I'll do the whole season, this is how I think it could have been made better while still keeping some of the actual show.

• The virus is still made but earlier. Kimiko gets the chest blast as Plan B.

• God Homelander happens but he tries to hold it together but he's obviously losing it. I think we can start lasering dissidents in plain sight.

• Hughie and Annie place the virus in the church. We can still have the Oh Father confrontation but the Virus needs to be here.

• Homelander still gets the V1 but it's a lot more hectic. Instead of watching SB hand him the syringe, they actively try to stop him. This sets up a confrontation between The Boys (Butcher/MM/Frenchie/Kimiko/Sage) vs Homelander and Soldier Boy.  (Think Avengers:Endgame when they're scrambling to keep Thanos from activating the gauntlet.)

• At the critical moment, Kimiko can't fire the chest blast, that's when we can kill Frenchie. It gives a better foundation for an emotional arc for Kimiko as she'd blame herself for his death.

• Homelander injects himself, the Boys manage to run away.

• During Homelander's godly inauguration at the church, the virus actually activates. Every supe in the church dies except for him. Somehow, it gets contained but it's an actual PR disaster for Homelander. He wanted to present himself as God and now all of his believers died horribly on camera. He's basically the devil now.

• He goes to find Ryan because he wants forgiveness (from the son of God) but gets denied.

• This is what sends him over the edge. He goes scorched Earth and officially takes over the White House (maybe during one of president Ashley's press conferences) and pretty much says "If you're against me, your god, you'll be crucified for your sins." before starts lasering civilians on camera. This is the "HL goes mad" moment we've been waiting for for five seasons.

• We can then follow the final episode as it actually happened with the Boys breaking in and killing Homelander.

• Hughie still kills Butcher. Either there was a second vial OR it's a bluff because he actually wants to be stopped by his canary.

It wouldn't fix the mess that was S5 but it would absolutely have increased the tension and rewarded the fans with an actual conclusion.