5 Most Rewatchable Episodes Of The Boys

"The Boys" has concluded with its fifth and final season, but the franchise isn't down for the count. With the arrival of the trailer for "The Boys" spin-off "Vought Rising," it's clear that this supe-filled world will be around for the foreseeable future. This is not necessarily a bad thing, since the franchise has plenty of directions to explore, should it so desire. After all, the most rewatchable "The Boys" episodes are quick to remind us that, while the parent show shifted its focus over time, it's always been able to give us moments that virtually beg for repeat viewings.  

While Eric Kripke has noted that the "The Boys" was always about Trumpism, the show initially presented itself as a tight, gory superhero genre satire with fewer overt sociopolitical references. Eventually, it embraced its nature as a commentary-filled juggernaut that would dunk on Donald Trump with Homelander (Antony Starr), cover social movements, and mock right-wing politics. Regardless of its evolution, however, the show has always been able to turn in a great episode. Let's take a look at its five most rewatchable episodes, and how they fit in the grander scheme of "The Boys."  

As our ranking of worst episodes of "The Boys" according to the IMDb indicates, the show's Season 5 has more than its share of comparatively bad outings. The season premiere, "Fifteen Inches of Sheer Dynamite," is not among them.  

Much of the episode's rewatchability comes from its ability to effortlessly bring the viewer up to speed. Though its events kick off a year after the Season 4 finale, "Fifteen Inches of Sheer Dynamite" moves all its pieces with great skill. We see how Starlight (Erin Moriarty) has been hardened by her guerrilla campaign against Homelander's regime, and how Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) has worked hard to regain her ability to speak. There's a good reason to bring the band back together, too: Mother's Milk (Laz Alonso), Hughie Campbell (Jack Quaid), and Frenchie (Tomer Capone) are stuck in a Vought prison camp and facing execution. 

This mission is the other half of the episode's allure. From the Worm's (Ely Henry) gross tunneling powers to the chaos that follows Homelander's face-off with Billy Butcher's (Karl Urban) crew, it's "The Boys" at its best. Still, the episode saves its finest moments for last. A-Train's (Jessie T. Usher) redemption arc culminates in a chase sequence where the speedster finally makes the call he didn't make at the very beginning of the show — and consequently dies at the hands of Homelander. Doing the right thing is never easy when you're a character on "The Boys." 

"The Boys" Season 1 begins with some of the show's most brutal imagery, as Hughie Campbell witnesses A-Train running through his girlfriend in horrific, blood-spattering slow motion. As the traumatized Hughie tries to comprehend what's happened and realizes he's still holding Robin's (Jess Salgueiro) disembodied hands, the viewer immediately understands that this isn't your average superhero show. The episode reinforces the message when The Deep (Chace Crawford) sexually assaults the latest member of the Seven, Annie "Starlight" January. 

"The Name of the Game" shows the supe game and the thoroughly corrupt nature of Vought International through the eyes of both Hughie and Annie. Where Billy Butcher recruits Hughie into the black ops world of the Boys, Annie's our gateway to the day-to-day of Vought superheroes, who range from jaded to outright ominous. Finally, the show brings both stories together with a well-executed park bench meet-cute that establishes them as two sides of the show's beating heart. 

It's the kind of layered storytelling that later seasons of "The Boys" sometimes abandons in favor of sociopolitical ribbing and shock tactics. Still, just so the viewer doesn't forget the brutality at the core of the show, the episode concludes with Homelander laser-blasting the uncooperative Mayor of Baltimore's (Paulino Nunes) plane down. "The Name of the Game" is a declaration of intent that is often an uncomfortable watch, but one that rewards repeat viewers with details and nuance. 

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"The Boys" Season 1 finale, "You Found Me," focuses on expanding what we know about the characters, slowly increasing the tension until something has to give — which inevitably happens near the end. It's a tightly-wound episode that plays with the fallout of Hughie and Starlight finding out the truth about each other, but also shows who they truly are after a confrontation with A-Train leads to surprising CPR-themed heroics from both ailing lovers.

The episode also reveals just how twisted the relationship between Homelander and Billy Butcher is, and what exactly happened to Becca Butcher (Shantel VanSanten). Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott), The Deep, and Homelander all reveal new sides of themselves. That last one is particularly bad news for Vought bigshot Madelyn Stillwell (Elizabeth Shue), who finds out the hard way that Homelander doesn't adore her quite as much as she thought. 

If you want to rewatch a single episode of "The Boys" that shows most of the show's key characters for who they really are in the dark, look no further than "You Found Me." Its emotional beats hit as hard as anything else the show throws at the viewer. As such, this is a great episode for remembering what "The Boys" could be when it was still a plucky up-and-comer that was unafraid to break hearts even when it was literally melting faces.

If you're into big story beats and even bigger beatings, few "The Boys" episodes are more rewatchable than "What I Know." With "The Boys" Season 2 co-big bad Stormfront (Aya Cash) fully exposed as a long-lived fascist who's been around since the days of Nazi Germany, the season finale orchestrates the inevitable and appropriately massive confrontation between her and The Boys — or rather, The Girls. 

The battleground is open farmland, which seems to heavily favor the electricity-powered, incredibly tough Stormfront. However, a triple assault from Kimiko, Queen Maeve, and Starlight gives the Nazi villain a stomping that remains arguably the most cathartic one on the show — at least, until Homelander's own downfall in the series finale. Elsewhere in the episode, Billy Butcher's wife, Becca, dies in a dramatic incident that both ends the threat of Stormfront and explains a lot about Butcher's tense relationship with young Ryan Butcher (Cameron Crovetti). 

It's not all battles and high-stakes action, though. Maeve cleverly defeating Homelander with some good old-fashioned blackmail is an excellent way to score a technical K.O. over Homelander while still maintaining his status as the show's ultimate powerhouse. The twist that the show's major progressive politician, Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit), is the mysterious head-exploding supe assassin is the kind of fantastic turn that the later seasons might have skipped in favor of more heavy-handed sociopolitical commentary — and sending the unwary Hughie to work with her is a perfect cherry on top. 

For better or for worse, "Herogasm" sets the board for everything that comes after it. The episode adapts a particularly risqué storyline from "The Boys" comics by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. It focuses on a massive, annual supe orgy where several storylines converge. 

Here, we finally see a magnificent confrontation between Homelander, Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles), and the temporarily superpowered Billy Butcher and Hughie Campbell. Herogasm is packed with awkward detail after awkward detail, there to find for rewatchers who feel particularly daring. We discover many interesting things about several characters, and the Boys' team-up pact with Soldier Boy establishes an uncomfortable relationship that carries over to the season's conclusion( and ultimately Season 5). There's also have A-Train's long-gestating revenge on the police-themed supe Blue Hawk (Nick Wechsler), who gets the road rash of a lifetime. However, taking out Blue Hawk comes with great personal cost to A-Train himself. 

Frenchie and Kimiko's Little Nina (Katia Winter) storyline isn't the show's finest hour, granted — but it does give Kimiko a nice action scene, which is always welcome. Meanwhile, Starlight's arc here is a consistent delight that brings Annie January's increasing disillusionment with Vought to a head. Her departure from the Seven in the end is an air punch-worthy moment that warrants repeat viewings as much as the events of Herogasm itself do.