Eric Kripke, the showrunner of “The Boys,” explains why “it was time” for THAT significant season finale exit
Everyone is speculating about the ramifications of the final episode of the fantastic new season of “The Boys,” which Prime Video ended on July 8. The season three finale featured a number of important developments, including the exit of a pivotal series character.
The ongoing storyline involving Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) and Homelander was resolved in the third season finale (Antony Starr). As the episode opens, Soldier Boy is struggling with the realization that he is really Homelander’s father. In the episode, Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott) protects everyone from Soldier Boy as he is about to kill Homelander and everyone else in his path. Up until Annie January (Erin Moriarty) pays Maeve a visit and reveals that she has lost her talents and is wearing an eye patch, the show leads viewers to believe that she is dead. Fans also learnt that she and Elena had made up and that she was moving out of New York City to finally escape Homelander.
As Dominique McElligott’s Queen Maeve eliminated the nerve toxin that Frenchie had developed to kill Soldier Boy, the episode paved the way for her to proceed. She was certain that Homelander had to perish and that Soldier Boy was the only person capable of carrying it out. So Maeve, Butcher, and Soldier Boy went to see Homelander at Vought, and when Soldier Boy rejected his child for being weak and dependent, they got into a full-on fight. Ryan was brought out by Homelander to talk to Soldier Boy as a multigenerational family when Soldier Boy struck Ryan and hurt him. Homelander hurried to his son’s side as Butcher turned on Soldier Boy.
However, Maeve took advantage of the opportunity to finally exact revenge on the guy who had imprisoned her by fighting Homelander. As things deteriorated, everyone understood Soldier Boy was preparing to blow them all up (he tore out her eye, she used a pencil to stab him in the ear). Maeve punched Homelander one last time, uttered the word “s-t,” and then jumped out of the tower’s window with Soldier Boy, passing up the opportunity to kill Homelander. A fiery bomb then exploded in the sky.
The news reported on Queen Maeve’s passing, but it was all a lie! Later, Annie went to see Maeve, who had no powers because of Soldier Boy and was sporting an eye patch. Elena, Maeve’s girlfriend, was advised that they were traveling to a location where Homelander couldn’t locate her. Maeve told Annie, “You saved me the first time your prissy ass showed up at the tower, crying in the restroom. “The fact is, you are no longer dependent upon me. I could spring. You can actually fly.
Even though Maeve dies in the comic books on which the show is based, the showrunner didn’t want it to play out that way because this season seemed to be pointing in the direction of the character’s awful end. The Boys’ author Eric Kripke explains why “it was time” for Queen Maeve to leave in a recent interview with TV Line. From the very beginning [of the series], I never once thought about killing Maeve, Kripke said to the publication. “We always planned to give her a happy ending, for a variety of reasons. She deserved it, for one. She earned a happy ending with Elena because, believe it or not, the universe of The Boys is moral, and when you make the right decisions, you are rewarded.
Being a bisexual character, Maeve, Kripke was fully aware of the consequences of her passing. He makes reference to the stereotype known as “Bury Your Gays,” for which shows like “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “The Vampire Diaries,” and “The 100” have been criticized. I’m not going to use the cliche of killing off gay characters, he declares. Being aware of it, I concur with the criticism leveled against it. That’s something else I’m not going to do.
“And I’ll confess that I believe we’re experimenting a little with that trope by making people believe she is dead, which will cause them to yell at their televisions and get quite sad, but then [we] reveal she is actually going to go have a nice, power-free existence with her partner. So hopefully that will lessen the blow. Despite the fact that Maeve made it through the season, Kripke says that “it was time” to let the character move on.
The Boys was formally renewed for a fourth season a few weeks before the season finale. Viewers are excited to find out what happens next because the series ended on such a high note. The actor who plays Butcher in the show, Karl Urban, has revealed that he is currently filming the fourth season, so we might hear some brand-new information soon. In a statement, Vernon Sanders, head of global television at Amazon Studios, said, “From our first conversation with Eric Kripke and the creative team about Season 3 of ‘The Boys,’ we knew the show was continuing to get even bolder — an impressive feat considering the wild success of the Emmy-nominated second season.”
The Boys showrunner said, “On behalf of the cast and crew, we’re very grateful to Sony, Amazon, and most of all the fans for supporting the show and enabling us to do more. “We’re excited to carry on Butcher and the Boys’ conflict with Homelander and the Seven while also making observations on the weird world we live in. Additionally, this is the first time in history when success has followed an explosion of the genitalia.