The Boys Showrunner Responds To "Filler Episodes" Allegations

We've got only two episodes of The Boys left, and if you're up to date, you're probably wondering what Butcher and gang will do now. While the final two episodes of the series promise to be action-packed, fans haven't been too happy with the final season overall. A lot of the plot appears to be setting up the Vought Rising prequel instead of progressing the main story

The complaints got especially loud after episode five, titled One Shots. A departure from the main plot of The Boys, the episode was segmented to focus on several characters, including Butcher's dog, Terror. While there was a lot of character building going on, it almost halted the overall story progression. However, showrunner Eric Kripke says it was essential.

The Boys Showrunner Defends Episode 5

In a conversation with TV Guide, Kripke explained that One Shots is an important step towards the final few episodes. "None of the things that happen in the last few episodes will matter if you don't flesh out the characters," he said. "I'm getting a lot of online dissatisfaction, to put it politely. And I'm like, 'What are you expecting? Are you expecting a huge battle scene every episode?'"

"One, I can't afford that. And two, it would be so empty and dull, and it would just be about shapes moving without having any import."

A lot of fans have been annoyed that this season focuses so much on Soldier Boy and his past, accusing the showrunners of building up the spin-off series. Then there's the fact that everyone from Gen V is entirely missing after making it seem like Marie Moreau was going to be the catalyst to take down Homelander.

"It was important, for example, to really wrap out where Firecracker was," said Kripke about episode five. "It was important to evolve Soldier Boy and Homelander's relationship and to hear how hopeless M.M. feels in episode four. It was important to see that The Boys are fracturing between people who are gathering around Butcher, and people who are gathering around Hughie."

As for the criticisms, Kripke doesn't really accept them. "At no point during the writing of it was I like, 'Oh yeah, we're making filler episodes. So who cares?' We all thought at the time we're really getting these important character details," he said. "We have something like 14 characters, maybe 15. And I owe it to all of them — in that television is the character business — I owe it to all of them to flesh them out and humanize them and their stories."

He also added that if you felt like "nothing happened" in that episode, you're not paying attention to the character development, which is equally as important as action or plot progression scenes. Everything can't just be about that. "And if that's what you want, you're just watching the wrong show."