Jared Padalecki’s The Boys Character Shows Just How Far the Series Has Slipped Since Season 1 — And the Remaining Episodes May Not Save It

So yeah, The Boys finally cashes in on that long-teased Supernatural reunion. Jared Padalecki shows up in season 5, episode 5, and the way his cameo plays out is entertaining in the moment and also a pretty clean example of how far the show has drifted from what it was in season 1.

What actually happens in S5E5

Both The Boys and Homelander are hunting the same new MacGuffin, something called V1. Vought's side gets a lead that sends Homelander and Soldier Boy to Los Angeles to meet Mister Marathon, a Vought memorabilia hoarder who might have access to V1. Mister Marathon is Jared Padalecki, for anyone keeping score on the reunion front.

They arrive, and things go sideways fast. Malchemical ambushes Homelander and knocks him out. While Homelander is down, Mister Marathon pitches Soldier Boy on a plan: help them kill Homelander and Soldier Boy gets the top chair in the Seven. Soldier Boy is not into that, which sparks a fight that tears through Mister Marathon's mansion.

And then comes the gag the episode is built around: during the chase, Mister Marathon literally sprints through a bunch of his celebrity friends, shredding them into red mist.

• Seth Rogen
• Will Forte
• Kumail Nanjiani
• Christopher Mintz-Plasse
• Craig Robinson

All five get the same treatment: one step, a blur, and boom — clouds of blood and guts. It is played as a big, showy joke.

Funny, sure — but it undercuts what made the pilot sting

Look, the scene is staged to be hilarious. The problem is it is the exact visual rhyme of the series' inciting incident: A-Train running through Hughie's girlfriend Robin in the pilot. Back then, it was horrifying and character-defining. Here, it is a punchline with basically zero effect on the plot beyond shock value.

That whiplash is the broader tonal shift the show has been leaning into for a while. Over five seasons, The Boys has moved from hard-edged, gory superhero tragedy to a snarkier, more overtly political satire. That evolution is not automatically a bad thing, but moments like this make the world feel lighter and less dangerous than it did in season 1 — which is a weird place to be as the show heads toward the finish line.

This is not the first time the tone has gone wobbly

Think back to season 4, episode 6: Hughie disguises himself as Tek Knight's sidekick, which leads to Tek Knight performing sexual acts on him. The show treats that assault as a comedy bit. Compare that to how seriously the series handled Starlight's assault or Becca Butcher's — two of the heaviest story beats The Boys has ever done. That inconsistency makes it feel like the series is riffing on its own playbook instead of honoring the stakes it set up.

The bigger picture: a show that changed lanes mid-drive

Since season 1, The Boys has broadened from a gritty, gory takedown of superhero worship into something more jokey and topical. Sometimes that blend sings. In season 5, when the laughs come from the exact same imagery that once defined the show's horror, it starts to clash with what the series initially set out to do.

How the show can stick the landing

If The Boys wants the endgame to hit, the final run needs to shift back toward consequence. Not humorless — just balanced — with the dramatic weight the show proved it can deliver. That is especially true if the last episodes are going to cull major characters.

If the series leans into the spirit of the comics' end — big reveals, genuinely heavy turns — the gravity should return naturally. But that only works if it stops undercutting its own horrors with winks. Do that, and it can recover from the wobbly stretch in the middle of season 5 and go out with the punch it promised in the first place.