Jensen Ackles Reunites With Padalecki and Collins in The Boys Season 5 Episode 6
Jensen Ackles says the boys season 5 episode 6 required a “minor mental adjustment” as he reunited with Jared Padalecki and Misha Collins in a new setting. The episode, “One-Shots,” folds the old Supernatural trio into a larger The Boys plot built around Soldier Boy, Homelander and a search for V1.
One-Shots’ Supernatural reunion
Ackles said getting on set with Padalecki and Collins “in any capacity is always gonna be familiar,” but the switch to “different costumes, with different crew and different cast” changed the rhythm of the work. He added: “But look, we’re pros and that’s what we do, and we got there, I think.”
The reunion lands with extra weight because Ackles, Padalecki and Collins spent 15 years together across Supernatural’s 2005-’20 run. In that context, Ackles’ line about having to adjust to a new environment is less nostalgia than process: the performers were not just revisiting old chemistry, they were carrying it into a different series with a different tone.
Marathon Man’s mega-mansion
In “One-Shots,” Soldier Boy and Homelander visit The Seven alum Marathon Man to get some V1, the material that would make Homelander immortal while Billy Butcher pushes ahead with a plan to wipe out all Supes with a deadly virus. Marathon Man hosts the exchange inside his mega-mansion during a poker game with Malchemical, whose power is emitting a toxic gas.
That setup gives the episode a clearer function than a simple cameo parade. Eric Kripke is using familiar Supernatural faces inside a story that still has hard plot mechanics attached to it, and the guest list keeps the sequence from feeling like a detour. The cast also includes Seth Rogen, Kumail Nanjiani, Will Forte and Christopher Mintz-Plasse as heightened versions of themselves.
Soldier Boy and Vought Rising
Ackles said, “What it all boiled down to was like, I’m playing this guy, and I felt comfortable in that suit enough to be able to work with somebody who I had worked with for 15 years, playing a different character.” He also said, “I just kind of kept reminding myself to stay true to this particular character, and the suit helps me do that.”
That is the useful read on the episode: the reunion matters, but the series still wants Soldier Boy to register as Soldier Boy first. Ackles is already continuing in the role in Vought Rising, due in 2027, while The Boys debuts its series finale on May 20.
