“NO ONE IS SAFE”: The Boys creator on killing [SPOILER], Kimiko speaking, and launching the Vought Rising prequel alongside season five

Spoiler warning: This article contains spoilers for the two-part opening episode of season five of The Boys, now streaming on Prime Video

According to the CinemaDrame news agency, the final season of The Boys begins with an explosive start — including the killing of a major supe character.

After changing course last season and leaving Vought to help the Boys, the character A-Train (A-Train), played by Jessie T. Usher, is killed by Homelander (Homelander), played by Anthony Starr, in the final moments of the first episode of season five.

A-Train saves Hughie (Jack Quaid) during his battle with Homelander at Vought’s “Freedom Camp” and escapes at super speed. However, while fleeing, he narrowly avoids hitting a bystander and crashes into the forest. Homelander then catches up with him and breaks his neck. This ending serves as a surprising yet heroic conclusion for A-Train, a character who was introduced in the very first episode of the series after killing Hughie’s girlfriend Robin in a high-speed accident.

Season five opens with Hughie, Frenchie (Tomer Capone), and Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso) imprisoned in a Vought detention camp, where Homelander plans to execute them. Annie (Erin Moriarty), Butcher (Karl Urban), and Kimiko — now able to speak (Karen Fukuhara) — reunite to rescue them and storm the camp. However, Homelander is already waiting, and a battle begins.

Homelander now effectively controls the country under martial law, with supes like The Deep (Chace Crawford) and Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell) at his side. Sister Sage (Susan Heyward) serves as his chief strategist, while Firecracker (Valorie Curry) supports him through a pro-Vought television program.

Episode two escalates with the return of the supe-killing virus first introduced in the Gen V spin-off (Gen V). The virus could be the key to defeating Homelander, but it also risks wiping out all supes in the world. The Boys test it by killing a new supe named Rockhard, a satirical take on Marvel’s Thing. Meanwhile, Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles), who has been thawed out of cryogenic stasis, is injured.

The ending of the two episodes leaves the Boys facing a moral decision: whether or not to use the virus — while Homelander has lost one of his closest allies (and a father figure), Soldier Boy.

In an interview with Variety, showrunner Eric Kripke discussed the decision to kill A-Train in the first episode, Kimiko speaking after four seasons, and other details.

On A-Train’s death in the episode one finale: was it always meant to be a full callback to the series premiere?

We spent a long time thinking A-Train would at least survive until episode three. But the writers said: “Eric, you keep saying no one is safe — so prove it. You have to remove a major character in the very first episode so the audience truly feels that no one is safe.”

And they were right. A-Train had a great redemption arc, largely thanks to Jessie’s performance. He brings the character — who started the entire story — to a point where he ultimately ends by saving Hughie. A moment that matters a lot to me is when he avoids hitting a woman; whereas in the first episode he ran over Robin without a second thought. This shows his growth into becoming a hero.

On Kimiko speaking: after four seasons of silence, how was that experience?

She was very excited. After four seasons without dialogue, she finally got to speak. We even had to install a microphone for her. But it was challenging — deciding what her voice should sound like. We needed to keep her feeling like “Kimiko.”

In the end, we concluded she is a kind but deadly character who tolerates no one. It was stressful for both of us, but the result was great. She speaks without filters, which lets us understand what she was truly expressing to Frenchie all along.

On The Deep becoming a male-chauvinist podcast-style figure: was it inspired by real people?

Not a specific person, but the entire phenomenon. The Deep is like the Forrest Gump of toxic media — he moves from one space to another. He is an awful person, but writing his dialogue is fun.

On Ashley and the talking tumor:

The idea was to give her the most disgusting power imaginable. The best powers are metaphors for a character’s internal struggle. She suppresses her conscience, but it always comes back. Eventually we decided to make that conscience a literal character. The main inspiration was the mayor from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

On the new character Rockhard:

We wanted a comedic version of Marvel’s Thing, but with budget constraints. The idea was to make him so large that he could barely move.

On the Vought Rising prequel and the Mexico spin-off:

There are hints toward Vought Rising, and even a character from it appears in the season, but the goal is for the shows to stand independently. There is also a Mexican spin-off in development that will offer a Latin America–focused perspective on the world of supes.

This interview has been edited and condensed.