The Boys Fans Cry Foul As Black Noir Twist Breaks The Show's Own Rules

I figured The Boys would go out swinging in its last season, but wow, they are really checking off the carnage-and-heartbreak boxes. Prime Video is rolling out the fifth and final season, and the show has been telegraphing big surprises and body bags for months. They were not kidding. We’ve already lost A-Train, Adam Bourke, and Firecracker, pretty much one major death per week. This week kept the streak alive — and fans are heated about who died and how it happened.

Spoilers for The Boys Season 5 ahead. You’ve been warned.

The Deep vs. Black Noir II: The slow burn that exploded

All season, the show has been building tension between The Deep and Black Noir II. They started out cordial enough, but as Homelander keeps consolidating power, The Deep has been scrambling to stay in his good graces. That paranoia has been steering a lot of his choices — including the obsession with making sure he isn’t the next guy Homelander decides to laser in half.

Last week, things took a nasty turn. The Deep found out Black Noir II had been acting in a stage play directed by Adam Bourke. In response, The Deep sent an eel through the sewers to kill Bourke. Yes, via eel. It was as petty and gross as it sounds.

This week, it boiled over. The Deep snuck up behind Black Noir II, strangled him with a bundle of cords, then jammed a blade into his neck. End of line for Black Noir II.

Why this death is not going down smoothly with fans

Here’s where the audience is calling foul. The show itself has repeatedly established that Black Noir II isn’t just a silent bruiser — he can fly, he can talk, he’s super strong, and he’s seriously tough to kill. Just last week, the team even planned a fake faith-healing spectacle where Homelander would pretend to grant Noir the power to fly and speak. The catch? Noir already had those abilities. It was a PR stunt, not a miracle.

So seeing The Deep — a character the show traditionally treats as more comic relief than combat god — take out Noir with a choke and a knife has people scratching their heads. Fans are pointing out that Noir has eaten close-range gunfire in the past and walked it off. A knife to the neck feels... light.

"Black Noir getting killed by a knife is really stupid. MM unloaded a machine gun on him, Butcher blasted him with a shotgun, and he shrugs it off — but a stab takes him out?"

• The fight mechanics don’t quite add up: Black Noir II has shown flight, speech, strength, and a high damage threshold. None of that kicked in here.
• We literally just watched the show set up a fake event where Homelander would pretend to give Noir flight and a voice — which only works as a scam because Noir can already do those things. Then, next episode, it’s like those powers vanished.
• Viewers also noted that if The Deep were going to kill Noir, doing it while Noir was knocked out by his narcolepsy would fit The Deep’s historically cowardly M.O. more than a straight-up strangle-and-stab.
• Context matters: The Deep hasn’t exactly been presented as a powerhouse. Jumping Noir from behind tracks; Noir staying down that easily doesn’t.

Plot hole or plot convenience?

Usually, arguing over power levels in a superhero show is just fandom doing its thing. Here, though, it genuinely feels like the series ignored its own receipts. They made a whole point about Noir’s abilities in last week’s storyline, then memory-holed them to get to this week’s shocker.

There are only two episodes left, so maybe the writers are holding an explanation. It also looks like the show is steering toward The Deep finally face-planting in a big way — history says it will be humiliating. But even if that’s where this is headed, the way Black Noir II went out is leaving a sour taste. If you’re going to drop another major body this late in the game, it needs to feel earned. Right now, this one doesn’t.