What happened to Soldier Boy in 'The Boys' Season 5 finale? Major character's absence decoded
Jensen Ackles' Soldier Boy was one of the major characters missing in the finale of 'The Boys' Season 5. Part of that makes sense, considering the final chapter was all about the epic face-off between Homelander (Antony Starr) and Butcher (Karl Urban). The other reason is linked to the character's future. The ancient supe played a major role in the final season, but his abrupt exit in the penultimate episode raised questions. Last seen, Soldier Boy was just about done with all of Vought, thanks largely to Homelander. He planned to move to Bogota and live out his days. This does not sit well with Homelander, who knocks him out and puts him back in cryo-stasis after he fails to get Soldier Boy to stay.
The character is not seen in the finale, 'Blood and Bone', but the ending leaves the door open to his return and connection to his already-confirmed appearance in the upcoming prequel, 'Vought Rising'. The last few minutes of the epilogue see Stan Edgar (Giancarlo Esposito) back in charge, and newly reinstated President Bobby Singer (Jim Beaver) focused on building a new Bureau of Superhuman Affairs to keep them in check. The President offers the job to Hughie (Jack Quaid), who respectfully declines. This sets up how Soldier Boy (still in cryo-stasis) features in the prequel and how it could explain his absence in the Season 5 finale.
With Vought being cleaned up, there's little chance that Edgar will simply dispose of one of the greatest supes who ever lived. The fact that he was injected with V-One makes him immortal, so there is a chance that he could be resurrected either to work for Edgar or maybe even an experiment to help create an entity to keep supes from toeing the line. If this storyline is how the prequel starts, it would be one way of explaining his absence in the finale and in the aftermath of Homelander's death. As for 'Vought Rising', the streamer has labeled it as a '50s murder mystery, and it brings back familiar names, including Stormfront (Aya Cash), Bombsight (Mason Dye), and Elizabeth Posey as Private Angel. The title will also star Cecily Strong, Mark Pellegrino, and Ethan Slater, who is returning as Thomas Godolkin from 'Gen V'. For now, much of this is pure speculation, but Soldier Boy's decision to walk away from Vought's machinations was the perfect way to close his character arc in the series.
