The Boys season 5 episode 3 is out now on Prime Video — and its fanbase has been left divided over a key moment in the Amazon TV show’s latest entry.
Indeed, this week’s installment, titled ‘Every One You Sons of Bitches’, nearly sees another Supe lose their life at Homelander’s hands. And, while some viewers are glad that the series’ Big Bad doesn’t go through with killing said individual, others argue that Homelander should have dealt the final blow for, well, reasons I’ll get into shortly.
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Is Ryan dead in The Boys season 5?
No. Ryan, who is the son of Homelander and Billy Butcher’s dead wife Becca, survives the near-fatal encounter with his unhinged and incredibly powerful father.
Towards the end of the Prime Video show’s latest installment, Ryan meets with his estranged dad after the former has yet another falling out with Billy. Earlier in the episode, Billy and Ryan had agreed that the latter would use the Supe-killing virus on Homelander to bump him off and end his reign of terror. However, Billy shelves the plan when Doctor Sameer, who had been helping the titular team create more doses of said virus, abandons his post after being reunited with his daughter Zoey. Furious about the delay, Ryan storms out.
Seething over Billy’s decision and, having learned that Homelander sexually assaulted Becca many years earlier — a traumatic incident that led to Ryan’s conception — in The Boys season 4 finale, an incensed Ryan finally confronts Homelander alone.
Ryan manages to keep a lid on his anger as the pair chat. However, when Homelander mentions that he’s found a way to achieve immortality via V1, aka the Supe-creating serum that was first given to Homelander’s dad Soldier Boy, Ryan loses it and attacks Homelander. The latter tries to calm his son down but, eventually, Homelander loses his own cool and uses his own superhuman abilities to overpower Ryan and almost pummel him to death.
Fortunately for Ryan, Homelander doesn’t inflict the final blow as, in a moment of mercy from the usually impulsive Supe, he simply decides to leave. Not long after, Billy finds a severely injured Ryan where Homelander left him — and, thankfully, Ryan is still breathing. The wait continues, then, for the The Boys season 5 to claim its next victim.
Why The Boys’ fanbase can’t agree on whether Homelander should have killed Ryan
This had me holding my breath the entire time this was so intense. You can tell homelander decided to continuously punch Ryan because he made him bleed 🫢😭 #TheBoys https://t.co/ZSlAwmLPWuApril 15, 2026
In the wake of The Boys‘ latest episode airing on one of the world’s best streaming services, its fanbase has been unable to agree on whether it was the right decision to let Ryan live.
On the surface, the argument from those who say Homelander ought to have killed him might shock you, but they have their reasons.
On Reddit, user ztoff27 wrote: “Feel like they should have went through with it and killed Ryan here. Would really hammer it down that there’s nothing holding Homelander back anymore.”
Able_Contribution407 agreed, saying: “Yeah, same. Would have been a big moment. Hopefully they have something cool for Ryan later to justify not doing it”. Meanwhile, over on the ResetEra forums, user Stavo opined: “I wish they’d commit to Homelander killing Ryan because Butcher f****d up.”
Recent episode of The Boys. Hopefully this actually gets Ryan to finally join with others against Homelander and stop trying to do it all on his own. pic.twitter.com/qUqb7dW4WfApril 15, 2026
Other viewers breathed a sigh of relief that Ryan had lived to tell the tale.
“I really thought Homelander was about to crush Ryan’s skull,” Redditor Quinn_Maeve wrote. “Me too. I was scared too look when butcher showed up,” jalapenopizza_ replied. “I thought he was going to be dead and the next plot point would be Marie reviving him,” Nice_Reading5272 added.
Of course, like every Supe who populates this universe, Ryan’s fate is yet to be determined. Will he perish alongside everyone else with a version of Compound V flowing through their veins, or will he miraculously make it out alive?
“I knew he wasn’t going to die, but still, the way the plot is progressing, he, Butcher, and Homelander are all going to die together. The whole reason the writer had Ryan kill those Russians was so that no one would feel bad for him,” cganimater mused, to which EdgyBoi79 responded: “I genuinely doubt Ryan will end up dying. I feel like the show needs to end up in hopeful note for both Supes and non-Supes, and Ryan being the Superman of this show is too good of a hopeful Supe ending to pass up.”
“I’ve really grown to like the theory that Ryan will become the true Superman in this universe after all the heinous shit Vought has wrecked [sic],” vcmac surmised. “The idea of him becoming better and doing it in spite of the machine, rather than because of it, would make for an optimistic ending after what’s going to likely be a bloodbath. I never cared much for his character but this episode really sold me on him. Accepting his own death and going up against his dad is what a real superhero would do.”
However, lovescenarioikon opposed that possible ending, saying: “I think the best fate for Ryan is for him to lose his powers. He mentions in the episode that he hurts everyone he knows, and while he does outright say it its all because of his status and powers. Him being powerless and living a normal life would be the perfect ending for him.”
What do you think will happen to Ryan by the show’s end? Let me know in the comments.
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