Soldier Boy’s Fate & How It Sets Up The Boys Season 5’s MacGuffin Explained By Eric Kripke

Warning: There are spoilers ahead for The Boys season 5, episode 2, “Teenage Kix.”Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) is back, and showrunner Eric Kripke explains how his fate sets up the rest of The Boys season 5.

Homelander (Antony Starr) takes Soldier Boy out of his cryogenically frozen state to track down Billy Butcher (Karl Urban), but things take a deadly turn when Ackles’ character is exposed to a virus that can kill supes. He initially appears to have been killed by the virus, but the end of The Boys season 5, episode 2, proves otherwise, as he sits up while encased inside a body bag.

In an interview with TV Insider, Kripke was asked about the implications of Soldier Boy surviving the lethal virus. The showrunner confirms that the character isn’t dead and the reason he is immune to the virus sets up “the primary MacGuffin of the season” that Homelander and the Boys will race to find. Check out Kripke’s comments below:

Yes, it is true that Soldier Boy is not dead, and the reasons that he’s seemingly immune to this virus are what really set up the primary MacGuffin of the season. It really turns everything on its head. Suddenly, there is a way to survive the virus, and so it becomes a race of who acquires it. If Homelander acquires it, it’s game over. If The Boys acquire it, then maybe the people that they love can survive, and so everyone’s battling for the future. Can they survive this war? Can they survive this particular virus? And this storyline becomes a big driver of the season.

The Boys season 5 trailers teased that Homelander would be searching for V1, Vought’s first iteration of Compound V, and that it could make him immortal. This is likely the primary MacGuffin and the source of Soldier Boy’s immunity that Kripke is hinting at. Since Soldier Boy is one of Vought’s original supes, it makes sense that he was injected with V1, and it is why he survived the virus when the Teenage Kix supes in the room did not.

Homelander will seemingly be impossible to defeat if he finds V1 and injects himself with it, thereby making him immune to the virus. Beyond stopping Homelander, Kripke brings up the possibility of the MacGuffin being able to protect Annie January/Starlight (Erin Moriarty), Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara), and Butcher from the virus despite the Compound V in their blood. Butcher has a terminal brain tumor and limited time left to live, but Annie and Kimiko may still have long futures if they survive the fight ahead and get immunity through V1.

Another intriguing implication of V1 is how it will make Homelander even more insecure about himself by knowing that he does not have the most powerful version of Compound V in his blood. Homelander’s insecurity is poised to drive the race for the MacGuffin as much as the strategic reason for wanting it to protect himself.

Which Member of The Boys Are You? – Personality Quiz

Vought International · ClassifiedWhich Member of The Boys Are You?“With great power comes the absolute certainty that you’ll turn into a right c***.”

⚡HomelanderAmerica’s Hero

🔨ButcherThe Boys’ Leader

✨StarlightThe Real Hero

🎵HughieJust Some Guy

🌸KimikoThe Female

ENTER VOUGHT TOWER →

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It’s Friday night and you’ve got no obligations. What’s your move?

AStaying in, listening to music, avoiding anything that could go wrongBGoing somewhere I’ll be recognized — I need to be seenCDrinking at a dive bar, planning my next move against someone who wronged meDMeeting with people who actually want to make a difference — there’s always work to doEWatching a musical or dancing alone in my room — the quiet moments are mine

← BACKNEXT →

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A Supe goes rogue in the middle of the city. Civilians are in danger. What do you do?

ARun toward the danger — powers or not, someone has to help these peopleBFinally. This is what I’ve been preparing for. Time to put the plan into actionCThis is MY city. I’ll handle it — and make sure the cameras are rollingDMove fast, move silent. Get the civilians out first, deal with the Supe secondEI’m terrified, but I’m not leaving. Someone hand me something I can use

← BACKNEXT →

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Someone you trusted has been working with the enemy. How do you react?

ARage. Pure, white-hot rage. They’re going to pay for thisBIt guts me. I trusted them. But I need to understand why before I reactCBetrayal? No one betrays ME. They’ll regret the day they were bornDIt hurts, but I can’t let it break me — there are bigger things at stakeEI say nothing. But I remember. And when the time comes, they’ll know

← BACKNEXT →

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How would the people closest to you honestly describe you?

ASomeone who always tries to do the right thing, even when it’s hardBThe most powerful person in the room — and they’d better not forget itCQuiet, but absolutely not someone you want to crossDA bastard, probably. But a bastard who gets resultsENervous, a little awkward, but surprisingly brave when it counts

← BACKNEXT →

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You discover that a powerful institution has been covering up something horrific. What do you do?

