Why Homelander’s Jesus Phase Is His “Final Form” In The Boys Season 5 Explained By Eric Kripke

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Warning! Spoilers ahead for The Boys season 5, episode 3.

Homelander ascends to become a new kind of tyrant as barrels towards its conclusion.

The popular superhero satire The Boys, created by Eric Kripke and available on Prime Video, will conclude this spring. Antony Starr, who plays the central villain Homelander, has become increasingly erratic throughout the series, and season 5 is taking his instability to new levels. In episode 3, Homelander experienced a vision of Madelyn Stillwell (Elisabeth Shue), who urged him to fully accept his power and act like a god.

In an interview with TVLine, The Boys creator Eric Kripke discussed Homelander’s realization in season 5, episode 3, and how it unexpectedly coincided with Donald Trump sharing an AI-created image of himself as Jesus online. Kripke said the timing was purely accidental, explaining that Homelander’s moment stemmed from his deteriorating mental state throughout previous seasons.

We actually wrote this episode two years ago, before the election even happened. It grew out of discussions about Homelander’s development and where his character arc was heading, especially considering his increasing mental instability over the course of the series.

Even though what’s happening on the show feels very real, Kripke admits he initially thought the concept was outlandish when it was first proposed. Now, he’s actually hoping that real life will stop imitating the show’s storylines.

He worried people would see Homelander as over-the-top and unbelievable. “That was a real concern,” he says. “But the real world keeps becoming even more outlandish. I just want people to remember we’re trying to make a satire, and to give us a chance to be the most outrageous thing happening. It’s honestly tiring. I wish the Trump administration would stop unintentionally promoting the show for us.”

In episode 3, Homelander’s descent into madness intensifies. Madelyn convinces him he’s on the verge of becoming a god, telling him he deserves the world’s adoration just as much as Jesus did—even more, since he saves more lives. She argues that love isn’t weakness, and Homelander is worthy of ultimate power and worship.

It’s unclear exactly how Homelander’s new powers will affect the rest of the season, but the premiere made it clear that any character could die. In a shocking moment, A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) was killed by Homelander in the first episode.

During the same interview, Kripke hinted that A-Train’s death might not be the only one. He explained that because this is the last season, he and the writing team felt they had more leeway to eliminate characters.

Okay, let me tell you, one of the most refreshing things about this season was the freedom to just go for it. Usually, even when things get intense, you’re limited by the need to keep characters around for future storylines. But this time? We didn’t have those restrictions. It meant we could really let characters clash, and yes, even eliminate them – in every sense of the word! – without worrying about the consequences. It was genuinely exhilarating to watch, and honestly, a lot of fun.

With only three episodes released, season 5 of The Boys is already over halfway finished, with just five episodes remaining. The main cast – including Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Erin Moriarty, and others – are all back, but it’s still uncertain which characters will survive to the end of the series.

As a huge fan of The Boys, I’m already buzzing about season 5! Kripke’s been hinting that Homelander is going to be completely off the rails in the final episodes, and honestly, that’s both terrifying and amazing. The show has been surprisingly spot-on with predicting things that later happen in real life, so I’m bracing myself for even more shocking parallels in the upcoming season. It’s going to be wild!

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2026-04-17 04:19