The Boys Creator Eric Kripke Has A Grim Warning About Season 5

“The Boys” is one seriously brutal television series, taking the comics created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson and delivering a perfectly twisted satire about superheroes, capitalism, and America’s current political landscape. Showrunner Eric Kripke and his writing team have made some pretty big changes to the original comics throughout the show’s run, but one thing they haven’t jettisoned is the story’s viciousness. The characters go through absolute hell on a regular basis, and the good guys don’t always win. In fact, the line between the good guys and the bad guys is pretty blurred, and sometimes the worst characters end up on top, which happened quite a bit in the rather depressing fourth season. So, it’s not a huge shock that Kripke has a warning for fans about the fifth and final season, and that it has to do with the potential for even more emotional devastation.

While speaking with Total Film, Kripke warned fans that “there will probably be lots of death” coming in season 5, and that absolutely no one is safe. There are quite a few main characters who die in the “Boys” comics (and in some pretty awful ways), so fans should be prepared to say goodbye for good.

Kripke warned fans that things could get pretty treacherous for the characters in season 5, which will mark the ending for “The Boys.” He told Total Film that there’s “no guarantee” anyone will survive because there won’t be any more seasons, so “you can have really shocking, big things happen all the time.” It’s funny because “The Boys” has never been shy about killing characters, even ones that really don’t deserve it. Nevertheless, without having to wrry about bringing back viewers for the next season, the show will really be able to let loose. 

Elaborating on that, Kripke noted that he understands both the stakes and difficulties of ending a television series:

“So many series finales suck, and it’s really hard to land the plane. I am very grateful to Amazon for giving me the opportunity to end it on our own terms, but for sure, I feel lots and lots of pressure to end it well. Because I think if we can stick the landing, then people will be like, ‘That’s a great show!’ But if we s*** the bed, people will say, ‘Oh, it was a good show, but they s*** the bed.'”

A disappointing final season can really taint audiences’ memories of a show long after (just look at the way some fans still talk about “Game of Thrones”!), so it’s understandable that Kripke wants to avoid “s***ing the bed,” so to speak. That said, it feels like “The Boys” has teed up everything just right for a perfect finale.

Whether you like it or not, “The Boys” is coming to an end with the fifth season, which means Kripke and co. have to wrap everything up in a satisfying way. While it’s not possible for all of the show’s characters to have happy endings, and it’s likely that most of them won’t, it would be nice to see at least a few of The Boys overcome their horrifying circumstances and end up with something resembling peace. The only one who’s gotten that so far is Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligot), though she had to give up an eye and her superpowers to get it, and it’s entirely possible that she’ll get dragged back into the misery before the final curtain call. (Personally, I just want to see Kimiko, Hughie, Mother’s Milk, and Annie get their chances at “normalcy.” They’ve earned it.) 

There were already some pretty big deaths in the season 4 finale, but there are still plenty of characters who can bite the big one before it all ends. Homelander (Antony Starr) and Butcher (Karl Urban) are both probably goners, but then again, everyone is fair game.

“The Boys” season 5 has yet to receive a premiere date.