As The Boys speeds toward its own Prime Video finale, Anthony Starr — the actor behind the chaotic anti-hero Homelander — has been thinking hard about what makes an ending work.
After years of lasers, jaw-dropping twists and some of the most wild moments on television, sticking the landing matters. Starr is well aware how easily a final episode can leave viewers feeling deflated.
And it’s not just theory for him — he’s been paying attention to how other huge shows have wrapped things up.
The Stranger Things finale arrived on New Year’s Day after what felt like an endless build-up, positioned as the definitive closing chapter for Eleven, Vecna and the Upside Down.
For many viewers, it marked the end of a major TV era.
But plenty of fans came away disappointed, arguing the ending softened its biggest emotional swings — especially after an epilogue revealed Eleven survived what looked like a final sacrifice and was now living in Iceland.
Criticism grew loud enough that some viewers convinced themselves the real ending was still out there, insisting a secret ninth episode had been hidden. The online theory even picked up a name: Conformity Gate.
It never materialised. That was truly the final episode.
Starr appears to have shared some of that confusion, even if he avoided aiming blame at anyone directly. Asked recently whether any series has ever managed to deliver a universally satisfying conclusion, he hesitated — then hinted he’d been turning over one ending in particular.
Speaking to Wired, he said: “Something just finished, I won’t say what, and nobody died.
“I was just scratching my head going ‘there’s nowhere else to go this is the end of the run, kill some people!”
Online, many people quickly tried to guess which show he meant.
The timing is a little delicate, though, because The Boys itself has faced similar complaints this season — with some fans arguing the final run has felt oddly restrained and lower-stakes than expected.
Even so, Starr seems to accept that pleasing an entire fanbase is close to impossible, while still having strong views about what a finale should deliver.
Where he sounded far more confident was in how The Boys intends to finish. When asked what audiences should brace themselves for, Starr kept it blunt: “Nothing is going to be left to the imagination.”
The Boys Season 5 is currently streaming on Prime Video. The season finale will take place on May 20th.