Warning: The following contains spoilers for The Boys Season 5, Episode 7
The world is changing rapidly in The Boys, and it’s only going to get worse from here on out. If audiences have learned anything from this series, it’s that the road to fascism is paved with the blood of the oppressed. Homelander’s Jesus kick is the epitome of religious persecution in Season 5, Episode 7, “The Frenchman, the Female, and the Man Called Mother’s Milk.” Hiring the most dangerous psychics to read people’s minds without their consent? Check. Ordering those people to believe in Homelander as God or face certain death? Check. Enforcing laws that make it illegal to worship anyone but Homelander? Check. It’s a terrifying but clever meditation on America forcing those from other religious backgrounds to convert to Christianity, and how it goes hand-in-hand with white supremacy.
Homelander’s tenuous grasp on sanity is completely gone at this point. After consuming V-One at the end of Episode 6, Homelander is now immortal (or so we’re led to believe). While immortality seemingly softens Homelander’s edges at first, it’s abundantly clear during his scene with Soldier Boy that The Legend was right: he’ll never be happy. Living forever won’t solve all his problems. Homelander’s willingness to do whatever is possible to make his father stay is proof that his unprocessed trauma is his Achilles’ heel. Not that trauma is a weakness, but in Homelander’s case, it’s a reminder that he’s not God – he’s human. Soldier Boy never minces words with his son, either, and that cuts Homelander to the core. Something tells me Soldier Boy won’t be too happy that Homelander knocked him unconscious and put him back in the cryo chamber.
In addition to disbanding Congress, killing the President of the United States, sending the military to sanctuary cities to round up Starlighters, and outlawing nut milk (the most egregious of all the atrocities), Homelander dissolves The Seven. Nobody is more upset about The Seven dying out than The Deep. After all, he betrayed everything and everyone in his life to follow Homelander’s orders to the letter.
Upon leaving Seven Tower, The Deep learns that his fish pals blame him for exploding the oil pipeline. Xander – voiced by none other than Samuel L. Jackson – threatens to kill The Deep if he even sticks a toe in a body of water. Then, the tatters of his reputation are practically set ablaze when he fails to save a drowning man in front of a crowd. It’s here that The Deep lets the mask slip. He’s a spineless creep with no moral center, and he simply slithers away as the mob turns on him. Admittedly, this would be the perfect series button for The Deep. I won’t be mad if this is the last time we see him. It’s an ending befitting of the coward he is.
Elsewhere, Annie’s growing cynicism rubs off on Hughie, and only a pep talk from Mother’s Milk helps change her perspective. It’s a great little arc for MM, whose behavior has been notably different all season, and The Legend pointing out these behavioral changes in Episode 6 was the kick in the pants MM needed. After his time in the internment camp, which understandably hardened him, MM transformed into Butcher because it was easier to suppress his pain than wade through it. In the penultimate episode, The Boys drives home that having hope, that, as MM puts it, “giving a sh*t,” is much better than slipping into a sea of apathy. “Giving a sh*t” is the catalyst for positive, radical change.
“The Frenchman, the Female, and the Man Called Mother’s Milk” finally blesses fans with a Gen Vcrossover, though it’s a bit disappointing that it took seven episodes to get to this point. How do you have someone as powerful as Marie Moreau, who the creatives hyped up narratively for two seasons on Gen V, and decide not to use her to her full potential? That said, Episode 7 ends with Annie asking Marie for help (after Marie reminds her that “hopeful” and “naive” aren’t the same thing), so perhaps the plan is to have her square off against Homelander in the series finale. The only issue with that is that The Boys fans who haven’t tuned in to Gen V have no clue who Marie is. This is why Season 5 would’ve benefited from more appearances from the Gen V crew. The groundwork is shaky at best.
On the performance front, the penultimate outing puts standouts Susan Heyward and Karen Fukuhara on display. The writing for Sage’s character has suffered this season, but no one can deny that Heyward has chops. She’s a compelling screen presence. Fukuhara’s work in the episode’s final minutes is gut-wrenching. You can’t help but sob with her as she cradles Frenchie in her arms. The Boys could also have Kimiko avenge Frenchie by killing Homelander in the finale, after acquiring Soldier Boy’s abilities, but this feels too predictable. It would also take away Butcher’s entire reason to exist in this series – the motivation fueling his desire to wipe Homelander off the map.
Admittedly, Frenchie’s demise, as heartbreaking as it is, could be spotted from a mile away. If any characters deserved a happy ending, they were Kimiko and Frenchie. However, the writing falls into predictable narrative tropes, for starters, by having them discuss their future together. Frenchie eventually warms up to the idea of kids with Kimiko. Frenchie’s monologue to Sage about love is also the writing on the wall. Still, the episode builds suspense after Homelander arrives, leaving us to wonder how Frenchie will go out. Thankfully, he goes out swinging. At least the character gets a decent send-off, even if it’s a bit clichéd.
The Boys Season 5, Episode 7 boasts plenty of moments worth enjoying, but its placement in the lineup is odd. It doesn’t feel like the series finale is next week. There’s some meandering happening as we bounce from watching Sheline and Dogknott sniff each other’s bums (weird) to Frenchie’s death. The oscillating between levity and moving drama isn’t unusual for this series. Still, one would think it would pivot tonally in the second-to-last episode, considering how high the stakes are. There’s less focus because of this, and it ruins the momentum.
The fear here is that audiences will be subjected to a rushed, clumsily cobbled-together series finale. Homelander’s immortality should’ve happened earlier in the season, so that our titular Boys could’ve spent more time hashing out plans to defuse him, as it were. Hopefully, Eric Kripke and co. will pleasantly surprise us.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
