The fifth and final season of The Boys premieres this week, and the first reviews have arrived online, with unanimous praise. Amazon Prime Video’s megahit superhero series, based on the comic of the same name, has been one of the most talked-about shows of the past decade. Season 5 is sure to be a big part of the zeitgeist as well, delivering a worthy conclusion with sharper and bloodier episodes than ever before.
Here’s what critics are saying about The Boys: Season 5:
Is it still must-see TV until the end?
The show remains a visceral, gleefully grotesque ride, elevated by standout performances, razor-sharp satire, and a dark, ominous humor.
— M.N. Miller, Geek Vibes Nation
The Boys Season 5 is exciting, crude, well-acted, and politically potent television that feels fresher than ever.
— James Preston Poole, But Why Tho? A Geek Community
As we approach the end of an era, The Boys proves that it is still the most vital, dangerous show on television.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
I’s both a relief and a pleasant surprise that The Boys goes out exactly how it arrived: as the best, most incisive, and radical superhero show on TV.
— Jeremy Mathai, Slashfilm
It reinforces why The Boys has been one of the most defining shows of its generation—and why its impact will continue long after the finale.
— Nagier Chambers, Big Gold Belt Media
The Boys, for all of its pointed commentary and at the end of its massive run, has finally run out of steam… That said, the series remains immensely watchable.
— Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture
Does it continue to be better than other superhero shows and movies?
The Boys ends as one of the greatest superhero television shows of all time.
— James Preston Poole, But Why Tho? A Geek Community
This basic setup feels reminiscent of the ongoing season of Daredevil: Born Again, [but] rest assured that The Boys improves upon it in almost every conceivable way.
— Jeremy Mathai, Slashfilm
The series has slowly devolved into the very thing it has spent years kicking down.
— Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture
How does it compare to past seasons?
This season surpasses the others… It’s beyond everything we’ve seen to this point.
— John Kirk, Original Cin
It’s the most savage and politically charged season yet.
— Michael Sowell, Nerdspin
Its understanding of tone is a much-needed improvement from Season 4, which often couldn’t read the room in the most inappropriate scenarios.
— Katie Doll, CBR
Will fans be satisfied by the finale?
Many shows stumble at the finish line with lackluster finales that drag or fail to tie up story arcs. The Boys takes a deliberate shot at those lackluster endings by being the total antithesis of them… a masterpiece of a finale that stays true to its brutal DNA.
— Michael Sowell, Nerdspin
It’s a payoff. Full-circle moments, callbacks, and long-running arcs all converge in ways that reward longtime viewers.
— Nagier Chambers, Big Gold Belt Media
This ending is wildly entertaining, sustaining its venomous revenge narrative with a generous dose of biting, gallows humor.
— M.N. Miller, Geek Vibes Nation
Not only does The Boys find a proper exit for this funhouse mirror riff on sociopathic “Supes” in capes and tights, but it also acts as the last and definitive word on superhero media as a whole.
— Jeremy Mathai, Slashfilm
The Boys Season 5 is expected to wrap things up in a satisfying manner for the series, which means a shocking one. The season does an excellent job in that department.
— James Preston Poole, But Why Tho? A Geek Community
Does the series go out with a bang?
In a bloody blaze of resonant (and prophetic) glory… the final season explodes like a powder keg.
— M.N. Miller, Geek Vibes Nation
It doesn’t just end; it detonates.
— Michael Sowell, Nerdspin
Far from the best The Boys has been, but this conclusion still has enough here to reward longtime viewers who have stuck with it from the beginning.
— Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture
For the first time in years, The Boys brings some much-needed heart and soul to this grim conclusion.
— Jeremy Mathai, Slashfilm
The Boys Season 5 is nowhere near a powerful swan song for what was once a refreshing superhero takedown. Instead, it’s an agonized limp to the finish.
— Belen Edwards, Mashable
How is the writing this season?
Truly, there hasn’t been a season of The Boys this tightly written since the first.
— James Preston Poole, But Why Tho? A Geek Community
This season may be the sharpest the show has ever been from a writing standpoint.
— Nagier Chambers, Big Gold Belt Media
While the main storyline occasionally relies too much on contrivances, it soars every time it’s driven by an intricate web of interpersonal drama and conflicting motivations.
— Jeremy Mathai, Slashfilm
The writers continue to explore media weaponization, now bringing AI-generated fake news and videos into the fold… Urban and Starr remind you how sharp the writing is.
— M.N. Miller, Geek Vibes Nation
What takes shape here is so bizarre it almost feels laughable. But, as ridiculous as these plot points have gotten over the years, the show’s cast always sells it.
— Kaiya Shunyata, RogerEbert.com
The plot is sluggish at best.
— Jesse Schedeen, IGN Movies
Does the show feel more relevant than ever?
The final season of political division, cultural unrest, and escalating rhetoric has become eerily immediate.
— M.N. Miller, Geek Vibes Nation
What stands out even more is how naturally the show integrates pop culture references, real-world figures, and recognizable elements into its dialogue.
— Nagier Chambers, Big Gold Belt Media
A powerful metaphor for our times, Season 5 of The Boys is the final reckoning in this story.
— John Kirk, Original Cin
Thinking about how close some of these storylines are to events transpiring across the globe only adds to this show’s disturbing nature.
