Entertainment
Only 6 Action Shows Have Better Endings Than ‘The Boys’
The Boys went out the way that it lived: loud, bloody, and utterly uncompromising. The pretty much perfect series finale delivered us a dead Homelander, a broken (and dead) Butcher, and a team scattered to the wind — a bleak but necessary conclusion to a series that never truly believed in happy endings. Despite its gut-punching audacity, the show’s finale left many viewers feeling hollow, as endings tend to.
Throughout television history, it seems that merely a handful of action-packed dramas have mastered the elusive art of perfect endings, delivering devastating, cathartic, or just plain satisfying finales. Regardless of how perfect the ending to The Boys is, there are other shows that seemingly delivered even better conclusions. Only six action shows have better endings than The Boys, their conclusions poetic, impressive, and intense.
6
‘Person of Interest’ (2011–2016)
Person of Interest begins as a slick CBS procedural about a secretive billionaire, Finch (Michael Emerson), and an ex-CIA operative, Reese (Jim Caviezel), who work together to prevent crime using superintelligent AI. From there, it gradually evolves into a prophetic action drama; it spends the first two seasons in the shadows, playing cop-and-vigilante games, before escalating into a full-fledged war between two godlike artificial intelligences, the Machine and Samaritan. The action ramps up accordingly: urban warfare, sniper duels, and desperate last stands become the new normal, but the show’s core remains human.
The series finale, Season 5, Episode 13, “Return 0,” is a masterpiece by any standard. Despite being aired after a brutally shortened fifth season, it delivers a flawlessly structured finale. It shows Reese selflessly delaying everything and everyone, getting shot at and wounded, just to buy Finch time to upload a life-saving virus; it’s a moment of pure heroism that defies most modern, cynical action endings. In The Boys, Butcher (Karl Urban), the show’s unrelenting protagonist, also dies, not because he was willing to sacrifice himself, but because he needed to be stopped no matter what. Person of Interest demonstrates that sacrifice can be meaningful, that systems can learn goodness, and that people can choose to be decent.
5
‘Banshee’ (2013–2016)
Banshee is a show based on a brilliantly absurd premise: an ex-con, fresh out of prison, assumes the identity of a murdered sheriff in the small, crime-ridden town of Banshee, Pennsylvania. Over four seasons, Lucas Hood — played brilliantly by Antony Starr, a decade before he’d terrify us as Homelander — squared off against neo-Nazis, Amish gangsters, Ukrainian mobsters, and a dark past that didn’t allow him to move on. Banshee is pure pulp, with fight scenes so exciting that they make you grip the pillow, but also a surprisingly tender found family core, with “Hood” joining forces with the sardonic hacker Job (Hoon Lee), the gentle giant Sugar (Frankie Faison), and the complicated love of his life, Carrie (Ivana Milićević).
Season 4, Episode 8, “Requiem,” is a one-of-a-kind finale that blends the show’s signature bloodshed with poetic grace. Hood faces several enemies alongside Carrie, Job, and Sugar, but this is their final mission together. Hood has an emotional goodbye with Carrie and then sits with Job and Sugar for a final round before departing. The final image of Hood driving away, despite having said goodbye to everything he had known for the past few years, represents the hope that we were also able to see in the finale of The Boys. Banshee tells us that even the most battered warriors can find a glimmer of hope, just like The Boys finds its good soldiers living happily ever after, after all. And while The Boys‘ ending feels bittersweet, Banshee‘s rewards the audience’s emotional investment, showing this brutal show still has lots of soul.
4
‘Black Sails’ (2014–2017)
Black Sails was created as a raunchy, blood-soaked prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson‘s classic Treasure Island, following Captain Flint (Toby Stephens) and his battle against the British Empire from the pirate haven of Nassau. Over four increasingly ambitious seasons, this show evolved into something far richer: a Shakespearean tragedy about storytelling itself, in which history is written by the winners, and the distinction between monster and revolutionary becomes irrelevant. The action was always fantastic, with naval battles, beach invasions, and brutal sword fights, but the show’s true weapon was its dialogue, a dense, poetic exchange of philosophy and emotion that made each plot twist feel like a Greek drama.
The series finale, Season 4, Episode 10, “XXXVIII,” performs a breathtaking magic trick, revealing that Silver’s trump card against Flint is not a weapon but a secret. The final confrontation on Skeleton Island is more of a psychological demolition than a sword fight, as Silver uses his words to break Flint’s rage. Flint abandons the war and reunites with his long-lost lover in exile, finding peace despite being considered a monster in the eyes of many. It’s a conclusion that recognizes the power of myth, transforming a bloody pirate epic into a reflection on love and redemption. While The Boys possesses a blunt finality, Black Sails leaves us with possibilities, showing its prequel nature. This ending reframes four years of storytelling and encourages viewers to believe in the legend.
