How The Boys Will End According To Leaks And Comics

The final season of “The Boys” has been pretty disappointing so far, and if you were paying attention to the previous seasons, the issue of stretching the inevitable final conflict to unnecessary proportions has been a common problem throughout the series. Well, no matter how strong the indications of inevitable failures are, viewers are waiting for the much-anticipated finale to release, hoping for some sort of redemption to end the story on a memorable note. In that context, some leaked excerpts of the final episode are making the rounds of the internet, so let’s get into the details and speculate whether these leaks have any actual merit to them or not. Also, at the same time, there are hints that the final episode is going to draw heavily from its source material, which gives me an opportunity to connect the dots to verify the credibility of the leaks as well. Needless to say, there will be major spoilers regarding the comics’ ending, and possible spoilers about the series’ ending as well, so consider yourself warned beforehand.

The Finale Will Be Set in the White House 

According to the most popular leak, which apparently came from an insider who has worked in the show’s VFX team, a majority of the final episode takes place in the White House, where Homelander goes on his final and most brutal manic rampage, and commits some of the most atrocious, bloody disgusting acts imaginable. The leak mentions Homelander literally obliterating media personnel on live television  and later taking on the Boys and the “Gen V” heroes, all inside the presidential residence. In the seventh episode, Homelander killed President Calhoun right in his office in front of Ashley, making it pretty apparent that the White House is his playground to do with as he pleases. Also, a poster, inspired by the comics’ ending, has also been released before the finale, which shows Butcher heading towards the White House, where Homelander is waiting for him. So whatever finally happens, the leak got the setting right, that much is for certain. 

Terror’s Final Fate

The leak suggests a grim future for Butcher’s pet bulldog, Terror, for which viewers are not prepared yet. It mentions Terror will die at Homelander’s hands, and this harrowing incident will finally push Butcher over the edge and send him into a murderous rage to take revenge on his ultimate nemesis. After all, isolated from his friends, losing touch with the only family he had, Terror was the only emotional anchor Butcher had in the final season, and if Homelander takes even that away from him, he will not be able to escape Butcher’s wrath by fleeing even to heaven or hell. In the comics, Black Noir – who was Homelander’s psychotic clone all along – killed Terror, and framed fellow Seven member, Jack from Jupiter, for the crime. That tragic incident prompted Butcher to murder Jack from Jupiter, and led the Boys to engage the Seven in a final conflict. While even for a series like “The Boys,” having  a dog killed might seem like a step too far, it aligns with comics’ interpretation of the events, and the leak might prove true in the end. 

Homelander Vs Everyone

The leak highlights a V1 powered Homelander will take on America’s military might, and bring his own army of deranged, loyalist supes who will face the Boys and other Starlighters in the finale’s climactic moment. As it turns out, Homelander will take on the combined strength of the Boys, the “Gen V” characters, and Ryan, and at one point, he will overwhelm them. Marie’s blood manipulation powers will come in handy, as she and Butcher will be able to restrain Homelander, giving Hughie a chance to pump the virus into his system. This will apparently weaken Homelander long enough for Kimiko to use her newfound energy blast, much like Soldier Boy, whose powers she replicated in the previous episode through Frenchie’s sacrifice. Things went down quite differently in the comics, where Homelander had to fight against only one adversary, his deranged clone, Black Noir, and ended up getting torn apart – limb from limb. Making Marie useful in the series finale is a sensible decision, as the Project Odessa subplot will come full circle. Also, Kimiko’s energy blast should constitute a major plot point, as the leak suggested, or else it makes Frenchie’s sacrifice go in vain. So far, the leak appears reliable. 