— Abe Friedtanzer, Awards Buzz
The series doubles down on its brashness, so much so that it feels as if the invisible veil between our television screens and the world we inhabit grows thinner with each episode.
— Kaiya Shunyata, RogerEbert.com
The problem is that the absurdity of the real world has largely outpaced the show, dulling the bite it once had.
— Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture
Is it still funny?
The humor is biting and offers no moral comfort, which is part of what makes the show so effective.
— M.N. Miller, Geek Vibes Nation
The humor is darker than ever, but when it hits, it really hits.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
Humor in general tends to be one of Season 5’s stronger suits. The idea being that sometimes the best thing to do when confronted with looming fascism is to simply laugh in its face.
— Jesse Schedeen, IGN Movies
The satire this season is razor-sharp.
— Michael Sowell, Nerdspin
Season 5 is The Boys at its satirical best, mercilessly upending superhero conventions without losing sight of the deeply flawed and human characters at its core.
— Jeremy Mathai, Slashfilm
What ultimately holds The Boys back from fully landing the plane is the diminishing comedic impact of its final season…what once felt sharp now feels blunt, making the juvenile elements more eye-rolling than effective.
— Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture
How’s the action?
In case there were any doubts, Season 5 doesn’t fail to deliver on the gore and violence front.
— Jesse Schedeen, IGN Movies
The brutality remains a defining element of The Boys, and Season 5 does not hold back.
— Nagier Chambers, Big Gold Belt Media
The handheld action is as engaging and chaotic as fans have grown accustomed to. On a technical level, the blend of visual and gruesome practical effects is unrivaled on the small screen.
— Jeremy Mathai, Slashfilm
Kripke and company can still generate strong reactions with their cartoonish violence.
— Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture
The epic fight scenes and brutal kills have always been key to the appeal of The Boys, and they’re all best experienced without any foreknowledge.
— Abe Friedtanzer, Awards Buzz
Are the stakes higher?
This final season certainly has higher stakes, as there are numerous character deaths and many plot lines to wrap up as the final confrontation with Homelander draws near.
— Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture
The writers dig deeper and find the real stakes by confronting the idea of things coming to an end…actions have actual consequences in the world of The Boys.
— Jeremy Mathai, Slashfilm
The Boys has never been afraid to take risks; with this final season, they up the ante, forcing their audience to confront the morality (and mortality) of these beloved characters.
— Kaiya Shunyata, RogerEbert.com
No one is safe. This is the culmination of years of carnage, and the stakes have never felt more terminal.
— Michael Sowell, Nerdspin
Unpredictability remains the driving force. No character feels safe, and the series leans into that tension fully.
— Nagier Chambers, Big Gold Belt Media
Pretty much any scene [Homelander] has with a living person is filled with tension, because the odds are pretty good that somebody will get brutally killed by the end of it. It’s a tension that almost feels overused by a certain point.
— Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
Do any of the performances stand out this season?
Of the main cast, Alonso tends to be the one who shines.
— Jesse Schedeen, IGN Movies
This season is Karen Fukuhara’s time to shine, a coming-out party of sorts now that the once-mute Kimiko is able to speak and actually showcase the actor’s full range of talent.
— Jeremy Mathai, Slashfilm
The one who deserves special praise is Antony Starr as Homelander. Outstanding doesn’t cut it…Starr has given the definitive television performance for the 2020s.
— James Preston Poole, But Why Tho? A Geek Community
Antony Starr [delivers] a masterclass performance that cements Homelander as one of the greatest villains in television history.
— Michael Sowell, Nerdspin
Starr once again delivers a captivating performance…but this season, [his] is also the only performance that truly stands out.
— Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture
How are the cameos?
The second half of the season is peppered with surprise cameos that are as hilarious as they are unexpected.
— Michael Sowell, Nerdspin
The guest stars are phenomenal, with a few Supernatural nods.
— M.N. Miller, Geek Vibes Nation
In the midst of the melancholy are also some hilarious cameos…[some of them] do feel like Supernatural fan service, but not in an entirely bad way.
— Katie Doll, CBR
Are there any major problems?
It suffers from some major pacing problems in the fifth and final season…the series feels as though it’s spinning its wheels for several episodes.
— Jesse Schedeen, IGN Movies
Some secondary characters remain stuck in the role of comedic relief, providing a few laughs but failing to achieve any meaningful character development across the finish line.
— Michael Sowell, Nerdspin
Where the series takes Homelander may be its biggest stretch yet.
— Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture
Will it leave fans wishing it wasn’t over?
If anything, the numerous spinoffs, loosely tied to this fifth season, feel like a better avenue for exploring new ideas and stories in a universe that has grown limited within the boundaries this series established.
— Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture
Even as it moves toward its conclusion, the season continues to connect to the larger universe…These threads don’t distract—they enhance. They give the sense that while this story is ending, the world is far from finished.
— Nagier Chambers, Big Gold Belt Media
The final stretch of episodes all but turn into a treatise of why The Boys needs to die, even as, somewhat contradictorily, certain events open up a backdoor pilot for continued adventures.
— Jeremy Mathai, Slashfilm
The Boys: Season 5 premieres on Prime Video on April 8, 2026.
Thumbnail image by Amazon MGM Studios
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