Antony Starr Faces Season 5 Backlash Over How Many Episodes In The Boys Season 5
Antony Starr is fronting a Season 5 run that has some viewers asking how many episodes in the boys season 5 will be spent on Vought Rising setup rather than the endgame of The Boys. The final season is streaming on Prime Video, with new episodes released every Wednesday.
One fan put the complaint plainly: “This is the final season of the show and a lot of time is being spent building up characters that will be shown in Vought Rising.” That frustration has become louder as the show heads toward its conclusion and the prequel remains positioned after the main series wraps.
Homelander and Soldier Boy
Season 5 has made Homelander central again, with Antony Starr’s character in complete control over Vought and the US President. That gives the final run a clear endpoint, but it also leaves little room for detours when viewers are expecting the story to focus on bringing him down.
Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy has been the pressure valve in the audience response. One viewer said, “I'm not complaining. Anything with Soldier Boy is gold to me.” Another added, “Truly think Soldier Boy is by far the best thing in this show right now so I'm all good with it,” which shows the split: some fans welcome the extra backstory, while others see it as the wrong use of the last season.
Vought Rising Setup
Vought Rising is set to arrive after The Boys concludes, and it is expected to dig into the origins of Vought while expanding characters such as Stormfront and Bombsight. A separate viewer said, “If I didn't know about Vought Rising I would have had absolutely 0 clue they were setting something up.” That line gets to the problem with the current backlash: the setup is being read as too obvious for a finale that should be closing loops.
Another fan complained, “Season 5 has been a disappointment only scenes enjoyable had been Homelander and Soldier Boy everything else feels like filler episodes and there's four left smh,” while a third said, “Agree, this is the final season. I hope this episode was a one off because if the rest of this season is filler like Season 4 up until the finale I'm not going to [be] satisfied.” With four left, the audience is not just counting episodes; it is counting how much runway remains for the series to finish its own story before handing the spotlight to the prequel.
Four Left, Then Vought Rising
The smart play for the series is straightforward: keep Season 5 focused on Homelander, Soldier Boy, and the virus-driven effort to end this version of the story, and save the prequel material for Vought Rising. Fans have made clear they will tolerate some setup, but not a finale that feels like an extended trailer for the next show.
