The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke has come under fire after an interview in which he revealed the fate of Soldier Boy and Homelander.
In a conversation with Collider, Kripke confirmed that viewers will no longer see Soldier Boy. The scene from the penultimate episode of the fifth season, where Jensen Ackles' character is put into stasis after a conflict with Homelander, was the last for the character.
This intensified fan disappointment with the fifth season, but another statement caused a real storm. Discussing the cancellation of "Gen V" after its second season and possible plans for continuing the characters' story, Kripke let slip that "their story didn't end just because Homelander is dead."
Many viewers already expected Homelander's story to end in death, but fans criticized Kripke for essentially confirming the main outcome of the finale even before the episode aired.
The scandal was compounded by general criticism of the fifth season for its drawn-out and "filler" episodes. The seventh episode, in particular, received a 6.6 on IMDb and became the lowest-rated in the project's history.
The premiere of the final eighth episode will take place on May 20.