Soldier Boy Doesn’t Appear in Finale

The leak mentions Soldier Boy isn’t a part of the final episode of the series, and even though a post credit scene teases his future, he doesn’t actively participate in the final maddening conflict by any means. This seems to be true, as showrunner Eric Kripke has hinted at this a couple of days ago, and in the penultimate episode, Homelander put his father in cryosleep, which confirms the speculation. Soldier Boy will lead the prequel series, “Vought Rising,” and the decision to keep him alive also conveys that he will be a part of yet another spin-off series, “The Boys: Mexico.” This is a ludicrous move, given how heavily the character is involved in the overarching plot. Just for the sake of keeping him around as a hook to attract viewers for the sequel spin-off series, the makers decided to drag his story out further. Eric Kripke should be the last person to criticize MCU’s profit oriented expansive world building. 

Butcher Gets His Bloody Revenge

The leak reveals that, following Kimiko’s energy blast release, Homelander and a significant number of supes present in the vicinity lose their powers, and the most satisfying, long awaited moment takes place when a powerless Homelander grovels and cries, realizing he is in deep trouble. Butcher, who has lost his tentacle powers as well, is fuelled by hellish hatred and a rage that’s piled up through ages, and beats Homelander to death using his iconic crowbar. This ending mimics the comics’ version, although in that case, Butcher had killed the true culprit, Black Noir, using his crowbar, after learning he was responsible for all the crimes Homelander was framed for. In the promotional stills released before the finale, Butcher is seen brandishing his crowbar, and it is highlighted even in the comics’ inspired poster. Butcher will surely put his melee weapon to good use to bring an end to the monster once and for all, and so far, the leak seems to be ticking off all the plausible factors. 

Finale Fate of Butcher and the Boys

This is where things start getting dicey with the leak, as it indicates a somewhat happy ending for the Boys, which completely deviates from the source material. After all things are said and done, Butcher escapes to live a life in solitude in Mexico, Annie and Hughie become closer than ever, Kimiko and Ryan connect over their mutual grief, MM reconciles with his family, and the “Gen V” characters return to their old lives. Those who have read the comics know full well that Butcher is the secret antagonist, whose vendetta against supes prompted him to kill his comrades, all except Hughie, whom he tricks to cause Butcher’s death. The comics go to great lengths to show how, in his vengeance-filled fight against tyrannical forces, Butcher too was completely consumed by darkness, and allowed himself to become the monster he was fighting all along. Hughie was Butcher’s moral compass, and he accepted death at his hands in sheer regret for his devious actions. In the live action series, Butcher has gone down a similar path, resorting to some diabolical means to get what he wanted. In the last episode, Joe Kessler’s return and his conversation with Hughie also highlighted the darkness festering within Butcher, teasing he will turn on his team. So it feels extremely anticlimactic if, following Homelander’s demise, Butcher doesn’t follow through on his original goal of causing a supe genocide, and face off against his team in the process. Butcher is not set for a happy ending, and I definitely don’t see how MM and Kimiko can just get on with their old lives after everything they’ve been through. Then again, “The Boys” universe is now more focused on expansion than on bringing much needed closure to their main storyline, so I will not be surprised if Butcher settling in Mexico is supposed to be a tease for the upcoming “The Boys: Mexico” spin off series.    

Stan Edgar’s Fate Mimics Vought Guy Stillwell’s 

One of the most intriguing characters of the series, Stan Edgar, who is based on Vought Guy Stillwell from the comics, will apparently escape unscathed in the final moments of the series, and will try to rebuild Vought in a new image after Homelander burns down the megacorporation. This part of the leak is completely in sync with the source material, where a similar situation took place, as Stillwell was able to rebrand Vought and find a patsy by pinning the blame on Homelander’s actions. To be honest, the live action series lost the plot and turned clueless about how to use a crafty, cunning figure like Stan Edgar, similar to how “Game of Thrones” failed to utilize Littlefinger in the end. While all the leaked plot points feel credible, given how they connect with the comics and plot built up through the last seven episodes, there is still a chance that the finale will be underwhelming compared to what this promises. Fans will have to wait just a day to verify whether their expectations were appropriately high or if, like most of the recent small screen fare, “The Boys” will conclude leaving a bitter aftertaste. 

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