AExpose it. Go public. The truth is the most powerful weapon there isBBurn it to the ground. Scorched earth. No half-measuresCGather evidence carefully — we need to do this the right way or they’ll bury itDDepends. Is it MY institution? If so, the cover-up continues. If not, I’ll weaponize itEFind the people responsible. Personally. No press conference needed

← BACKNEXT →

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Vought offers you a deal: power, money, and protection — but you have to look the other way on something terrible. What do you do?

ATake the deal. Power IS the point. Morality is for people who can’t afford ambitionBRefuse. Loudly. And then figure out how to bring them down from outsideCRefuse, but quietly — then start gathering evidence from the insideDTake the deal, use their resources, then double-cross them spectacularlyEWalk away silently. I’ve been someone’s weapon before. Never again

← BACKNEXT →

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After everything you’ve been through, how do you cope with the darkness?

ABadly. Whiskey, grudges, and the promise of revenge keep me goingBI lean on the people I love — they’re the only reason I haven’t completely lost itCI remind myself why I’m fighting. The anger becomes purposeDArt, music, expression — the things they could never take from meEI don’t cope. I dominate. If the darkness scares you, become the thing they fear

← BACKNEXT →

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When the fight is finally over and Vought is gone, what matters most to you?

AThat we did it the right way — that we didn’t become the thing we were fightingBPeace. Real peace. A life where I choose who I am, not what I was made to beCThat the truth came out and people finally know what was done to themDThat every last one of them got what they deservedEOver? It’s never over. There’s always someone who needs to be reminded who’s in charge

REVEAL MY CHARACTER →

Vought Psychological Profile CompleteYour Boys Alter Ego

⚡

Homelander

“I can do whatever I want.”You crave control and validation in equal measure. On the surface, you project confidence and power — the kind that makes people either worship you or cower. But underneath? There’s a void that no amount of adoration can fill. You demand loyalty but struggle to give it. You’re at your most dangerous when you feel cornered, and at your most human when you realize that all the power in the world can’t make someone genuinely love you. You’re not the hero — you’re the cautionary tale.

NarcissisticTerrifyingCharismaticUnstable

🔨

Billy Butcher

“I’m gonna f***in’ kill you all.”You’re a wrecking ball with a grudge, and God help anyone standing between you and your target. Your rage is legendary — but so is the pain that fuels it. You’d burn the world down for the people you love, and that’s both your greatest strength and your fatal flaw. You don’t play by the rules because the rules were written by the people you’re fighting against. Underneath all that bravado is someone who’s terrified of losing anyone else.

RuthlessDrivenSelf-DestructiveLoyal

✨

Starlight

“I’m done being controlled.”You walked into a corrupt system believing you could change it from the inside — and against all odds, you might be right. You’ve been lied to, manipulated, and betrayed, but none of it broke your moral compass. You fight not because you enjoy it, but because someone has to stand up. You’re the kind of person who sees the worst in people and still chooses to believe in the best. That’s not naivety — that’s courage.

BravePrincipledResilientCompassionate

🎵

Hughie Campbell

“I don’t want to be a person who can just let things go.”You never asked for any of this. You were living a quiet life, and then the world showed you something so unjust that you couldn’t look away. You’re not the strongest or the loudest, but you have something most people lack: the stubborn refusal to accept that this is just how things are. You’re terrified most of the time, but you show up anyway. That’s not weakness — that’s the definition of bravery. You fumble, you doubt, but you never quit.

AnxiousResourcefulMoralBrave

🌸

Kimiko

“You are my heart.”You’ve been through horrors that would destroy most people, and yet here you are — still fighting, still caring, still protecting the ones you love. You don’t need words to communicate what matters; your actions say everything. You’re a contradiction in the most beautiful way: capable of devastating violence, but driven by an overwhelming tenderness. The world tried to make you a weapon, but you chose to be a person. That choice is the bravest thing anyone can do.

LethalGentleProtectiveTraumatized

↻ PLAY AGAIN

While The Boys season 5 is focused on wrapping up the story it’s been telling since 2019, it is also setting up the story of Vought Rising, the upcoming prequel series featuring Soldier Boy in the 1950s and in the earlier days of Vought. The spinoff, which Kripke previously shared will debut in 2027, can reveal more about V1, why it was abandoned in favor of other iterations of Compound V, and any ways it affected Soldier Boy at this earlier stage in his life.

Other members of The Boys‘ cast of characters who are expected to be involved in the search for V1 include Hughie Campbell (Jack Quaid), Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso), and Frenchie (Tomer Capone). Sister Sage (Susan Heyward) will probably be very interested in it as well, as it has the potential to be a major variable in her long-term schemes and pursuit of power.

The Boys releases new episodes Wednesdays on Prime Video.