*Warning – contains full spoilers for The Boys season 5 finale.*
Well, it’s all come down to this. After seven years and five seasons, The Boys has finally come to an end, with the battle between Homelander and Butcher having been concluded.
The final episode was a big one, with endings provided for most of the characters (Soldier Boy was conspicuously absent, still on ice after his fight with Homelander).
But just how did it all play out, what happened to the different (former) members of The Seven, what happened to The Boys and — that all important question — did Homelander finally get his comeuppance?
Read on for everything you need to know about the ending of The Boys season 5.
The Boys ending explained: What happened to Sister Sage?
At the start of The Boys finale, the team buried Frenchie, bemoaning the fact that his sacrifice appeared to be in vain – Kimiko was showing no signs of having developed Soldier Boy’s power-destroying abilities.
However, realising that she needed to be angry to activate it, Butcher had Sage badmouth Frenchie and his legacy. Kimiko let off a blast, instantly removing Sage’s powers.
No longer the smartest person in the world, Sage bowed out, deciding to visit a Harry Potter experience rather than accompany The Boys on their final mission.
What happened to Oh Father?
Homelander was preparing to give his big Easter Sunday message from the Oval Office. Once he declared himself God, the psychics would be on hand to kill anyone who was a disbeliever.
In one final mission to stop him, the Boys ventured through underground tunnels into the White House. While the team there were prepared for them, Ashley helped them to get past and through into the building.
Once there, they found themselves facing off against The Deep and Oh Father. While Starlight flew the Deep out of the building to take him on herself, Hughie and Mother’s Milk (MM) distracted Oh Father so Butcher and Kimiko could get through to Homelander.
As Hughie battled Oh Father, MM came up from behind him and put an extra-strength ball-gag, bought by Ashley, in his mouth. As Oh Father let out one of his powerful screams at the last second, his head exploded from the sound being trapped in by the gag.
What happened to The Deep?
Starlight flew The Deep out to the shore to have it out with him. She tried to convince him to turn against Homelander, who had just told him how much he truly hated him. However, The Deep wouldn’t budge.
Eventually, he was knocked into the sea where, true to their word in the penultimate episode, as vengeance for what he did with the pipeline, The Deep was attacked by an octopus, sharks and all manner of sea life. In the end, he was killed in the most apt way possible, and his body sank to the bottom of the ocean, with just a pool of blood left on the surface.
What happened to Homelander?
Before the Boys even got there, already Homelander was spiralling, admitting on camera his feelings about regular people and his plans to kill the non-believers.
Once Butcher and Kimiko got to him they battled it out, with the camera still rolling live to the public, showing them all of the action. Ryan arrived to help, and a vision of Frenchie helped Kimiko to realise that it was her heart and her love that could activate her powers, not just rage.
She blasted all three of Homelander, Butcher and Ryan, removing their powers. Homelander attempted to fly, but found himself impotent and useless. Butcher easily overpowered him, beating him mercilessly, “for Frenchie”.
As Homelander debased himself, telling Butcher he would do anything, pleading helplessly with him for mercy, Butcher plowed a crowbar through his head, ripping off the top of it and letting his brain spill out. This, he said, was “for Becca”.
Finally, the nightmare was over, and Homelander was dead.
What happened to Ashley and Stan Edgar?
After Homelander’s death, Ashley, who had become President after Calhoun, tried to argue that she wouldn’t step down, had stopped Homelander through her own initiative, and had done nothing wrong.
Congress disagreed, and she was removed from office and arrested.
Meanwhile, Stan Edgar was re-appointed as interim CEO of Vought – it seemed there was no stopping Supes’ abuse of power and the commercialisation of them, even with Homelander gone.
What happened to Butcher?
After killing Homelander, Butcher proposed to Ryan that they live together and start again. Ryan declined the offer, saying he didn’t chose Butcher over Homelander – they were both bad people, he just wanted a fresh start.
Already reeling from this rejection, yet realising truth in Ryan’s words, Butcher was then dealt another blow, finding that his faithful dog Terror had died, seemingly of natural causes.
Quietly, he slipped out while the rest of The Boys were watching TV, and took the virus with him. He headed straight for Vought tower, but Hughie realised what was going on and followed him.
When Hughie arrived, he found that Butcher had put the virus into the sprinkler system, and attached a trigger to it. He planned to wait until the day had begun, when Supes would be roaming all around the building. He intended that the virus would spread from there and eventually infect the whole planet, getting rid of all Supes once and for all.
Hughie couldn’t allow that to happen, and after a tussle he ended up shooting Butcher in the stomach, as Butcher imagined him as his brother, Leonard.
As Butcher lay dying in Hughie’s arms, he praised him for never letting himself be changed – he remained true to himself, good and decent, throughout. He understood Hughie’s decision, and was at peace with his death.
What happened to Hughie, Starlight, MM, Kimiko and Ryan?
After having a funeral for Butcher, the Boys went their separate ways. MM remarried Monique, with Ryan by his side. Kimiko got herself a dog and went to live in France, tearfully thinking of Frenchie.
Meanwhile, Hughie and Starlight set up an AV store called Campbell Audio Visual. Bob Singer, now re-installed as the President, called Hughie to ask him to head up the reestablished Bureau of Supe Affairs — Hughie turned it down.
It was revealed that Starlight was pregnant, and they planned to name the baby Robin, after Hughie’s girlfriend who was killed by A-Train in the very first episode. Meanwhile, Starlight was back to doing actual superhero work, flying off to help someone in need as Hughie looked up at the sky, finally happy and content.
The episode ended with a montage of behind the scenes images celebrating the crew, saying farewell to the series which has thrilled us, made us laugh and grossed us out in equal measure over five seasons.
Want to see this content?
This page contains content provided by Google reCAPTCHA. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as Google reCAPTCHA may use cookies and other technologies. To view this content, choose ‘Accept and continue’ to allow Google reCAPTCHA and its required purposes.
The Boys is available to stream in full on Prime Video now – try Amazon Prime Video for free for 30 days. Plus, read our guides to the best Amazon Prime series and the best movies on Amazon Prime.
Add The Boys to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.
Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
