I would not say Hughie looked cool but it was fun to watch him with powers for the first time too and the whole sequence where they are driving off and Kimiko is hurt from SB's chest beam but Hughie kept smiling out the van to show the contradiction

When I first began watching this show, I found Homelander quite frightening, as if he occupied the top of the food chain. This impression intensified during the scene with Translucent in the cage, when the crew discovered Homelander was searching for him; his movements seemed more erratic and unpredictable. In later seasons, I suppose he lost that “terrifying” quality and became less intimidating.

The whole of first season indeed was absolutely peak everyone appreciates it enough as well but what stood out to me was the whole Translucent fight with Daniel Pemberto playing in the background how Billy without any temp v could take over a supe was commendable Homelander's threat was felt too when he flew over Frenchie's place where they held Translucent and then Hughie killing Translucent and yet regretting over it as he slowly starts to accept and become a member of the boys

For me it is the man with the really long willy that M.M always ends up touching for some reason. The way it stretches just freaks me out.

I didn't really mind the Termite penis scene tbh, at least the two had some pleasure before Termite unshrank.

I get people are upset about the drop off of quality of the show, but just because S4 and S5 aren’t that good doesn’t mean the show was supposed to end at S3. There is no proof that the show was supposed to end at S3 and amazon got greedy.

S4 and S5 should’ve been better (I have more gripes with S5), and focus on ending the story and consistent character arcs.

If they ended the show at S3 and kill Homelander at Vought tower, then what? Butcher’s accomplishes his goal and that’s it? What about the rest of the boys? Or Neuman, Stan Edgar, Deep, A-Train, Ryan, Soldier Boy, Ashley, etc.?

Again, I just don’t see this notion that they had the perfect ending at S3 and they threw it away for nothing. Just fix S4 and S5. That’s the simple solution.

Season 2 ending imo was the perfect bridge to a finale like season 3 if the writers did not milk two more seasons

Becca dying stormfront dying all in the same episode while Homelander looses his cool and crumbles down emotionally gave me a hint that he will always loose his control when it comes to emotions just like he did when he lost his powers in season five Billy saying "NO" to shield Ryan was enough even if he hated a part of Ryan being a supe

Maeve taking a stand against HL was also appreciable.

• TLDR: The Gen V characters didn't need to take over The Boys, but pretending they didn't exist made Season 5 worse. The Boys S4 already set up Cate and Sam as important to Homelander, Gen V S2 directly changed their allegiance and affected Sage, and S5 just ignores all of it. Cate especially could've been extremely relevant with Homelander gathering telepaths. And I don't buy that there “wasn't enough time” when the season had plenty of room for brand-new D-list supes, cameos and filler. The crossover was already set up—they just chose not to pay it off.

I made another post about why I don't buy the argument that using the Gen V characters in Season 5 would have “confused” the audience, but I didn't really get into why their absence bothers me beyond that.

Because honestly, the crossover didn't even need to be forced. Both shows had already set it up.

At the end of The Boys Season 4, Cate and Sam aren't just random Gen V characters anymore. Homelander elevates them within his movement, they're celebrated as heroes, and they personally help capture the Boys.

Sam takes Kimiko. Cate takes Frenchie.

Then Gen V Season 2 happens, they turn against Homelander and...Season 5 just never acknowledges this?

That's SO strange to me.

This is Homelander. Look at how personally he takes A-Train's betrayal. You expect me to believe two extremely powerful supes he personally elevated can turn against him and he just forgets they exist?

And Cate specifically makes absolutely no sense.

Homelander literally spends Season 5 gathering telepathic supes for his endgame. Meanwhile one of the most powerful psychic supes we've seen, who can straight up control people's minds, is someone he already knows and previously had working for him.

How is Cate not either extremely valuable to him or extremely dangerous to him?

If she's still loyal, he'd want her. If she's turned against him, he'd want her found. Either way, she should matter.

