The Boys Finale: 12 Main Characters, One Last Stand — Who Makes It Out Alive?

The Boys is about to slam the door for good, and the final hour is going to put pretty much everyone we care about on the chopping block. Quick reality check though: even with this show’s bloodlust, I don’t think it ’ll be an all-hands massacre. We’ve already burned through some major bodies this season — A-Train’s early sacrifice, Firecracker and Black Noir II getting snuffed, and Frenchie’s brutal exit — so it would be tough to land that many more gut-punches and still give them room to breathe. Plus, for the worst of the worst, there are fates that hurt a lot longer than death.

Spoilers for Season 5, Episodes 1-7 ahead.

1. Soldier Boy - Lives
   Homelander stuffed Soldier Boy back on ice in Episode 7, and showrunner Eric Kripke told Collider this is the last time we’ll see Jensen Ackles’ walking war crime in the main series. Could he die offscreen if Vought Tower turns into a bonfire or some nastier supe virus pops off? Sure. But that would be a limp way to write out a human grenade. More likely, he survives as a dangling threat for whatever comes next. Frankly, Vought Rising feels tailor-made to bring Soldier Boy back into the present-day mix — higher stakes, more tension, and a nice runway for that already-teased spinoff energy.

2. Oh-Father - Dies
   Daveed Diggs rolled in as Oh-Father and immediately made himself one of Season 5’s best new toys. That said, I don’t see him making it out. His unwavering devotion plays great on stage, but the cracks showed in the penultimate episode: Homelander wants instant worship; Oh-Father wants time to sell a new deity to the masses. That friction feels like a fuse waiting to hit a match. And new arrivals on The Boys rarely get plot armor.

3. Sister Sage - Lives
   Sage blew it in Episode 6 by misreading Soldier Boy — unpredictable meathead is hard to game, to be fair — but she’s never been wrong about Homelander. She also literally built a bunker for moments like this. A last-minute self-sacrifice would ring false for a character this ruthlessly self-interested. Smarter play: she survives, then uses that 10-steps-ahead brain to help rebuild the board after Homelander falls. And if all of this carnage ends up being steps on her master flowchart? Would not be the most shocking twist this show has pulled.

4. Ashley Barrett - Lives
   Ashley spends Season 5 ping-ponging between survival and a moral spine, and then in Episode 7 she basically mutes the voice on the back of her head telling her to do the right thing. That final image — the conscience going dead quiet — is ice cold. Sucking up to Homelander usually gets you killed, but there’s a more poetic punishment here: she lives, and she’s the one everyone blames when the dust settles. It would put a tragic spin on her big president moment, that embarrassing lie about always being a supe won’t help her, and once Homelander is gone, someone has to be the fall gal.

5. The Deep - Lives
   We’ve all been waiting for The Deep’s karmic boot to the face since episode one of the entire series. I don’t think his comeuppance is death. After letting a man drown on camera last week — and with every fish in the ocean ready to unionize against him — he’s headed for something worse: a long, lonely life of ridicule and fear. As funny as it would be to see a shark voiced by Samuel L. Jackson end him, this slow, public rot fits better.

6. Ryan - Lives
   Ryan’s been mostly off the board this season, but if he pops back up in the finale, I doubt it’s to die. More intriguing: he becomes Vought’s Homelander 2.0, the exact cycle Stan Edgar promised would continue. Ryan has no reason to pick Butcher or Homelander, but he does seem to trust Zoe and Stan. He’s got all the same powers, fewer tantrums, and Season 5 made sure we’ve seen flashes of ruthlessness. That’s a sequel- ready problem.

7. M.M. - Lives
   The Episode 7 title — 'The Frenchman, the Female, and the Man Called Mother ’s Milk' — nods to the comics where those three die together, which was a nasty way to crank anxiety. We were meant to think M.M., Kimiko, and Frenchie could all go. Only Frenchie did. If anyone else from the core squad were to fall in the finale (besides Butcher), M.M. would be the bet — but I’m leaning the other way. His arc this season practically begs for him to find a little hope again, maybe even reconnect with his family.

8. Kimiko - Lives
   After Frenchie’s sacrifice, killing Kimiko too would be cruelty for cruelty’s sake. She’s talked all season about getting to a quiet life after the war, and of all the characters, she’s earned that peace. It would also honor what Frenchie wanted for her. Let her help end Homelander, then give us that final beat with Simone the Bernadoodle. Please and thank you.

9. Starlight - Lives
   Annie’s Season 5 has been one long crisis of faith, and Episode 7 finally started to turn the lights back on. The show feels set up to let her walk out alive and vindicated, not martyred. After everything said about her, the public apology should arrive while she’s very much breathing.

10. Hughie Campbell - Lives
    If anyone screams 'survivor' in this world, it’s Hughie. The comics point that way, the show points that way, and even his wobble in Episode 7 doesn’t change his core setting: he does not quit. Very on brand for him to make it through without powers or training — that’s kind of his whole deal.

11. Billy Butcher - Dies
    Butcher’s been on a death march since the pilot. Losing Becca (twice) hollowed him out, and Season 5 makes it crystal clear he isn’t planning for a life after Homelander. He’ll leave behind Terror, the team, maybe even a better shot for Ryan — and he’s made his peace with that. There’s no way both he and Hughie end up clinking glasses at the Juicy Rack. Expect Hughie to be the one raising a drink for him.

12. Homelander - Dies
    Yes, the show loves to mirror our ugliest realities, so technically there’s a slim chance the monster wins. But narratively, that’s a shrug of an ending. Also, just stripping his powers isn’t enough — he could shoot more Compound V and reboot, like Kimiko did earlier. And even powerless, half the planet would want him dead. If they find a way to beat him, they finish it.