Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Boys Season 5, Episode 6, “Though the Heavens Fall.”Even though The Boys Season 5 should be concentrating on wrapping up its own story, it seems more intent on getting fans ready for Vought Rising. Episode 6, “Though the Heavens Fall,” is especially guilty of this. Not only is Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) being framed as the saga’s new face of the franchise ahead of Homelander’s (Antony Starr) potential exit, but other Vought Rising-era heroes are also being referenced and drip-fed into The Boys Season 5. The latest addition to the cast is Mason Dye’s Bombsight, who is set to have a starring role in the upcoming prequel. However, while some of the Vought Rising teases have felt a little superfluous at times, Bombsight’s debut actually suggests a great ending for The Boys‘ final run.
Vought Rising will chronicle the earliest days of Supes in the world of The Boys and is expected to premiere in 2027. Taking place in the 1950s, it’ll be a cool spin on period dramas that is expected to maintain The Boys‘ signature blend of dark superhero parody and razor-sharp political satire. As one of the first and most powerful Supes in Vought history, Soldier Boy will have a starring role in Vought Rising along with other returning The Boys characters like Stormfront (Aya Cash) and Bombsight. The Boys Season 5 doesn’t seem satisfied with just giving itself a worthy ending, and the constant sneak peeks at what to expect from Vought Rising have been a little distracting so far. On the other hand, Bombsight’s cameo bucked that trend by potentially tying directly into how The Boys will end.
Soldier Boy Removing Bombsight’s Powers Could Be the Key to Bringing Down Homelander
One of Soldier Boy’s lesser-used powers is the radiation beam that can be emitted from his chest. It isn’t always voluntary when he uses this ability. In fact, “Though the Heavens Fall” is an incredibly rare example of the power not being triggered incidentally by his heightened emotional state. It’s more often than not a reflex to intense stress, or a flare-up of the PTSD from his time in Russian incarceration. We’re used to seeing him display his superhuman durability and strength, but the radiation beam is usually reserved for landmark moments in the story.
“Though the Heavens Fall” is one of those moments. With Bombsight desperate to be allowed to age with his beloved, Soldier Boy offers to voluntarily trigger his rarely-seen power and burn the V-One from his former ally’s bloodstream. It’s successful, and Bombsight becomes just a regular old human again, keeps up his end of the bargain, and hands over the last remaining V-One dose to Soldier Boy. Unlike some of the other Vought Rising setups in The Boys Season 5, this one feels necessary and authentic to the story being told. When Homelander arrives shortly after, the mini Bombsight arc becomes especially poignant.
The Boys has been strongly implying for weeks now that if Homelander gets his hands on the V-One and injects himself with it, it’s game over. No one will be able to stop him, not even Soldier Boy. What happened to Bombsight could change all that. If Soldier Boy can intentionally purge the V-One from Bombsight’s body, it stands to reason that he could do the same to Homelander. Ackles’ character’s allegiance to Homelander has been pretty shaky in Season 5. He might believe in his son right now, but maybe the decision to hand over the V-One rather than destroy it is made into a safer bet by the knowledge that the process can be reversed if things go horribly wrong.
Removing Homelander’s Powers Would Be So Much Better Than Killing Him Off
There’s no denying that Homelander has a troubled background that has contributed to his villainous mental state. That doesn’t excuse all the abhorrent things he’s done, but it does account for some of them. Regardless, the most desirable outcome for Starr’s character has long been believed to be that he shouldn’t make it out of The Boys alive. He’s been the story’s biggest overarching bad guy, and those types of characters routinely meet their end in a narrative’s final stages. It would make perfect sense if The Boys opted for this route with Homelander, but the fact that he’s essentially the god he believes himself to be at the end of Episode 6 makes it unclear exactly how anyone will pull off his execution.
On the other hand, Soldier Boy’s power-removal ability, which he can now apparently control, could be the path to a more satisfying fate for Homelander. Unlike most other Supes, Homelander has never known life as an ordinary human. He was born with his powers after being experimented on in the womb. As such, he’s always known what it is to be able to do the extraordinary (and vile) things that he’s capable of. His powers have made him an incredibly difficult person to wrangle, with only a handful of characters knowing how his mind works and how to get the best chance of his obedience.
If Homelander is killed, then he’ll never know how powerless and terrified he made so many people feel throughout his life. Having Soldier Boy reduce his son to just a run-of-the-mill human would be the perfect punishment for Homelander. Back to being just John, Starr’s character could be held accountable for his atrocities, and there would be nothing he could do to stop it. It would be an absolute joy to watch. Furthermore, it would also mean Karl Urban’s Billy Butcher and company would feel less obliged to release the Supe virus, sparing countless lives around the world. Only time will tell if this is what The Boys Season 5’s final two episodes have in store, but we won’t have to wait long to find out.