Is Ryan Dead On The Boys? | Comic Book Club

Pretty much ever since the Season 5 trailer for The Boys debuted, fans have been wildly speculating who Homelander (Antony Starr) was bloodily beating in a Planet Vought. Was it Billy Butcher (Karl Urban)? Perhaps a returning Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott)? Turns out as of this week’s episode, “Every One of You Sons of Bitches,” it’s neither of those. In fact — massive spoilers past this point — Homelander is beating his own son, Ryan (Cameron Crovetti). But did he beat the super-powered boy to death? Or only half to death? Put simply: is Ryan dead on The Boys?

Without dragging this out too much, no, Ryan is not dead on The Boys. It’s maybe a little too subtle but in the final moments of the episode as Butcher finds Ryan’s bruised, battered body, he touches his cheek and there’s a little exhale of breath. Rather than Ryan’s death rattle, this is supposed to tell us Ryan is still alive; though given Butcher lets go of him and looks concerned while the camera cuts to a wide shot of the wreckage, you’d be forgiven from thinking the final season claimed another victim.

To take a little step back here, the episode begins with Ryan on the run in Russia after accidentally killing Mallory (Laila Robins) last season. He returns thanks to his ongoing bond with the tentacle-mouthed Olivia Morandin (Zoe), who wants to kill Butcher for killing her mom, Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit). Ryan is hesitant because Butcher is his sort-of father. But Butcher wants Ryan to kill his real father, Homelander.

There’s a lot of back and forth here, but the short version is that after Zoe is reunited with her father and destroys the Supe virus meant to kill Homelander (and Ryan as the delivery vehicle), Ryan wants to take on Homelander mano a mano. Butcher tells him that’s a suicide mission, but the pissed off kid doesn’t care. He calls his biological father to the now rechristened Planet Homelander, and confronts him about raping his mom, Becca Butcher (Shantel Vansanten).

Homelander lies, then prevaricates, then sighs and proceeds to hold Ryan down, beating him into submission. It’s a harrowing echo of the idea that Homelander raped Becca, and leaves Ryan bloodied, alone, in the destroyed restaurant.

…But it doesn’t leave him dead, in case that wasn’t clear from when I said this earlier. While Ryan may still be marked for death, as this season isn’t holding back, he’s still alive to fight his father one more time — or more — if he wants. And given the beating Homelander gave him this episode, here’s hoping he does get one more crack at revenge before we’re done.

The Boys Season 5 Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:

The Boys Season 5 will officially premiere on Prime Video on Wednesday, April 8, 2026. The season will be eight episodes long, with two dropping on premiere day.

Here’s the full list of episodes in The Boys Season 5, with premiere dates:

Wednesday, April 8, 2026: The Boys Season 5, Episode 1, “Fifteen Inches of Sheer Dynamite”
Wednesday, April 8, 2026: The Boys Season 5, Episode 2, “Teenage Kix”
Wednesday, April 15, 2026: The Boys Season 5, Episode 3, “Every One of You Sons of Bitches”
Wednesday, April 22, 2026: The Boys Season 5, Episode 4, “Through the Heavens Fall”
Wednesday, April 29, 2026: The Boys Season 5, Episode 5, “One-Shots”
Wednesday, May 6, 2026: The Boys Season 5, Episode 6, “King of Hell”
Wednesday, May 13, 2026: The Boys Season 5, Episode 7, “The Frenchman, The Female, and the Man Called Mother’s Milk”
Wednesday, May 20, 2026: The Boys Season 5, Episode 8, “Blood and Bone” *Series Finale*