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The Boys creator Eric Kripke has responded to fan claims that Season 5 features “filler episodes,” saying they are watching the wrong show.
The Boys has taken the superhero genre to new heights since launching on Prime Video in 2019.
Across four seasons – and with the fifth now drawing to a close – the series has satirised comic book movies and shows, while telling a compelling story about how power corrupts.
With the series concluding on May 20, 2026, The Boys mastermind Erik Kripke has reacted to complaints about recent instalments.
The Boys creator says people complaining about filler are “watching the wrong show”
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As Eric Kripke looks to wrap The Boys up, recent episodes have focused on character-driven storylines, and that lack of action and spectacle has upset some fans.
But Kripke is unapologetic, telling TV Guide: “None of the things that happen in the last few episodes will matter if you don’t flesh out the characters.
“I’m getting a lot of online dissatisfaction, to put it politely. And I’m like, ‘What are you expecting? Are you expecting a huge battle scene every episode?’ One, I can’t afford that. And two, it would be so empty and dull, and it would just be about shapes moving without having any import.”
Kripke points to key storylines in recent episodes designed to evolve the relationship between Homelander and Soldier Boy, “wrap out where Friecracker was,” and explain why characters are gathering around Hughie or Butcher.
He adds that the big events have been character moments, “but apparently, just because it’s not plot, you’re like, ‘Nothing happened!’ I’m like, ‘Nothing happened, what?’ The craziest, biggest moves happened. It just wasn’t someone shooting someone else and going, pew, pew, pew. And if that’s what you want, you’re just watching the wrong show.”
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What time is The Boys Season 5 Episode 1 on Prime Video?
Erik Kripke blames anger on weekly release schedule
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Kripke also believes fans wouldn’t be quite so annoyed if all the Season 5 episodes were released simultaneously, so viewers could binge in one go.
“I think it might be a by-product of a weekly release,” the showrunner explains. “For as much as I love the weekly release – because we should take time to have people talking and arguing about the show – my guess is if you were bingeing it or watching it all at once, you would have a very different experience than watching one episode a week that you might find slow or slower than usual, and then you have to wait a whole other week for the next piece. I think that aggravates people, probably.
“To be clear, I’m a proponent for this release schedule, but I’ve been wondering if that was one of the side effects.”
The Boys concludes on May 20, 2026, while you can head here for our ranking of The Boys’ seasons and spinoffs.
