Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Boys’ series finale.
The Boys’ series finale was a mixed bag. Some parts of the finale were immensely satisfying, like Butcher’s final stand against Homelander, but others were a huge let-down, like Hughie and Annie’s clichéd babies-ever-after ending.
Some characters got the ending they deserved, like a pathetic, powerless Homelander groveling at Butcher’s feet to no avail. But others were massively underserved, like Kimiko getting an Alfred ending instead of an Aragorn ending.
9
Hughie Goes Back To The Electronics Store
In Rick and Morty, when Morty played through a man’s entire life in a lifelike sim called Roy, Rick criticized him for going back to work at the carpet store after beating cancer. Well, in The Boys’ series finale, Hughie goes back to the electronics store. When we first met Hughie in the pilot, he was working at a run-down old electronics store. In the finale, he turns down a cushy government job overseeing the anti-supe department so he can take over that store and run it himself.
Not only is that a terrible financial decision in 2026; it’s also too much of a step backwards. I get Hughie wanting to live a normal life and leave all the chaos and violence of chasing supes behind, but he didn’t have to go all the way back to the exact same normal life he had before all this.
8
Sister Sage Goes To Orlando
Sage nopes out of the series early on in the final episode. After taunting Kimiko into releasing her chest-blast, Sage loses her super-intelligence, and Butcher reveals that was the plan all along. Sage was integral in defeating Homelander, because she unlocked the power that Kimiko would use to strip Homelander of his powers.
But after that, when Sage is freed of the shackles of her overactive mind, she heads to Orlando. It’s a cheap shot at the general reputation of Florida, saying that a newly minted idiot would feel right at home there, and such an important character (with such an underwhelming redemption arc) deserved a better ending.
7
Kimiko Goes To France
In the middle of the Return of the King ending montage, we see Kimiko sitting at a French café, nibbling on a French biscuit. It’s a nice, concise visual shortcut to show us that Kimiko is getting in touch with Frenchie’s roots and honoring him from beyond the grave, but Kimiko deserved so much more than this.
In the end, Kimiko was the one who defeated Homelander. Butcher is the one who drove the crowbar through his skull, but anyone could’ve done that. Kimiko is the one who channeled her grief and rage into stripping Homelander of his powers, and it was an incredible sight to behold. She deserved a King Aragorn ending, not an Alfred-on-vacation ending.
6
Starlight Gets Pregnant
A pregnancy is usually a copout ending (TV Tropes calls it “Babies Ever After”). It’s an easy way for TV writers to give their female characters a definitive conclusion, setting up a new chapter in their lives, and it often feels tacked-on and forced, like Penny’s pregnancy in The Big Bang Theory finale or Doug and Carrie’s newborn in the King of Queens finale.
In the final scene of The Boys, we learn that, not only is Annie working at the TV store in between superheroics; she’s pregnant, and she and Hughie are expecting a girl that they’re going to name Robin after Hughie’s dead ex. It’s a clichéd ending, but it works for Starlight, because it’s a chance for her to break the cycle of abuse started by her own mother. Plus, there’s strong spinoff potential in Annie and Hughie’s superpowered baby.
5
Ashley Gets Impeached
Ashley’s ending is reduced to a gag, but it’s a great gag. After Homelander is killed, we see a panicked Ashley desperately trying to control the situation at a press conference, promising that she’s not going anywhere and that she’s done nothing wrong. Then, there’s a hilarious smash cut to an impeached Ashley being dragged away by FBI agents.
Even through her cartoonish depravity and selfishness, Ashley has always been one of The Boys’ most complex characters — especially since we were introduced to her Voldemort alter ego on the back of her head. She arguably deserved a more nuanced ending than this, but the smash cut was comedy gold.
4
The Deep Gets Killed By His Aquatic Brethren
One of the most surprising things about how The Boys unfolded is that The Deep managed to survive to the very last episode, only to be brutally eviscerated by the only creatures on the planet that ever truly loved or respected him. In his final fight with Starlight, The Deep was given one last shot at redemption, and he chose to reaffirm his loyalty to Homelander (who might hate him even more than Starlight does), so he paid the ultimate cosmic price.
The ocean used to be The Deep’s safe haven, but when Starlight pushed him out to sea, he found himself totally defenseless as sharks and octopi — his former brethren — hunted him down and ripped him to shreds. It was a beautifully poetic (and appropriately gory) ending for one of The Boys’ most irredeemable characters.
3
M.M. Adopts Ryan
When his quest to eliminate Homelander is finally complete, Mother’s Milk leaves behind his life of violence, remarries Monique, and adopts Ryan as his own son. Ryan will be much better off being raised by M.M. and Monique, and he deserves a happy ending after everything he’s been through with his two dads.
This plot point could’ve done with being fleshed out into an actual scene. Still, it’s nice to see two of The Boys’ most redeemable characters end up in a good place.
2
Hughie Kills Butcher To Save Supekind
From Hughie to Annie to M.M., a lot of main characters disappeared into background roles in the final season, but Butcher remained intact to the very end. The Butcher who stormed into the Oval Office and killed Homelander in front of the entire nation is the same Butcher who drove a car into Hughie’s TV store to mow down Translucent in the pilot episode.
But even after killing Homelander, and finally getting what he wants, Butcher still can’t rest. He managed to kill Homelander without releasing the supe virus, but what happens when the next Homelander rises up? He quickly decides to release the virus from Vought Tower, so Hughie races down to stop him. This all totally tracks for Butcher’s character — he wanted to commit supe genocide from the start. It was never a last resort for him; it was always the plan.
Just as he’s about to release the virus, he hesitates. But it’s too late; Hughie has already pulled the trigger to stop his old friend from wiping out supekind. It was sad to see Butcher go, but it was ultimately the right ending for him. Even after killing Homelander, Butcher could never achieve any kind of peace or quiet until he reunited with Becca in the great beyond.
1
Homelander Loses His Powers
The Boys’ series finale didn’t get everything right, but it did absolutely nail Homelander’s ending. After five seasons of watching Homelander maim and murder whoever caught him in a bad mood, it was immensely satisfying to finally see the boot on the other foot. A powerless, pathetic Homelander, begging for his life in front of the whole world, was a sight to behold.
Kimiko’s deus ex chest-blast might’ve been a little too convenient, especially for a MacGuffin clunkily introduced in the last couple of episodes, but there was something poetic about Butcher and Homelander both losing their powers. We’ve seen Butcher get suped up to level the playing field with a superpowered Homelander, but this brought Homelander down to Butcher’s level. They were just two dudes, throwing hands, and Butcher quickly annihilated Homelander.
Homelander’s ending finally pulled the mask off and revealed the weak, cowardly man we always knew was hiding under his god-like abilities. Antony Starr absolutely nailed Homelander’s instant fall from grace, from the childish disappointment when he realizes his powers don’t work anymore to the desperate groveling at Butcher’s feet. The Boys’ finale gave Homelander the ending he deserved.
