Is [SPOILER] Really Dead in Season 5 of 'The Boys,' or Is It a Red Herring?

Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for Season 5 of The Boys.

It's been two years since Season 4 of The Boys aired its finale episode, but we've finally been treated to the first two episodes of Season 5. As the show's final season, we're anticipating them to go all out, and we suspect that no character will be safe. That said, rumor has it that Soldier Boy is one of the first major casualties of the season, but that doesn't really make sense with Season 4's ending...

Fans of the superhero (or antihero) genre know to stick around for a possible mid-credits scene. For those who may have missed it, Season 4's final episode featured a quick clip after the credits had already started rolling. In the scene, Homelander discovers that Soldier Boy is indeed still alive, setting up Season 5 for a chaotic bloodbath.

Season 5, Episode 2, saw Soldier Boy get injected with the Super-killing virus. With no known cure and no other character surviving the injection, it was assumed that Soldier Boy was dead. However, in the very last second, the Super sat upright, and then the credits rolled. Talk about a cliffhanger!

Fans don't need to wait until Episode 3 to see if Soldier Boy really survived or not, as showrunner Eric Kripke confirmed that the character is very much alive. This puts the rest of the season on an entirely different trajectory than what Season 4's ending teased. Instead of a Soldier Boy- and Homelander-led bloodbath, Season 5 will likely be about finding a cure to the virus, and a race between Homelander and The Boys to obtain it.

Eric confirmed to TV Insider, "Yes, it is true that Soldier Boy is not dead, and the reasons that he’s seemingly immune to this virus are what really set up the primary MacGuffin of the season. It really turns everything on its head. Suddenly, there is a way to survive the virus, and so it becomes a race of who acquires it. ... And this storyline becomes a big driver of the season."

Fans of The Boys shouldn't really be surprised that the showrunners threw a massive plot twist in there. Now, we all need to recalibrate what the show's final season will be about. Once all the characters learn that the virus isn't 100 percent effective, they'll need to find a new way to take down Homelander. While that's certainly a huge hurdle for The Boys, this plot twist does bring some good news: Those who are dying from Compound V may be able to find a cure.

It seems it's all going to come down to who learns this information first and how they'll use the knowledge. Undoubtedly, it'll be a wild, gory, and shocking ride — and we're here for it!