'The Boys' Season 5: Is Ryan Dead?

The Boys already presented plenty of action in the first two episodes of season 5. With the supers-killing virus almost taking out Soldier Boy, there was a boatload of drama to unpack heading into the third episode.

So why not add another important character back into the mix? Homelander's son, Ryan, is revealed to be in hiding after last season's finale. He comes back looking for revenge against Homelander, and Butcher is once again the one to cater to the young man's worst instincts.

Nobody wants to get into a bloody fight like a teenage boy. Despite Butcher's warning, Ryan decides to go looking for Homelander and confront him after Butcher tells Ryan that Homelander assaulted his mother.

The scene turns into one of the most harrowing in the show. Ryan gives his father his best shot, but Homelander is still too powerful. He beats his son into a bloody pulp, leaving viewers to wonder whether Ryan is dead or alive.

Ryan's fate: seemingly alive?

The episode ends with Butcher finding Ryan lying immobile, where Homelander left him after the brawl. It appears that Ryan breathes just barely when Butcher walks over to check on him. It's safe to say that Ryan is alive, somehow, at the end of the episode.

Homelander has done a lot of devastating and despicable things throughout the first four seasons of the series. Beating his son to a near-death state has to rank as high as any horrible act yet.

Ryan looks to still factor into the show's endgame, but he must avoid taking on Homelander in an individual conflict. Watching him try to fend for himself was painful. It seems that every young super-powered individual on TV wants to try and defeat the universe's ultimate villain (looking at you, Oliver, from Invincible). Courage knows no bounds with the youth, I suppose.

Homelander ends the episode in a position at the top of the food chain again. He has Stan Edgar back in his grasp, both literally and figuratively. He's on the fast track to finding V1, the compound that Soldier Boy possesses that saved him from the super-virus in the last episode. Who's going to stop him?

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Apr 18, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published April 18, 2026 at 12:48 AM.