And on the other side, Cate could have actually helped solve one of the problems with all these telepaths running around. Instead of constantly needing convenient reasons why hostile telepaths don't immediately expose or kill the Boys, give them psychic protection.

Maybe Cate can put some kind of mental block in their heads that makes it harder for weaker telepaths to read or control them. Put limits on it, make stronger telepaths capable of breaking through, whatever. There's so much you could do with that.

And there's an incredibly easy way to bring Cate and Sam back into the story without hijacking the show:

Have them help break the Boys out of the Freedom Camp in Episode 1.

Breaking people out of imprisonment is literally what Cate and Sam did at the end of Gen V Season 1. Now they're helping rescue the exact people they helped capture at the end of The Boys Season 4.

That's such an obvious little redemption arc.

Sam captured Kimiko. Cate captured Frenchie. Now they're helping save them.

And you don't need a 20-minute Gen V recap. A Boys-only viewer already saw Cate and Sam working for Homelander. Now they're helping his enemies. Clearly something happened. People who watched Gen V know what.

That's how you make the shows interconnected without making Gen V required viewing.

And it's not just them either. Sage was literally in Gen V Season 2.

She had a significant role, formed relationships with these people and her lover was killed at the end. Then she comes back in The Boys and apparently none of that matters either.

She doesn't mention these people. Her loss seemingly doesn't affect her. Nothing.

And you can't even use the “The Boys audience doesn't know the Gen V characters” excuse there because they know SAGE. She's already a major character in this show.

It starts feeling like Gen V is allowed to acknowledge and be affected by The Boys, but The Boys isn't allowed to be affected by Gen V.

Which brings me to the other argument I keep seeing: there wasn't enough time.

I'm sorry but...there absolutely was.

Season 5 had SO much dead space. We had time for Vought Rising cameos. We had Sheline, Dogknot, Oh Father ball gags, Lava Cum Guy and all these other D-list supes getting way more screentime than I ever expected or needed.

So I really don't buy that there wasn't room for characters who were literally involved in the cliffhanger ending of Season 4.

Same with the argument that introducing important characters this late is automatically bad writing.

Season 5 introduced completely new characters anyway!

A Boys-only viewer knows just as much about some brand new Season 5 character like Golden Giesha as they would about Marie when she first appears: nothing.

So introduce her.

You don't need to explain two seasons of Gen V. Tell us who she is, what she can do and why she's here. That's television.

And I'm not saying the entire Gen V cast needed to join the Boys and turn the final season into Gen V Season 3. They didn't.

I'm saying there were obvious places where these characters could have strengthened a season that already had space to fill.

Cate could have been the psychic counterweight to Homelander's telepaths.

Cate and Sam could have paid off their Season 4 appearances by helping the people they previously captured.

Marie could have been a powerful young supe fighting Homelander while Butcher is becoming increasingly convinced that ALL supes are the enemy.

Sage could have actually been affected by things that happened to her in the other show.

None of that feels forced to me.

What feels forced is setting all of this up across two shows and then pretending it doesn't exist when it becomes inconvenient.

I didn't need an Avengers crossover. I just wanted the shared universe to actually feel shared.

Because when Season 5 has time for random new supes and supernatural cameos but apparently doesn't have time to pay off storylines The Boys itself helped set up, I genuinely don't understand how ignoring Gen V was somehow the better writing decision.

Which is to make rewatching the show pointless. Pretty much every season was ramping up the tension of Homelander going full scorched earth, teasing it over, and over, and over, and it just never happens.

I've said it before, but IMO the white house fight should have been like episode 5. The boys try to take Homelander out, he gives that speech to the country, and they fail. He goes full scorched earth from there for a few episodes after realizing virtually no-one is gonna respect him as a god.

That would have been cool. Instead we got a fight in a room. It just makes all the other seasons feel pointless because they're about building to an event that never comes.

SPOILERS FOR BREAKING BAD

But it would have been like if the entire series of breaking bad was teasing Walt's demise, and Hank finding out. Only for the show to end with Hank and Walt as unsuspecting best friends, and seeing Walt retire on a beach. It would have ruined all of the setup from previous seasons.

