The Boys Season 5 Episode 7 Consolidates the Mess — Review

Critic’s Rating: 3 / 5.0

3

Penultimate episodes have one job: bring all storylines together as a show finally delivers on its promise.

But naturally, many shows tend to add more characters as the story progresses, and it can end up weighing everything down.

Despite clocking in at around 66 minutes, The Boys Season 5 Episode 7, “The Frenchman, the Female, and the Man Called Mother’s Milk,” feels like an attempt to cover everything so the show isn’t criticized for abandoning some characters.

And as a result, the episode feels long but says a whole lot of nothing.

An ending like that of The Boys Season 5 Episode 6 creates expectations, and with that “run” from Butcher, it felt like shit is about to hit the fan.

Except that it doesn’t, and the show tries to take several outs.

Gen V

The most glaring mistake this season is how The Boys has pretended like Gen V doesn’t exist — as if Marie hasn’t honed her powers and taken out Thomas Godolkin.

The second season literally ends with Marie and her friends joining Starlight and her band of dissidents.

So when the show acts like all that never happened, it seems ridiculous.

But that’s even less ridiculous than them trying to make it seem like Marie and Jordan had a huge mission watching Oh Father and the rest of the supe-remacists.

It is insulting that not only do they botch this universe, but they are trying to obfuscate.

But that’s all The Boys Season 5 has been: distraction and detours.

One moment, Soldier Boy can’t stand Homelander, and the next, he’s making him immortal because of some woman he loved.

Soldier Boy

For a season that has focused on Soldier Boy so much, one would have anticipated a major part for him in Homelander’s downfall.

But no, as long as viewers are subtly introduced to Vought Rising, Soldier Boy has done his job.

So instead of going to Colombia or wherever the hell he was going, the show returns him to that cryochamber.

Then what was all that fuss about?

Homelander literally chokes him out like a superhero would choke a regular guy. It’s the most mundane thing ever, and not befitting for someone like Soldier Boy.

Meanwhile, Homelander strolls around the country trying to convince everyone that he’s god.

This was a fun storyline for an episode or two, but now it plays out like a punchline that never knows when to stop.

Homelander

Even when reading something ridiculous, Antony Starr can be incredibly entertaining as Homelander.

But an entire storyline dedicated to making him God? 

That might work for Season 2 or 3 as he consolidates all the power he can get, but the timing just feels off.

This is not a storyline for a final season because it carries so much potential.

Is Homelander receiving the crown from Jesus fun to watch? Yes.

But does it mean anything when I expected unabashed chaos after he acquired V1? Absolutely not.

It plays out like an attempt to give Oh Father more scenes, and while Daveed Diggs is killing it, no. Just no.

And maybe it’s because the real news is so insane that it doesn’t seem out of the ordinary for people to elevate someone to godhood.

Adding to my unease with the weight of the storyline, its real-world implications are even stranger.

The Boys

The mission to secure V1 was lost, but there are still two more hours to go, so Butcher and Co are saddled with another storyline: make Kimiko like Soldier Boy by blasting her with nuclear energy.

It feels like kicks of a dying horse at this point.

Not only was the V1 hunt frustrating, but it also yielded nothing substantial.

It felt like one long detour that kept reinforcing everything we know about this team.

Butcher doesn’t know how to quit, Hughie is too good for this mission, Kimiko and Frenchie thrive on codependence — all the i’s we’ve dotted and t’s we’ve crossed before.

There is really no reason to get invested in the outcome of this experiment because the fatigue has already settled in.

Accepting loss is sometimes the best decision because it allows you to move on. The Boys are stuck in an unbreakable loop that feels suffocating for the viewer.

So the show tries to pull off a neat trick by killing off Frenchie, even though his death isn’t warranted.

I see a version of this where Homelander realizes the Frenchman is pathetic, beats him, or just leaves him alone.

But the episode goes for the big, prolonged death with the music and all.

It’s emotional manipulation because, like most deaths this season, Frenchie’s carries no weight — none at all.

It’s unnecessary and anticlimactic.

Elsewhere, front Ashley is president, Kevin can never go near a waterbody — that was genuinely hilarious, and Sister Sage is smart in concept only.

Gut Check

“The Frenchman, the Female, and the Man Called Mother’s Milk” is as long as its title and just as empty.

Technically, it does present like a penultimate episode, but it doesn’t feel like one. It’s bloated and unfocused.

The big finale arrives next week, and even we reviewers haven’t seen it yet; Amazon is bringing it to theaters.

Whether it can save this show remains to be seen, but at this point, another entry on Game of Thrones‘ infamous list might be born.

Intrusive Thoughts

• Why does the whale have a blaccent?

• Two seater — I need that shirt.

• Marie and Jordan do not seem okay. Working and living together?

• Oh Father: He turned water into wine, what a useless superpower!

• The idea that Jesus can’t handle the world, so he submits to Homelander, is the funniest thing ever. Jesus?

Over to you, The Boys fanatics. What did you think of the series finale set up? Are you hyped up, or are you managing your expectations?

Let’s keep the conversation going — it’s the only way the good stuff survives.

Say something in the comments, share if you’re moved to, and keep reading. Independent voices need readers like you.