How ‘The Boys’ Season 5 Went So Wrong

InnovationGamingHow ‘The Boys’ Season 5 Went So WrongByPaul Tassi,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. News and opinion about video games, television, movies and the internet.Follow AuthorMay 14, 2026, 10:15am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.The BoysAmazonWhile The Boys has already been a bit wobbly for the past couple seasons, here in season 5, it does not feel like the series is about to stick the landing with just a single hour left to resolve all its conflicts. Namely, everyone versus Homelander. It’s the end of an uneven season that seems unlikely to satisfy fans, based on what’s unfolded in the previous seven episodes now.What’s gone wrong? Despite a few standout moments (honestly, the best one of the season was the conversation between The Legend and Homelander), there have been so, so many storyline misses in The Boys season 5. Among them:The Virus Storyline – Practically this entire season, not to mention most of the entire series of Gen V, was devoted to the idea that there could be a supe-killing virus strong enough to kill Homelander, though risking genocide across all supes. That seems to have all been for nothing now that Homelander got his hands on V1 in episode 6, inoculating him, and now The Boys have had to pivot at the last minute to an alternate plan, and it seems like the virus won’t factor into the finale at all after all that.Soldier BoyAmazonThe V1 and Vought Rising – Again, most of this season was a race between the virus being finished and Homelander getting the V1, but this storyline focused heavily on characters that will be appearing in the upcoming Vought Rising prequel spinoff, including de-icing Soldier Boy for most of the season, have him outshine everyone else, then put him back in the fridge, literally, this past episode. It’s been a combination of “well that was an annoying ad” and “what was...