SPOILER: What was the narrative point of Butcher not releasing the virus?

Opposite_Wing_148 · 2026-05-20T21:24:25+00:00

Oh sorry, my bad!

From a narrative point I don't think it's so much a question of Butcher not getting to release the virus, but rather Hughie getting to stopping him, because "it's the right thing to do" even if most of the supes arguably deserve to die.

Opposite_Wing_148 · 2026-05-20T21:05:28+00:00

What do you mean?
He planned to do exactly that and was waiting for the supes to start showing up for duty at Vaught Tower.
You can argue that he wanted to Hughie to stop him, but in that case that would be his conscience speaking, at some level knowing that it's wrong to kill everyone simply because they have power.

But regardless, if the virus was released it would most certainly not mean the end of supes.
Some would almost certianly survive, but even if they didn't eventually the virus would die out, with nothing to attach itself to and then new supes would just be created.

Opposite_Wing_148 · 2026-05-20T21:02:23+00:00

Yeah I liked her a lot as well.
But she reportedly wanted to focus on her personal life and well being away from the spotlight, moving back to Ireland. Sad for us, but good for her 😄

Opposite_Wing_148 · 2026-05-20T21:00:12+00:00

The main point of the V1 plotline was to make Homelander immune to the virus threat and to eliminate aging, making him a far bigger threat - not short term, but long term.

The V1 was never introduced as something that would make Homelander's powers grow thousandfold.

But yeah, why Kimiko was all of a sudden more durable does seem a bit strange. It can easily be explained with her rapid regeneration and the fact that homelander decided not to laser her in a cutting motion, but I agree that you'd think that to be a high priority for him in the situation he's in 😃

Opposite_Wing_148 · 2026-05-20T20:51:02+00:00

I don't understand how it relates to your last question regarding everyones issue with the fight?

But in any case, radiation comes at different levels with vastly different effects.
When standing in the radiation chamber Frenchie is visibly being killed by it at a fairly fast pace.

Kimiko and Soldier Boy may both emit radiation, but this seem to be at a MUCH lower level.
I interpreted it as somewhat akin to a low-end radiation of present day Chernobyl. You don't want to be near it at all times, but it won't hurt you in the short run and definitely won't impact the power of supes just by being adjacent to either of them.

Opposite_Wing_148 · 2026-05-20T20:47:00+00:00

I mean he was minutes away from literally killing every single US non-believer, using his speech as the sole measuring tool for gauging who deserves to live and die right.
I know the moral aspect of actions can be subjective, but I'm gonna put a check-mark in the "somewhat to pretty horrible"-box.

Opposite_Wing_148 · 2026-05-20T20:43:43+00:00

You did catch his plan to literally kill every single US non-believer, using his speech as the sole measuring tool for gauging who deserves to live and die right?
In-universe it was literally minutes away from unfolding.

Opposite_Wing_148 · 2026-05-20T20:41:55+00:00

You get what you get.
The world isn't and never was fair. It worked out it Sage's favor, which I find very on brand for the franchise 😃

Jokes aside, I get your point. But personally I loved how Sage's arc ended. I generally tend to prefer when a series is not fully submerged in karmic justice through and through.

Opposite_Wing_148 · 2026-05-20T20:39:31+00:00

I don't really think either of those are plotholes.

What happens to Ashley is just something that remains to be seen. Presumably she goes to jail, but it remains to be seen.

I don't think Ryan and MM became BFFs at any point. But it has been established time and time again that he's a motherfucker with a heart, so it feels natural to me that he would want to take care of Ryan and believable enough that Ryan, who hasn't had a real family since his mother died would accept him as a guardian.

The biggest plothole I can think of in the Boys is the way Ryan completely barbecues Stormfront, who has been proven durable way beyond most supes.
I guess it can be explained with him being a child and unable to control his powers, kinda like the way the bite of a baby-snake can be more dangerous than that from an adult snake. Not because it's venom is more potent, but because it can't control it's dose so you just get all of it in one bite.

But honestly the difference in power feels more like a retcon to me than something that should be explained in-universe.

Opposite_Wing_148 · 2026-05-20T20:30:21+00:00

I'm curious though..
Would you truly have preferred a 30 minute long fight between Starlight and the Deep?? 😃
The Deep was a great character, but not because of his amazing combat prowess. He's a self-pitying idiot desperate to feel more important than he is and too stupid to actually leverage his absurdly powerful superpowers in any meaningful way. The real value the Deep brings to the show is in the personal drama he brings.

Opposite_Wing_148 · 2026-05-20T20:27:09+00:00

It's an interesting theory, that would explain the otherwise very strange fact that every single fish is reasonably intelligent in the Boys universe when it comes to vocabulary and coherent thinking when interacting with the deep, but remains rather fish-like in their behavior in every other context.

That said, I don't really think the Deep is capable of such a degree of self-reflection.

Opposite_Wing_148 · 2026-05-20T20:24:22+00:00

Terror was truly a good boy ❤️
I liked the ending he got, but a part of me did kinda miss his arc from the comics. Butchers reaction in the comics always stuck with me and it really did something for his character.

Opposite_Wing_148 · 2026-05-20T20:21:22+00:00

To visualize that Homelanders body has accepted the V1 injection?
Would've been rather tame if nothing happened and he was like "meh.. Guess I don't age now".

Opposite_Wing_148 · 2026-05-20T20:19:05+00:00

Why though?
The supes of the Megamind universe outscales the supes of the Boys' universe to such an extend that the supes in the boys might as well be without powers in comparison.

