Eric Kripke Addresses Fans’ Concerns About ‘The Boys’ Episodes: A Response to Those Who Feel There’s Too Much Filler
As The Boys approaches its final two episodes, showrunner Eric Kripke emphasizes the necessity of wrapping up each character’s storyline effectively.
In response to social media criticism regarding “filler episodes” in the fifth and final season, Kripke defended the narrative choices made in the series, which will release its penultimate episode next Wednesday. The series finale is set to premiere on May 19 at 9:30 PM in 4DX theaters, followed by its debut on Prime Video the next day.
“None of the things that happen in the last few episodes will matter if you don’t flesh out the characters. I’m getting a lot of online dissatisfaction, to put it politely,” he explained in an interview with TV Guide. “And I’m like, ‘What are you expecting? Are you expecting a huge battle scene every episode?’”
Kripke noted that budgeting constraints limited the ability to include continuous fight scenes in the final season. He stated that such an approach would lead to a narrative that is “so empty and dull, and it would just be about shapes moving without having any import.”
Further defending the storyline, Kripke remarked, “At no point during the writing of it was I like, ‘Oh yeah, we’re making filler episodes. So who cares?’ We all thought at the time we’re really getting these important character details. We have something like 14 characters, maybe 15. And I owe it to all of them — in that television is the character business — I owe it to all of them to flesh them out and humanize them and their stories.”
Chace Crawford as The Deep, Antony Starr as Homelander, and Nathan Mitchell as Black Noir in ‘The Boys’
Kripke and his writing team believe they have delivered “crazy, big things” in the final season. “It’s just sometimes it’s a giant character movement,” he remarked.
He continued, “But apparently, just because it’s not plot, you’re like, ‘Nothing happened!’ I’m like, ‘Nothing happened, what?’” He insisted that significant developments occurred, albeit without traditional action sequences. “If that’s what you want, you’re just watching the wrong show.”
In related news, the college offshoot Gen V was canceled after two seasons last month, and the animated series The Boys Presents: Diabolical is unlikely to see a second season renewal.
