The Boys Season 5, and the show as a whole, is set to end this week. As it does, the show continues to get a ton of backlash, proving the show remains as misunderstood as ever.
The Boys was never a traditional superhero show, and would never end as one
As The Boys heads into its final episode, which is set to premiere on Prime Video on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, online backlash to the show remains as strong as ever. The show, once massively praised by all, has since seen a growing wave of criticism over the last two seasons of the series.
This season, especially, has seen a ton of complaints about the final season, namely regarding many episodes feeling like “filler,” while also being confused about the show seemingly getting rid of any planned crossover moments with its now-canceled spin-off series, Gen V.
To many online, The Boys Season 5 has spent a bit too much time interacting with characters and going from place to place. As a result, to many, the show has spent as much time dealing with larger consequences over the show’s bigger stakes. This kind of criticism often leads to many wishing there were larger-scale events happening in the show’s final act, including massive fights or other “big moments” to send off the show in style.
Can’t show ya much without spoilin’ the whole kit and caboodle. But Wednesday, we’re going all the way. No matter the cost. Til the job’s fuckin’ done. pic.twitter.com/yzbgI6WtdL
— THE BOYS (@TheBoysTV) May 17, 2026
The problem with this criticism, though, is that it almost fundamentally misunderstands the point of the show. Since its inception, The Boys has always acted as a sort of “anti-MCU,” a show that obviously parodies the likes of other superhero content, and often scoffs in the face of delivering “epic” moments like that. Instead, the show dealt with the more grounded, real-world implications of superheroes existing.
As a result, this often involved much more character-centric plotlines that only featured a bunch of fighting if it was required. In this regard, nothing has changed at all in Season 5, with the show once again featuring tons of dialogue-heavy scenes from characters while still occasionally having some wild “what the” moments thrown in there.
Series creator Eric Kripke seemed to echo the confusion behind the criticisms as well, telling TV Guide he was “getting a lot of online dissatisfaction, to put it politely, and I’m like, ‘What are you expecting? Are you expecting a huge battle scene every episode?’” Kripke would eventually go on to say that seeing the show’s ratings (which are the highest they’ve ever been) has made him realize that the online opinion is not the overwhelming one.
Of course, there are still worthy criticisms to be made about The Boys Season 5. The show seemingly teasing some big crossovers with Gen V that simply never happened are warranted complaints. However, The Boys focusing fully on its own core group of characters, and giving each one some time to shine in episodes, has been much enjoyable than any big mega battle scene could ever be, in my view, while the show can still deliver on a likely big standoff for the final episode.
