Warning: This review contains full spoilers for The Boys Season 5, Episode 6!

While The Boys Season 5 took its time reaching this pivotal moment, we have finally arrived at the heart of the final conflict between the team and Antony Starr’s terrifying Homelander. The desperate search for the elusive V1 formula reaches a fever pitch in "Though the Heavently Fall," delivering a resolution that promises a dark and enticing status quo for the series finale.

Themes of Mortality and the Legend's Return

"Though the Heavens Fall" is heavily preoccupied with themes of death and aging, which feels appropriate given that the central conflict revolves around a deadly supe plague and Homelander’s obsession with immortality. The episode features the entertaining return of Paul Reiser as The Legend, the disgraced former Vought media mogul now living a less glamorous life in showbiz.

Reiser provides more than just entertainment; his interactions with M.M. (Laz Alonso) provide deep character insight. While M.M. attempts to project an image of peace, The Legend exposes his profound discomfort as the architect of a potential supe genocide. These tense scenes contrast sharply with Hughie’s (Jack Quaid) hopeful rhetoric, highlighting the different ways the characters are processing the current apocalypse.

The episode also explores several key character dynamics:

  • Homelander's Humanity: In a final scene with The Legend, Homelander shows a rare moment of vulnerability while confronting his own mortality.
  • The Aged Supes: We meet Golden Geisha (Naime Mori) and a rest home full of aging supes, leading to an entertaining—if slightly absurd—fight scene.
  • The Burden of Immortality: The introduction of Bombsight (Mason Dye) shifts the tone toward the somber, exploring the pain of being the only immortal half of a long-term couple.

Chaos in Vought and the Soldier Boy Dilemma

The supporting cast continues to drive the narrative forward with high energy. The subplot involving Ashley (Colbie Minifie) and Sister Sage (Susan Heyward) remains a highlight, particularly with Minifie’s commitment to her physical comedy routine as "Back Ashley." It is also rewarding to see the series finally focus on Sage after she spent much of the first half of the season in the background. As Sage severs ties with Vought and The Seven to make her move, things uncharacteristically spiral out of her control.

Meanwhile, the rivalry between The Deep (Chace Crawford) and Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell) takes a dark, environmental turn. Black Noir’s revenge for the murder of Adam Bourke (P.J. Byrne) results in an ecological disaster that is as tragic as it is darkly comedic.

However, the episode's most controversial beat involves Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles). The hunt for V1 culminates in a violent reunion between Soldier Boy and Bombsight, pushing the character out of his usual acerbic groove.

The true centerpiece, however, is the moment Soldier Boy chooses to hand the V1 over to Homelander. While this decision serves as the season's pivot point, it feels slightly unearned. The narrative relies heavily on a father-son connection and a shared attachment to Stormfront (Aya Cash) that hasn't been fully established within this season's runtime. While it is poetically fitting that Sister Sage is undone by her inability to calculate for love, the transition from the revelation of the Homelander/Stormfront video to Soldier Boy’s betrayal feels rushed.

Regardless of the narrative hiccups, seeing Homelander achieve true immortality sets a massive, terrifying stage for the conclusion of the series.