3
‘Spartacus’ (2010–2013)
Spartacus is an action series told through a hyper-stylized, blood-splattered visual language influenced by graphic novels. This Starz drama chronicles the legendary gladiator Spartacus (Andy Whitfield) and his journey from enslaved Thracian to rebel commander threatening the Roman Republic. The show is filled with sex, violence, and operatic melodrama, but beneath the surface is a classical tragedy about freedom, brotherhood, and defiance of the system. The death of original star Andy Whitfield could have been a fatal blow to the show’s success, but the recasting of Liam McIntyre in Seasons 2 and 3 built toward an ending that history had already written: Spartacus’ death. Spartacus remains one of the nearly perfect action shows of our time.
The series finale, Season 3, Episode 10, “Victory,” is a stunning achievement, a massive and emotionally punishing battle sequence that feels encapsulating in every sense. The action is monumental, with thousands of soldiers clashing, but the true power comes from all the farewells. Gannicus dies smiling, and Spartacus finally finds peace in death — it’s a clear and historically accurate ending. The Boys leaves its world safer but without epic, historical heroes, and spiritually wounded; Spartacus ends by insisting that a life of resistance, no matter how futile, is a life worth remembering. It shows that a legend can often outlast even the most powerful empires, particularly when it represents a fight for freedom and peace.
2
‘Justified’ (2010–2015)
Justified is a modern-day Western dressed up as a cop show, with Timothy Olyphant‘s Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens and Walton Goggins‘ eloquent outlaw Boyd Crowder driving the plot. Set in the coal-dusted hills of Harlan County, Kentucky, the show spends six seasons tracing the fateful connection between these two men who grew up together and then found themselves on opposing sides of the law. The action is always entertaining, with quick gunfights, tense standoffs, and the occasional rocket launched with “Fire in the hole!” shouted out. However, the show’s soul lies in its dialogue, which often feels like a symphony of Southern wit and Shakespearean menace.
The finale of Justified, Season 6, Episode 13, “The Promise,” is an excellent example of delayed gratification. For years, the show teased a final, fatal confrontation between Raylan and Boyd, but the ending defies all expectations. Instead of a blazing duel, we get two quiet conversations: one in a prison cell and the other in a dusty field, where Raylan finally admits the bond he’s spent his entire life denying, though he and Boyd both understand that that bond is neither friendship nor a grudge but a simmering in-between. Every character receives a fitting ending, with Ava escaping, Boyd ending up in prison, and Raylan being transferred to Miami. Unlike The Boys‘ slew of violent, bloody deaths, Justified concludes somewhat peacefully, with the simple truth that some connections cannot be severed. It feels like Butcher and Homelander, although distorted in many ways.
1
‘The Shield’ (2002–2008)
The Shield is the FX drama that changed the rules of cable television by introducing us to Michael Chiklis‘ Vic Mackey, a corrupt LAPD detective whose strike team terrorized criminals and civilians alike in the name of a twisted, self-serving version of justice. Over the course of seven seasons, Mackey committed atrocities that would make Homelander proud, including murder, robbery, and betrayal of everyone who ever trusted him, all while claiming to be protecting his family. The show is a harrowing, morally chaotic ride, shot in a jittery documentary style that makes all the violence happening in it feel sickeningly real.
The finale, Season 7, Episode 13, “Family Meeting,” is without a doubt the best ending in action television history. There is no climactic shootout or last-minute redemption; rather, it is a brilliantly orchestrated finale against the show’s most violent transgressor — its protagonist. Vic discovers that his wife, Corinne, has been working with the feds against him, requesting witness protection for herself and their children. Vic is chained to his desk by a supervisor who cannot wait to make his life miserable, and the dramatic irony of a predator who thrived on the hunt now chained to a desk feels like the best version of justice. The Boys kills its monster and call it a day, but The Shield forces him to live, suffocating in his own cage, fully aware of everything he has done and lost. It is the purest, most merciless expression of consequences ever depicted on screen — a finale so well-crafted that it elevates every previous episode. That’s not just a better ending than The Boys; it’s the standard by which all endings are judged.
The Shield
- Release Date
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2002 – 2008
- Directors
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Guy Ferland, Scott Brazil, Clark Johnson, Dean White, Stephen Kay, Gwyneth Horder-Payton, D. J. Caruso, Nick Gomez, Paris Barclay, Peter Horton, Félix Enríquez Alcalá, Philip G. Atwell, Terrence O’Hara, Billy Gierhart, Brad Anderson, Craig Brewer, David Mamet, Davis Guggenheim, Frank Darabont, Gary Fleder, John Badham, Leslie Libman, Michael Fields, Scott Winant
- Writers
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Shawn Ryan, Glen Mazzara, Charles H. Eglee, Kim Clements, Kevin Arkadie, Gary Lennon, John Hlavin, Lisa Randolph, Reed Steiner, Angela Russo-Otstot, Diego Gutierrez, Ted Griffin, Elizabeth Craft, Emily Lewis, Jameal Turner, Renee Palyo
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