So far Prime Video’s The Boys has released six episodes and so much has happened. However, some of the fans of the series are complaining about the “filler episodes” that are taking place in the fifth and final season of the series. Spoiler warning for anyone who has not seen the series.
For those who don’t know, The Boys, tells a story where superheroes are seen as celebrities and revered like gods. Rather than saving people, they are deplorable and the only people who are willing to stand up to them is Billy Butcher and his compatriots known as “The Boys.” In episode five of the final season we are given an introspective episode that focuses on five characters. While the central theme for the season is stopping Homelander from getting the V1 and gaining immortality, this episode decided to focus on it near the end but have the viewer focus on the lives of the characters in the episode. We saw Firecracker facing her turmoil with her faith and Homelander, Black Noir trying to continue being an aspiring actor, we got some humorous moments with Terror Butcher’s dog, we were given details onto what Sister Sage was planning for the endgame, and we saw Solider Boy and Homelander try to get information about the V1 from a former “Supe” named Mister Marathon.
According to Variety, showrunner Eric Kripke (The Boys, Gen V) had heard about the complaints regarding the final season’s episodes being called filler and issued this statement,“’None of the things that happen in the last few episodes will matter if you don’t flesh out the characters. I’m getting a lot of online dissatisfaction, to put it politely,’ Kripke said during an interview with TV Guide. ‘And I’m like, ‘What are you expecting? Are you expecting a huge battle scene every episode?’’ He continued, ‘At no point during the writing of it was I like, ‘Oh yeah, we’re making filler episodes. So who cares?’ We all thought at the time we’re really getting these important character details. We have something like 14 characters, maybe 15. And I owe it to all of them — in that television is the character business — I owe it to all of them to flesh them out and humanize them and their stories.'”
The series comes to close on May 20, 2026, and with only two episodes left who knows what will happen next for not just Butcher, but also Homelander?