The final season of The Boys received a lot of criticism. As much as I enjoy the season, some of what was said is accurate. It felt like a bunch of entertaining or gruesome moments rather than a grand finale to one of the biggest shows of the past decade. Soldier Boy was funny, Daveed Diggs was brilliant as Oh Father, and the Boys themselves were as good as ever. Nevertheless, it still didn’t feel like a proper ending.
Luckily, the creative team had the opportunity to make up for things with the series finale, and they did just that. "Blood and Bone" is an episode that TV fans in general will be talking about for a long time to come.
*** This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS from Prime Video's The Boys season 5 episode 8. ***
A story about love
One of the hills I’m willing to die on regarding The Boys comic book is what the story was about. Yes, there was a ton of blood, death, and raunchy language, but it was more than that. This was a series about love, both romantic and within friends and found family. It’s why Frenchie’s last words to The Female were “Je t'aime, from the first,” and the last words in the series were “You found me” as Hughie and Starlight kissed. This message wasn’t missed by the creative team of the TV series.
When it was time for Kimiko to deliver the depowering beam to Homelander, she couldn’t do it. She didn’t have enough rage inside her to release it. But Frenchie comes to her and says, “Rage is not what makes you strong. It has never been, mon coeur.” Then, he touches her chest and says, “It has always been yours.” That was enough for her to gain the strength to release the radiation and depower Homelander.
In the midst of all the hatred and animosity, it was love that drove Kimiko to do what needed to be done.
The moment we've all been waiting for
When Homelander was officially depowered by Kimiko, it was time for Butcher and Homelander to, as Butcher would say, have a barny. This was the moment that fans had been counting down the days, weeks, months, and episodes to see. It was also the first time in Homelander’s life that he wasn’t the most powerful person in the room. Meanwhile, Billy has been in more fights than some people have had home-cooked meals. And, without his powers, Homelander was even more desperate than you’d expect.
This moment was flawlessly acted, written, and shot. Homelander was nothing without his powers and it showcased who he truly was under that bravado all along: Weak and helpless. It wasn't overdone, it didn't go on too long, and it delivered on its promise to give the villain that brutal death viewers knew was coming.
No one should have complaints about this. Sadly, knowing the internet, there will be some who overanalyze the brilliance of Homelander’s final minutes on Earth. But this was exactly what it needed to be.
Ending like and unlike the comics
The closing moments of the episode allowed us to see if showrunner Eric Kripke would use the ending sequence from The Boys comic book, and he did. It further proved that they didn’t need the Black Noir clone angle to stay true to the comics. And, in a lot of ways, this death was a lot better. Butcher is still the monster we knew, but he dies with some redemption by hesitating to release the virus. Hughie said it to Butcher perfectly: “You’re not a monster, Butcher. It just hurts to be human.”
As I’ve mentioned throughout The Boys’ run, a lot was changed from the comics. This stayed true in the finale. Rather than killing Kimiko and M.M. like the comics, they were given a well-deserved happy ending. I’m happy for Hughie and Annie to start their lives as business owners and parents, but the other two needed the happiness more.
Seeing M.M. get married to his ex while his daughter and Ryan watched was amazing. M.M. walked through hellfire and brimstone to keep them safe, and he more than succeeded. Plus, Ryan has the father figure he’s always wanted. Meanwhile, after years of being treated like a weapon, Kimiko is at peace, eating in France with her dog (a callback to her conversation with Frenchie).
Their endings were the happiest I was for anyone on the show because it was what they were due. In many ways, these moments make The Boys' finale even better than the ending of the comic book series.
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