The Boys Creator Says Season 5 Death ‘Had To Happen’

This article contains major spoilers for the most recent instalment of The Boys.

With fans still reeling from the shock death of a lead character in the penultimate episode of the The Boys (season 5), creator Eric Kripke has opened up about what went into the decision.

Now, before we go any further, we are about to say the name of the character who died. So, make sure you’ve watched the episode before you go on reading any further, OK?

So, as you hopefully know by now, episode seven of The Boys’ final season saw Tomer Capone’s Frenchie sacrificing himself in order to save Kimiko Miyashiro.

During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, showrunner Eric Kripke said it was always the plan to “kill off one of The Boys” as the show reached its climax.

“You can’t have a shot at victory unless it costs your heroes something that’s really hard,” he insisted.

“I always think The Lord Of The Rings was so good at that, and Game of Thrones was so good at that. For narrative momentum, your heroes have to pay a steep price – because that’s how it works in the real world.”

Once he and the team came to this conclusion, they began “going through each character and deciding what was going to be the most heart wrenching”.

“I think we knew early on it was going to be Frenchie,” he said, pointing out that “in so many ways, Frenchie and Kimiko are the heart of the show”.

He continued: “Despite what killers they are, they’re both so emotionally sweet. We knew this would have real maximum destruction, and I think it had to happen.

“They would not have a chance of winning if Frenchie doesn’t sacrifice himself.”

Meanwhile, in a recent interview with the LA Times, Tomer admitted he’s not been able to bring himself to watch Frenchie’s death yet.

“It’s the longest character I ever had in my career, and I can’t. Something tells me not yet,” he shared.

Tomer continued: “I wasn’t surprised when I heard from Eric that Frenchie was continuing on to the big field [in the sky].”

He added: “I had this feeling. I didn’t want to say it out loud. It’s like, at this point, the fifth season, we all felt it. We knew where it was going.”

Following Wednesday’s instalment, there’s now less than a week to go until The Boys comes to an end for good.

While spin-off series Gen V has also been cancelled, its creators previously insisted that its central players would appear in “other VCU projects on the horizon”.