There’s just one episode left until the finale of The Boys, the TV series that has redefined the superhero genre on both the small and big screens. The show got off to a great start but then, as often happens with anything that becomes a franchise, it lost its edge over time, reaching a point of no return with episode 7 of season 5.
So far, The Boys Season 5 has delivered a highly controversial final season, the result of a writing process that has revealed a general sense of fatigue: it’s clear, even from past seasons, that the Prime Video series has dragged on too long, stretching the narrative thin with countless episodes and filler moments, and consequently flattening the storylines of several main characters.
This entire final season, after all, revolves around the same concept: the decisive battle against Patriot, which we’re approaching slowly, with little bite and a touch of boredom. Most of the characters, save for a few moments we can truly call “highlights,” remain stagnant, trapped in their respective storylines without evolving.
For example, the series didn’t really explore Butcher’s “madness” further after his violent outburst at the end of The Boys Season 4: Karl Urban’s character did little to nothing in Season 5, and the setup for his narrative arc suggests something entirely different, even in the development of his relationship with The Boys. What about Hughie, Starlight, and Mother’s Milk? They seem like figurines placed in the background, jumping and running from one place to another without achieving anything.
The Boys has also literally “forgotten” the weight of certain characters: Soldier Boy was sidelined too quickly, Sage’s “twists” have diminished her intelligence (since, despite allying with the Boys, things still don’t go well for our heroes), and Patriot is now reduced to a shaky caricature from whom no real threat is felt.
Episode 5×07 reflects everything that’s wrong: it isn’t a bad episode in and of itself, but it feels like just another filler from the middle of a season, and that’s unacceptable for what should be a prelude to the grand finale. Sure, we can salvage the last 5 minutes (the actor from The Boys even mentioned that shocking death), but it’s not enough to justify the overall narrative flatness that a series like The Boys didn’t deserve. And didn’t even need. What a shame.
