The reviews are in for The Boys Season 5, and some critics have found some issues with the last season of the superhero series. On the whole, reviews for the Eric Kripke-created show on Amazon Prime have been positive, as noted by its fantastic 97% Tomatometer score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and a “generally favorable” Metacritic score of 80 (as of April 7). It should be noted, though, that critics only had access to seven of the eight episodes and weren’t able to watch the finale, so it’s possible that some sites are withholding their reviews until they know how The Boys ends. Even so, it’s worth noting where reviews say the fifth and final season of the show fell short of expectations. The Boys Season 5 will release on Wednesday, April 8, with a two-episode premiere and air episodes weekly after that. (Warning: Major spoilers for Gen V Season 2.)
The Boys Season 5 reviews say some characters are underutilized
One of the main problems with The Boys Season 5 that critics noted was the lack of screentime or emphasis for a handful of characters, like the teenage superheroes from the series spinoff Gen V, Ryan Butcher (Cameron Crovetti), and Sister Sage (Susan Heyward). Given the wealth of characters in the series and the main conflict of the show being between The Boys and Homelander (Antony Starr), it’s not too surprising that some characters needed to be placed on the sidelines.
In the last scene of Gen V Season 2, which bridges the gap between Seasons 4 and 5 of The Boys, Starlight / Annie January (Erin Moriarty) and A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) are able to recruit the teenage superhero squad into the resistance. The most significant of the bunch is Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair) who has been compared in overall strength to Homelander with her blood-controlling powers that can heal and even revive the dead.
However, Variety writes that the spinoff’s “integration with the main show has been clunky at best” and that “characters like Marie Moreau pop in at random.” IGN agrees with this assessment, saying that “Marie and the others are name-dropped sporadically, but don’t expect much in the way of big scenes featuring the characters.” It notes that the showrunners might have feared that audiences have not watched Gen V at all and that putting too much attention on characters from that show could stall the momentum of the core storyline.
As for Ryan Butcher, his lack of screentime is more shocking given that he was featured prominently in Season 4 as his biological dad Homelander and stepfather Billy Butcher vie for his allegiance. DiscussingFilm writes that “Ryan feels surprisingly underutilized” and his “limited presence stands out as a noticeable omission, especially given his important to the larger story.” Rama’s Screen on YouTube also reveals that he receives less screentime than he did the previous season.
As a recap, Ryan rejects both of his father figures at end of the fourth season while accidentally killing his caretaker, CIA Deputy Director and The Boys founder Grace Mallory (Laila Robins). This immediately causes Billy Butcher to lose his faith in humanity and accept the devil’s bargain given by his sentient tumor that grants him newfound tentacle powers, leading to his ruthless murder of Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit). This also partly causes Homelander to seek a different familial bond by reviving Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) in Season 5. That said, both critics say that Ryan is either “compelling” or “powerful” in the few scenes where he does show up.
Critics say Sister Sage doesn’t get enough screentime
Meanwhile, Sister Sage apparently doesn’t receive as much attention as she should either, particularly given that The World’s Smartest Person manipulated events in Season 4 to get rid of Homelander’s enemies. She even tells him to get ready for “phase two” of his ascendency. The new member of The Seven appeared in Gen V Season 2 too, where she abandons her plans with the villain Thomas Godolkin and intentionally frees superhero Polarity to get him off the board. Whether she intended to or not, this saves the teenage cast of the show.
At any rate, she says that Homelander is essential to her upcoming plans and knows all about V-One, a compound that he wants to gain ageless immortality and become a living god (it would also apparently render the Supe-virus that The Boys are trying to use against him useless).
However, IGN notes that the new season of The Boys “tends to mostly gloss over Sage and obscure her motivations until the character finally steps into the spotlight, at which points it’s a bit of a ‘too little, too late’ scenario.” Variety notes that “a key bit of backstory” for the character had “to be rehashed via dialogue” as a way to streamline the narrative. That said, Sister Sage isn’t the type to show her hand immediately, so we’ll have to see how she factors into the finale. As she told Neuman at Tek Knight’s party of billionaire donors, one of the only ways women like them have gained power is by having “one hand in their pockets while the other slits their [expletive] throats.”
To note other critiques of Season 5, DiscussingFilm thinks that the relationship between Frenchie (Tomer Capone) and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) was a “low point” and “lacking meaningful development,” despite the fact that Kimiko is no longer mute this time around. While Soldier Boy is entertaining, IGN believes that the full potential of the strained relationship he has with Homelander is something the season “never quite pulls that off,” while DiscussingFilm says that “parts of his inclusion can feel slightly contrived.”
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