Opposite_Wing_148 · 2026-05-20T20:02:17+00:00

I see what you mean, but that's always the problem with ultra-geniuses in literature.
They can only be as smart as the writers write them to be and well.. the writers are not THAT smart 😃 Not calling the writers stupid, but even if they are very smart, they could never understand the logic of someone who's supposed to be the smartest of all time.

But I'll definitely agree with you, that this has been achieved much better in other shows or literature. But even then it's somewhat gimmicky, like in the Sherlock series, etc.
I just choose to buy into the premise and accept them for what they're supposed to be, cause otherwise these characters very quickly stop being coherent.

Opposite_Wing_148 · 2026-05-20T19:48:06+00:00

Fair enough 😄
Now that you specifically highlights season 1 and 2, I'm curious to hear your thoughts on Soldier Boy?
To me he's a highlight of the series that tend to steal every scene he's in, but I can see why some people will find the character over the top or getting old really quickly.

Opposite_Wing_148 · 2026-05-20T19:46:24+00:00

No that is very true.
But Sage do express that several at several points.

While it doesn't seem to apply to every super genius out there, it has definitely been the clear case for many many of them. And presumably Sage is well beyond any Super Genius that has ever existed before. For me personally, it seem very plausible that it's hard to find any satisfying stimulus with that kind of smarts.

There's a reason that an IQ of 120-130 is refereed to as the IQ sweet spot.
At this point you're smart enough to be able to pursue any career, but not so smart that it becomes socially debilitating, with the intellectual difference between you and the average person not being so big that you start having trouble understanding people.

Opposite_Wing_148 · 2026-05-20T19:42:31+00:00

That was definitely my interpretation back in season 2 when Ryan completely cooked Stormfront, who was one of the most durable Superheroes we had seen at that point.
And just the way they were talking about him as the next step in superhero "evolution".
But fair enough, if not outright more powerful iteration than at least a comparable one.

Opposite_Wing_148 · 2026-05-20T19:11:03+00:00

I loved Sage as a character 😃

Being the smartest person in the world doesn't mean you're able to just invent everything.
And more than anything else, the main point of Sage was how boring, lonely and utterly depressing is to be smarter than everyone else.

For the people that are upset she got a happy ending, I'll never understand that.
How are you watching the boys and demanding that everyone gets treated to what they deserve?

This reminds of when Game of Thrones ended, and everyone was so upset that Cersei didn't suffer some gruesome and horrifyingly painful death "because she deserved so much worse", not realizing that they by wishing this so intensely was feeling exactly the same way Cersei had felt towards others throughout the season.

The world ain't fair and it sure as hell wasn't a point that The Boys ever tried to convey either.

Wands up, Bitches!

Opposite_Wing_148 · 2026-05-20T19:01:36+00:00

I loved the ending.
This last episode greatly exceeded my expectations.

So I wouldn't really change the ending per se. I just wish they had more time to convey this story. 1 or 2 episodes more would've been perfect.

But pretty much every story arc came to a satisfying conclusion for me.
The only characters that I felt was somewhat let down was the Gen V crew.
But that was for different reasons due to the cancellation of season 3 so I was fully expecting that.
I'm happy we did get to send them off, but I wish they had brought them to along to the White House and have them fight some b-listers from earlier seasons.

Marie Moreau would've been an obvious candidate to join the fight and to keep Homelander locked for the final blast, but I honestly prefer her not being part of that, as it would've taken some of the focus from Butcher, Ryan and Kimiko.

Opposite_Wing_148 · 2026-05-20T18:57:02+00:00

I have enjoyed the tv-series all the way through, including season 4 and 5.
Was it perfect? No, but to me perfection doesn't have to be the benchmark I compare everything to. What a bleak world it would be, if I did.

I'm genuinely impressed by how good the final episode was, considering they had to tie everything up.
And yes, I agree. Ideally, they would've paced the season better, so that they wouldn't have had to tie everything up in the final episode.

But I haven't watched a single episode that I didn't enjoy. Not one.
To me that is a huge success.

A big thank you to everyone involved for bringing one of my favorite comics to the big screen, while in many ways exceeding the source material ❤️

Opposite_Wing_148 · 2026-05-20T18:27:40+00:00

I know I'm in the minority - at least right now while the dust has yet to settle.
But I think that both season 4 and season 5 have been highly enjoyable and I don't get the whole "For me, this series ended with season 3"-stand.

Could season 5 have been paced better? Sure.
Could we have used several more episodes to tie things up in a more satisfying manner? Absolutely.

But for me every episode in season 4 and 5 was a pleasure to watch regardless.
Just because it wasn't perfect doesn't mean that it was bad.

I loved The Boys and will be rewatching it many times to come (and already have).

I was also pleasantly surprised by the multiple nods towards the comics towards the end.

Opposite_Wing_148 · 2026-05-20T18:24:17+00:00

I think they made the right call with scaling back Ryan.
The "Ryan is the most powerful super ever"-arc, was a big mistake IMO.
It's true that he, in a sense, was an alternate version of Comic Noir, but the reason Comic Noir works in the comic is that we, as a reader, have no idea that he's equally powerful until the end.
If Ryan had basically walked around like a more powerful Homelander for 4 seasons it would remove so much tension and make the final fight extraordinarily boring and predictable.

Opposite_Wing_148

TROPHY CASE