Apr 10, 2026
3 min read
Eric Kripke discusses Homender's appeal to religion, Ashley's powers, the fate of A-Train, and more.
'The Boys' Boss Eric Kripke on What This Soldier Boy Twist Means for Butcher Virus
What to know
- The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke describes the first two episodes of Season 5, including the fate of the A train, the Soldier's encounter with the virus and more.
- Find out what's next for Homelander, Ashley's powers and that religious call to the outdoors.
Season 5 of Kids kicked off with some shocking deaths and revivals, as the series returned to Prime Video with two new episodes, and as viewers watched the episodes, the final moments of "Teenage Kiss" took a big twist that could change everything for Butcher's (Karl Urban) murderous mission.Fair warning: Spoilers ahead for The Boys Season 5, Episodes 1 and 2!
While the Homelander (Antony Starr) is becoming more and more powerful, the Butcher's main mission was to create a virus powerful enough to destroy all amounts on the planet.As the second episode of the new season unfolded, Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles), who was awakened by the Patriot, was sent to track down the Butcher and his band of vigilantes, making him a guinea pig for the virus.
After a fight with the butcher, Soldier Boy follows Hughie (Jake Quaid) and French (Tomer Capone) to the basement of the Teen Kicks Club, where they have released the virus into a sealed area.Since the combination had an immediate effect on the soldier boy, Hughie and French blocked the other doors and made a run for it with the rest of their team.
However, unknown to them, the Child Soldier was not dead, sitting in the body bag that I had packed into.What does this mean for the butcher mission going forward?Showrunner Eric Kripke breaks down the implications of that revelation, the key death of Episode 1's A-Train (Jessie T. Usher), Country's call to religion, and Ashley's (Colby Minifie) alien powers.
The season starts strong with the death of A-Train.How did you get there so early in the last chapter?
Eric Kripke: I hated that call.I had to call him after I knew for sure because I had to tell him, don't rent a house in Toronto this year.It's really hard because you start to think of everyone as family and it's just a difficult conversation, but he was amazing about it and kept showing up and absolutely crushing it.I think at one point in the writer's room we were talking about maybe we would hold off until Episode 3 or so.
He was always the first on the hit list, but not the last.The writers really had a successful campaign with me, they said that you always say that no one is safe, put your money where you are, you have to throw someone big in the first episode, then until the end of the season the audience never knows what to expect and they know that everyone is in danger of being killed and they are right.So that was really important.Then I thought, well, if we're going to do this, over the course of these three episodes, we really need to make the page count and give us room for the story so we can really give it its due and really make it one of the main opening stories.
Then we started adding scenes where he goes to France, and he reunites with his brother, and he hears that his mother is proud of him, because the story we were always going to tell, we told a more condensed version of it.He's on the run from Homelander;He's been running from Homelander since the end of last season, and then he finally stops running and confronts Homelander that Homelander isn't scary at all, he's just pathetic and that's always the story.Will be thereSo at this stage we're able to write enough in those bits that he has a satisfying run to the finals.I think how he dodges that woman so beautifully at the end, and that's why she's so beautiful, as a symbol from the first meeting to the last time we see her, and I think that really shows how far she's come as a character.
Soldier Boy survives the deadly super virus administered by Hughie and Frenchie.What implications does this have for the future?
Yes, it's true that Soldier Boy isn't dead, and the reasons for him not being infected set up the first MacGuffin of the season.It really turns everything on its head.Suddenly there is a way to save the virus, and then it becomes a race to see who gets it.When Homeland gets it, it's game over.If The Boys find it, then the people they love can survive, and then everyone fights for the future.Can he survive this battle?Can he survive the virus?And this story will be the main driver of the season.
The nation hears this voice and takes it as a sign from God.What can you say about the religious direction his ambitions took after reaching the highest level of American government?
It's more about how, as the Sage tells her, "No matter how much power you get, it still won't make you happy."And that's how we find Homelander starting the season, having reached the top level of power.There isn't a stronger person on the planet than what this guy has achieved, and he's still miserable.And then he's always thinking, well, if I get to the next step, I'll finally be happy, he doesn't understand that what he needs to do is look at the void, empty the void that is his soul, but he doesn't;he can't see that.
The future role of the power is kind of godlike and will be very important in the upcoming episodes, but Homelander has already talked about himself as a god these seasons, and we try to be good in our boyish madness.Different goals in different seasons.A Christian nation, and this idea that Christianity should support violent policies and sometimes racist agendas, which goes against everything Christianity stands for.The fact that politicians say Jesus is blessing this organization with a straight face is something we really wanted to capture.
We reveal the results of Ashley's Compound V injection.Does he use this ability to read minds and his inner voice to do good?
Yeah, I mean, the character's official name is Back Ashley, but we call her Bashley for short.What I love about this power, besides the fact that it's just gross and stupid and ridiculous, is that the best powers are metaphors for what that particular character is going through, and what we wanted to do with Ashley this season is she's shown multiple times that she has a conscience and will she ever listen to it or will she continue to do that?So she's kind of at war with herself, and then it was just like, let's give that conscience a voice, let's have Bashley be a very nice moral character who tries to convince Ashley to do the right thing, who represents what Ashley used to be.
And so Ashley finds herself in this strange friend movie where she's fighting with this other person about what's the best way, and they can come together.It's almost like a weird sister story, and it continues throughout the season.Will he ever listen to Bashley, who actually listens to himself, or will he continue to be a jerk?
The Boys, Season 5, Laboraro, Prime Video
