Summary
The Boyscomposer Christopher Lennertz gives a detailed explanation of how the show’s final episodes are set up by season 4. The hit adaptation, based on Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s comic of the same name, recently returned to Prime Video after a two-year gap. The long-awaited return was accompanied by the news thatThe Boysseason 5would be the show’s last.
In an interview withScreen Rant’s Owen Dandoff, Lennertz gave a candid and reflective answer about how season 4 feels different compared to previous installments of the adaptation. The composer suggeststhe show’s darker turn may well continue, mentioning how even good guys like Hughie have become noticeably compromised and flawed. In the quote below, alluding toThe Boysseason 3 ending, Lennertz also talks about the five-season plan of showrunner and executive producer Eric Kripke:
Yeah, it definitely felt different, and I kind of knew it would. They just announced it, but I knew Eric [Kripke’s] hope from the beginning was that it’d be a five-season show and, just thinking about how story works, setting up for a climax is usually different. It usually is much more murky, much more gray, much less black and white. And, while the story wasn’t over, we had really solid climaxes to everything. We had Stormfront at the end of season 2 and Soldier Boy at the end of season 3. Our characters asserted themselves in very straight, very easily definable ways.
Now, all the characters have done horrible things. Even the ones we love the most—even the ones we’re cheering for. Huey, everybody. So, it’s a little murkier. I think, on our end, that’s what makes it interesting and what makes it great, but judging as a setup for a climax that hopefully will knock everybody’s socks off, you have to wind up for the swing.
It’s not same story-wise, but my favorite Star Wars movie is The Empire Strikes Back. One of the reasons I love that so much is specifically because [it’s like], “Wait a second, Luke didn’t necessarily follow Yoda’s orders,” and, “Wait, and Han might not live.” At the end, there’s no award ceremony like there was at the end of A New Hope, and it’s not the end of [Return of the] Jedi where you’re partying with the Ewoks. It’s the setup, and setups feel differently.
And I think sometimes that feels like, “Well, where’s it going?”, but that’s exactly the point. And the one thing is I know Kripke enough, and I know Seth and Evan enough, that all of it is very much on purpose. All of it is exactly what’s going on in Eric’s head, and I have no doubt that I will be shocked with my jaw on the ground when I start to see the first footage of season 5. I’m counting on it and I can’t wait to write music for it. It’s going to blow people’s minds.
The Boys Might Not Be Setting Up A Triumphant Ending
Homelander’s Defeat May Be A Hollow Victory
Lennertz doesn’t share any specific details about howThe Boysintends to wrap up. But reading between the lines, the composer indicates thatthe ending may not be satisfactory for the show’s protagonists. This has been plain to see throughout the run of the Prime Video series. Just as the writing is fairly direct about its political satire and criticisms of capitalism, it’s also fairly direct about how Homelander is merely a symptom of a larger problem.
The Boys Season 3 Ending Explained (In Detail)
The Boys season 3 ends with a huge battle involving Butcher, Homelander, Soldier Boy, and more. Here’s our full breakdown of this diabolical finale.
The real villain of the show is Vought, although they may be less overtly dangerous than Antony Starr’s unstable supe. It is Vought that has its hands in every area of the show’s fictional universe, to an almost comedic degree, just as it is Vought that props up the likes of Homelander. It may be a bitter ending for both Homelander, and the characters fighting him to realize that they are only individuals that are hardly bigger than an amoral and insidious corporation.
There is still time, nearly two full seasons, for Butcher, Hughie, and others to redirect their focus and pursue a larger fight. However, based on these reflective remarks from the composer of the Emmy-nominated series, thecharacters ofThe Boyswill almost certainly continue down an increasingly dark path on the way to its exit.
The Boys
Cast
The Boys is a gritty and subversive take on the superhero genre, focusing on a group of vigilantes who confront powerful superheroes abusing their abilities, exploring themes of corruption and moral ambiguity in a world where heroes are not always what they seem.
