'The Boys' Stars Unpack the 60-Seconds Everyone Is Talking About in Season 5's Premiere

[Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for The Boys Season 5, Episode 1]

The Boys Season 5 is Homelander's world — everyone else is just trying to survive. Now that the first two episodes have officially premiered on Prime Video, fans know the stakes are higher than ever, and sadly, at the end of Episode 1 of the final season, Jessie T. Usher's A-Train exited stage left for good.

This is only the beginning of what's going to be a gut-wrenching conclusion, as Homelander unpredictably rules with his massive and frail ego. Antony Starr even admits he had no clue what to expect throughout the season, while talking with Collider's Steve Weintraub, saying, "There's always a chance Homelander goes red mist and just ends the world." But while the boys are split, and Butcher (Karl Urban) is on his mission with the Supe-killing virus, Annie (Erin Moriarty) is doing her best to mount the resistance.

Watch the full interview in the video above, or read the transcript below, where Starr and Usher tease the Season 5 finale and break down A-Train's surprisingly emotional death sequence. Usher discusses what he's most proud of about that moment, as well as A-Train's final thoughts. Starr also teases his upcoming "polar opposite" role in Julius Onah's Samo Lives, starring Jeffrey Wright, Kathryn Newton, Dane DeHaan, and more.

Jessie T. Usher Is the Proud Owner of the Only Signed Homelander Bear Brick

And it's going to stay that way.

COLLIDER: I really want to start with thank you for four fantastic seasons of television. I have high expectations for the final season.

JESSIE T. USHER: Thank you, Steven. We appreciate it.

ANTONY STARR: Thanks, man.

I like throwing a curveball at the beginning, and I've been asking this of everyone. For each of you, have you ever asked for someone's autograph?

USHER: Oh, yeah! I’ve asked for a bunch. Tons of autographs. I think I got an autograph from you.

STARR: You did. On the… What is it?

USHER: I have a Homelander bear brick, a 1,000% full-sized bear brick, and I'm almost positive I have the only signed one in the world.

STARR: You sure do! I’ve never signed one of them.

USHER: Don't. Please.

STARR: You got it.

USHER: Yeah! There we go. [Laughs] Yeah, I've asked for tons of autographs. I'm a fan of a lot of people.

STARR: Me too, but I've never asked for an autograph. No, I haven’t. But I am a big fan of a lot of people.

USHER: Not even at Disneyland? You never got Mickey Mouse’s autograph?

STARR: No. Well, I only went there at, like, 40, so. [Laughs] I didn't grow up here in the States.

USHER: We gotta plan a Disney trip. We’ll go get some autographs.

STARR: I've never done it. I don't know why. It's just I haven't.

USHER: Well, now it's a thing of the past for the most part.

Antony Starr Warns Homelander Could “End the World” in The Boys Season 5

"There's always a chance Homelander goes red mist."

What was your reaction to reading the Season 5 scripts for the first time? And the big question I think every fan wants to know is, does the show stick the landing?

STARR: The scripts I thought were fantastic. It is difficult. In my opinion, there are two seasons that are really… Well they're all difficult, but two seasons if you have a show that’s going to have a run, that are hard. It’s the second season and the last season. Because after the first season, it's a difficult second album, and then the last one, everyone's expectations are God knows where.

I think the trick, as far as I'm concerned, is that the shows that really succeed with their endings, they just keep doing what they're doing. Don't try and rewrite the playbook. Just keep your true north true north. I'm cautiously optimistic that we did. I mean, I know what's in it, and I was excited reading the scripts. I'm a fan of the writers, so I was very pleased with what they put out, and I hope that the fans love it.

After the first episode, should fans be nervous that Homelander is going to kill everybody they love?

STARR: What about the people they don't love? I think there's always a chance Homelander goes red mist and just ends the world. He's an unguided missile of a character, so you just don't know what's going to happen. Reading the scripts, I didn't know what was going to happen as I was turning pages. So, yeah, there's a lot to look out for.

Jessie T. Usher Calls A-Train’s Ending a "Poetic" Full-Circle Moment

He breaks down A-Train's final thoughts.

I definitely want to talk about your confrontation at the end of Episode 1. What can both of you talk about filming that scene? Because what's great about that scene specifically is how A-Train is able to get under Homelander's skin. It also full circle from Episode 1, I believe, of Season 1, where he was unwilling to care about someone, to his death comes because he's willing to care about someone, so it's this amazing arc for his character. Can you guys talk about that and filming that scene?

USHER: To me, that was a poetic ending for this character. Like you say, it was a full circle moment, and it was very reflective. I was proudest of the fact that it was a conscious decision. He was able to fully process what this moment meant, dodging the girl and not repeating the history of smearing someone through the street to save himself, even knowing that he was going to die. Then it all sort of became clear to him after that. It's like he makes that decision, he flies through the woods, and then all of a sudden, he's awake, and he's like, “Dang, what was I so afraid of? Why have I been doing all of this?”

The way that he views Homelander in that moment was so different and final and resolute. It just felt like what scientists say is, right before you die, you start to sort of recollect memories from your life, and I just feel like there are a lot of things that were going through A-Train's mind. The one thing that he felt the need to say was, “I can't believe that I was so afraid of this guy. He's the boogeyman that was under my bed for so long, and I finally got brave enough to take a look, and realized that he's actually not that scary. I shouldn't have done the things that I did.” But I was able to get that out and have that moment with Antony. It was a very fulfilling moment.

STARR: Yeah, it's a great moment of pure clarity. You've accepted your fate. The veneer falls off everything. It’s like when you're making a decision, and this is in life. The hardest part about a decision is getting to the making.

USHER: The making of.

STARR: Once you've made it, you've chosen your course, and then you get clarity and peace. That's what I saw in what you did and where the character went. It's a beautiful moment.

Antony Starr's Next Role Is the "Polar Opposite" of Homelander

He'll star alongside Jeffrey Wright, Kathryn Newton, and more in Samo Lives.

Before I run out of time, Antony, I definitely have to ask you about playing Andy Warhol. I can't wait to see your performance in this.

USHER: Me too!

Can you talk about getting to play Andy and what the film is about?

STARR: Crazy, dude. Literally the day I finished our job, I got an email from Julius [Onah], the director, saying, “You’re going to be Warhol.” I was like, “Oh, great.” And then went straight into just cramming as much pop art Andy Warhol into my head as I could in two months before we had to head to start rolling camera.

It was amazing because it was just such a different experience. It was like the absolute polar opposite of The Boys. I felt very fortunate to be able to be involved. It's a great bunch of people. I'm really excited to see it. I haven't seen it. They're cutting it now, and it's going to be fun.

The first two episodes of The Boys Season 5 are available to stream now on Prime Video. New episodes will release every Wednesday.

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