The Boys has kicked off its final season with the first two episodes now available to stream on Prime Video, and in these episodes the show is typically unafraid of poking fun at the United States.
Homelander, still played by Antony Starr and now the de-facto leader of the United States in the show, is a full on Trump allegory in this season of the show in a far less subtle way than previous instalments.
The Boys has never been the most subtle show, but Homelander’s ‘Freedom Camps’ and references to purging the government (and even arresting Chappell Roan) show that the Prime Video show has all but thrown subtlety in its contemporary parody to the wind.
The new season's first episode however features a reference to assassinated far-right political pundit Charlie Kirk that many watchers probably missed, even though it takes place in the first five minutes of the season.
Advert
Season five of The Boys opens with Homelander addressing the Vought shareholders at an annual meeting, being met with rapturous applause.
Whilst this is later ruined by Starlight playing the long awaited video of Homelander letting passengers on Flight 37 die, the reference to Charlie Kirk actually takes place in the first ten seconds of the episode.
One of the ‘Vought Shareholders’ in the show who take the place of pro-Trump MAGA supporters is wearing a red hat and bears a striking resemblance to Kirk, with fans online becoming convinced that it’s actually supposed to be a nod to the late political commentator.
One viral post on X showed the character and said: “IS THAT WHO I THINK IT IS”, whilst another actor specifically named Kirk.
They said: “[I swear to god they] had Charlie Kirk in the crowd when Homelander was giving a speech. The camera focused on the actor too many times
“They’re f*cking unhinged… they put Kirk in the show.”
A third tweeted: “IS THAT NOT F*CKING CHARLIE KIRK.”
Production would have taken place in early 2025 before Kirk was killed, meaning that the scene was likely filmed before his death.
Eric Kripke, who created the season, has stated that he was ‘bummed out’ that the final season was written before Trump’s election win in November 2024.
“I’m totally bummed out to say we wrote it before the election. It sounds super naive now, but I swear the plan was, ‘Let’s write a 1984 version of what creeping authoritarianism looks like in America’.”
Kripke hoped that, assuming Trump lost it would simply look like a vision of a possible future, but instead the far-right politician won the election.
He added: “There’s a line — I won’t give it away — but there’s a line in Episode 7 that Homelander says that was the craziest line we could think of, and it’s already happened.”
The Boys season five’s first two episodes are available to stream on Prime Video now.
Topics: The Boys, Charlie Kirk, TV and Film, TV
Michael Slavin