From Homelander's fate to Butcher's collapse: Theories ahead of The Boys finale

Dubai: After five seasons of corporate superheroes, political chaos and some of the most unhinged television ever made, The Boys ends this week. The series finale drops on Prime Video on 20 May, and the internet is absolutely spiralling.

With seven episodes already out and just one left to go, every loose thread is now under a microscope. Here is where things stand and what fans think is coming.

Episode 7 left almost nothing resolved in any comfortable way. Homelander has disbanded The Seven, Butcher is careening toward something catastrophic, and The Deep has hit what Chace Crawford himself describes as his character's lowest point ever.

The Gen V characters have shown up for the final stretch, even if their futures beyond the show remain uncertain following the cancellation of their spin-off. Creator Eric Kripke has confirmed that their storylines are deliberately left open, saying the team is already thinking about how to bring them back.

This is the question driving most of the fan theories right now, and the most convincing answer keeps pointing to Soldier Boy. After Episode 6 showed Jensen Ackles' character successfully stripping Bombsight of her powers using his radioactive blast, fans immediately connected the dots.

If that same ability works on Homelander, it could be the only believable way to bring down someone who now operates at near-godlike levels. A direct physical fight has never worked, which is why most viewers think the finale will rely on strategy rather than brute force.

Some fans have taken this further, arguing that losing his powers would actually be a crueller fate for Homelander than death. For a man built entirely on control, superiority and public worship, becoming ordinary overnight could destroy him in ways that no punch ever could.

The closer the finale gets, the more convinced fans are that Billy Butcher's arc is heading toward tragedy rather than redemption. Karl Urban's antihero has been pushed so far morally across five seasons that a heroic exit feels almost dishonest to the character.

The most popular theory has him either dying alongside Homelander in one final confrontation, or surviving physically while losing whatever was left of his humanity after unleashing the supe virus. Neither version is comfortable, which is exactly why both feel right for this show.

While Homelander and Butcher are the centre of the physical war, many fans believe Ryan holds the real power in the finale, not through strength but through what he represents to his father.

Homelander's biggest vulnerability has never been someone who could hit harder than him. It has always been his desperate need for love and loyalty.

A theory gaining serious traction online suggests Ryan ultimately rejecting his father could shatter Homelander in a way no weapon ever could. Others think Ryan and Hughie may eventually have to turn their attention to stopping Butcher as well, particularly if he fully loses control.

Crawford has been refreshingly blunt about where this is all heading. Speaking to Collider, he said fans are going to be pleased with The Deep's ending, describing it as full circle from the pilot and adding that his comeuppance is going to be very sweet.

Getting banned from the ocean by a hammerhead shark voiced by Samuel L Jackson, followed by shouting swimming instructions at a drowning man he could not save, set the tone for a character who has spent years playing the victim while never taking responsibility for anything. Crawford put it simply: he has never had real consequences. So here they are.

One of the most discussed theories heading into the finale is not about who kills Homelander, but whether killing him actually changes anything. The argument is that Homelander has always been a product of the system, not the source of it.

Vought created him, politics protected him and public worship sustained him. Even if he dies in the finale, that system remains. The show has spent five seasons suggesting that removing one powerful man is not enough to fix a deeply corrupted world, and many fans believe the finale will land on exactly that uncomfortable note rather than offering any real victory.

Kripke has made clear he did not want the spin-off cancelled and fought to keep it going. He has also confirmed that The Boys finale does not close the Gen V characters' arcs, saying the team is already working on ideas to continue their story. Marie Moreau in particular has unfinished business. Kripke has explained that despite her power, she is a 19-year-old still learning to control her abilities, nowhere near ready to face someone like Homelander. That story still has a next chapter, even if where it lands is not yet decided.

The Boys series finale streams on Prime Video on 20 May.