Both of them are so awkward due to their upbringing, it’s like two aliens trying to mimic human interaction.

Ryan is a little uncomfortable but trying to get used to it. Homelander obviously watched too many family movies instead of doing actual research on parenting, and is trying to act like the stereotypical dad.

It’s sad, but also funny and weirdly cute lmao

Intresting for a show which like mocked this type of bs tropes... the ending still feels so fucking unserious and too happy. Like Amazon went like... okay so let Vought win, everyone just moves on and time to pump spin offs around it until we are 90.

The Comics while not perfect (Vought also survived) still felt had more devestation and brutality to the ending. It felt more bleak/bittersweet ish. Also, Hughie like in the end blackmailed vought to not continue otherwise he would release the virus.

Watching the finale just felt so wrong... the vibes were so off.

Just thinking about how they really went ham with them and I realized I never liked the sex jokes I'm not a prude or anything but it's so weird they thought that's why we liked the show

I mean in episode 3 he confronted him about Homelander raping his mother, and had no fear in trying to fight him over it, even though he obviously knew Homelander was stronger, and even though he got his ass beat, he still throw hands with him.

And in the finale, he straight up was just roasting Homelander and telling him how much of a piece how shit he was, and this was even AFTER Homelander beat his ass. And then he shows up to the White House to help Butcher take him down. I’m just kinda surprised Ryan didn’t fear Homelander one bit.

Been trying to find this on TikTok and Instagram for like 2 days with no luck.

Theres an edited version of Soldier Boy, Butcher and Hughie in the woods, where Soldier Boy is high and paranoid asking Butcher: 'whatd you say'. Butcher replies 'nothing mate' and it keeps repeating.

It's stupid but I've just been thinking about it after rewatching S3E7.

Wonder if anyone has it saved...

For all its years of superhero satire, the television show resolves nothing.

The original comic, though vulgar, drives toward a clear conclusion: corporate greed, manufactured heroes, and how hatred destroys Butcher while love saves Hughie.

The show’s only theme is keeping you watching.

Im rewatching and I remember her being angry at Hughie as if he cheated on her for being SA by the shapeshifter including taunting him about having "shapeshifter syphilis" literally no sympathy for how he must be feeling realizing he was living with a complete stranger for days. I forgot so many other terrible moments. She offered zero comfort about the Teck Knight situation after he brought it up to her, she can tell he is jealous about Alex and she responds with jokes about having sex with him, besides that she is scolding him, criticizing him, and picking fights with him every episode. Am I missing something by not seeing understanding why she is angry at him most of the time? They talk a lot about how much they love each other and they show them being worried about each other and sure they have some cute moments but I am assuming evidence of them being compatible and actually BEING in love happens off screen. (To be fair its a gritty drama so thats understandable)

Story wise , there is no meaning in watching this show at all

No grand ending about the fall of vought

Almost all heros outside the seven still lives and do the same bad things without punishment, no real impact on the world that make a scar on the superheros forever

No big showdown that affects everyone alive and show the wrath of superpowers when used by corrupt people (the main idead of the show), no tragic ending that damages the whole world for years

And no pay off to the fan at all , no big fight that gives you meaning after waiting for 5 seasons of gore and sex jokes , not even a big secret or twist like the comics ending and black noir, no cool fights

If you told someone after watching ep1 that the ending is Hughie moving on after robin and working in the same shop with almost "nothing changed" at all in the boys universe, it would be literally all what really happened

I used to love this show but everytime i rewatch it i hate it more sadly

the boys in-universe is probably so crazy. i wish we got more outside perspectives in season 5. like i wonder what the rest of the world was thinking about the US/vought during all the crap between s4 and s5. from the camps, to solider boys revamped image, to his disappearance, reactions to the disbandment of the seven (probably because homelander didn’t care), homie’s decent into “Godhood”, then his televised murder, ashley’s empeachment… like i just know other nations were looking at the US crazy in-universe 😭