RECAP: ‘The Boys’ Season 5 Episode 6 — “Though The Heavens Fall”

After airing one of the best episodes of the entire series, The Boys Season 5 Episode 6, “Though the Heavens Fall”, is in a way business as usual. Directed by Catriona McKenzie and written by David Reed, The Boys Season 5 Episode 6 can get lost in setting up the Vought Rising spin-off, but otherwise is a sprawling, momentous episode with plenty of important reveals. 

The Boys Season 5 Episode 6 begins, of all places, in a movie theater. Behind the counter is a figure we’ve not seen since the third season, a former Vought employee-turned-informant for The Boys known as The Legend (Paul Reiser). The Legend’s reintroduction tells you all you need to know about his character, snorting cocaine as he reminisces on the glory days.

His movie theater job opens up for some pretty funny cultural references, namely a parody of the Nicole Kidman AMC theaters ad starring the recently deceased Firecracker and a The Deep popcorn bucket with its mouth wide open. The Legend’s soon brought out of retirement when Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso) shows up. 

Under the cover of night, The Boys try to knock out Geisha.

Bringing The Legend back to their hideaway, he clues them in that the best way to get to Bombsight—who has the last known V1—is to go and visit his ex-lover Golden Geisha at the Vought Villages retirement home. The Legend and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) go to Vought Villages, only to be quickly rebuffed by Golden Geisha, who still has a sense of loyalty towards Bombsight.

It’s interesting to see The Boys continue to build out the history of its fictional universe. Even if most of it is just a transparent setup for the series’ next spin-off, Vought Rising, it nonetheless adds some rich texture to the proceedings.

Under the cover of night, The Boys come as a group to try to knock out Geisha and then kidnap her to lure Bombsight out. Their plan hits an immediate snag when the fellow residents of Vought Villages come out to stop them, leading to a hilarious fight scene where one of the elderly assailants uses his hanging testicles as a weapon. That’s just classic The Boys right there.

In The Boys Season 5 Episode 6, Sister Sage convinces Ashley to read Soldier Boy’s mind.

Meanwhile, in one of the many subplots of The Boys Season 5 Episode 6, Sister Sage (Susan Heyward) convinces Ashley (Colby Minife), or rather the back of Ashley’s head, aka “Bashley”, to read Soldier Boy’s mind. Bashley learns that Soldier Boy is already on Bombsight’s trail, prompting Sister Sage to initiate “Phase 3”: joining The Boys to help them stop Homelander from getting V1.

Now this is an interesting direction for Sage, one that makes a certain amount of sense for her character, yet could also be just another cog in her grand master plan. It’s a credit to Susan Heyward that it’s hard to know exactly what she’s playing at. 

Sage accompanies The Boys to a warehouse where they’ve successfully kidnapped Golden Geisha. When they lay out that they need the V1, she reveals that Bombsight was holding onto the V1 in hopes that she would eventually take it, but she refused, stating that “summer’s only beautiful when you know winter’s coming.”

In a way, both The Legend and Homelander are victims of the Vought machine.

The poignancy of this statement causes Kimiko to reveal to Frenchie (Tomer Capone) that she and Annie (Erin Moriarty) are hesitant about using V1 because they don’t want to watch their loved ones wither away, yet she reaffirms that they will still take it if that’s what the group wants. This quiet moment centers on what can often get lost in a busy season- the idea that no matter what the outcome is, innocent Supes will be left to suffer in some way as a result of the civil war Homelander has started. 

Back at the movie theater, Homelander (Anthony Starr) arrives, lasering The Legend’s coworker to death. Before he can even threaten The Legend, he gladly gives up The Boys’ hideout. One thing that has colored The Boys Season 5 is how political conflict can be an easy way for opportunists to survive, hopping over lines of the conflict the second it’ll save their neck. The Legend is yet another example of that. Anyways, Homelander finds very little there but a Taco Bell receipt, which The Legend sees as nothing, but he sees it as Sister Sage pointedly taunting him.

Seeing Homelander’s frustration, The Legend—who knows Homelander is going to die – gives him a speech about how it’s the natural cycle of life to be on top of the world and then pushed out of your position, and that he feels for Homelander’s insecurities. In probably my favorite moment of The Boys Season 5 Episode 6, Homelander recognizes that The Legend’s empathy is genuine, so he lets him walk free. In a way, both The Legend and Homelander are victims of the Vought machine, so their seeing a strange sort of kinship in each other feels unexpectedly dramatic. 

Soldier Boy has a majorly surprising change of heart.

Returning to the warehouse, Bombsight (Mason Dye) finally arrives, looking extremely young due to his immortality. He threatens The Boys, but Golden Geisha pleads with him to just enjoy the years he will have with her, as so many have already been wasted on not talking due to his not accepting her unwillingness to take the V1. At this moment, Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) shows up, whom Sage claims she called, as nobody hates Homelander quite as much. 

The two fight in a big, over-the-top, very CGI-heavy-looking fight scene whose rough look can be forgiven by how cool it is to see two Vought titans going at each other. There is a considerable history between Bombsight and Soldier Boy, indicated by the dialogue, which is as blatant a Vought Rising set-up as it comes. Even still, it leads to a great moment where, in exchange for the V1, Soldier Boy uses his chest blast to de-power Bombsight, giving him the mortal life he so desires. 

Just then, Homelander arrives. In a majorly surprising change of heart, Soldier Boy recognizes that he is the epitome of what Vought set out to accomplish, giving him the V1. Homelander takes it, screaming in agony as two massive blasts of energy come out of his eyes into the sky like a massive harbinger of doom. The Boys look on in horror. 

The Boys Season 5 Episode 6 is another great installment of a standout season.

The main plotline of The Boys Season 5 Episode 6 can get a little lost in the weeds of expanding the universe’s history and setting up Vought Rising. Overall, though, it’s plenty dramatically compelling stuff that carries a distinct momentum, with the reality of The Boys’ crusade setting in as it all comes to a head. No matter how things end, someone will have to suffer, and since Homelander has the V1, a lot of people will.

That’s to say nothing of the episode’s B-plot, which is so great I had to save it for last. The Deep (Chace Crawford) is being made by Vought to advertise an oil pipeline off the coast of Alaska as safe for fish in order to quell protesters. The pipeline soon explodes, killing over a billion fish, which he finds out is the doing of none other than Black Noir II (Nathan Mitchell) as revenge for what he did last episode. The Deep snaps, violently killing Black Noir II in their podcast studio. 

This moment is perfectly executed, giving Black Noir II a tragic end for a tragic character while also underscoring how willing The Deep is to betray anyone who gets in his way. The Deep has somehow survived his way through five seasons of The Boys, but at what cost?

The Boys Season 5 Episode 6 is another great installment of a standout season that may suffer from the aforementioned set-up issues, but has such a firm lock on themes, tone, and character that it remains a must-watch. Bring on the next episode!

The Boys Season 5 Episodes 1-6 are now streaming on Prime Video, with new episodes every Wednesday.

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