Misha Collins and Jensen Ackles on season five, episode five of "The Boys."

Prime Video

Warning: Spoilers ahead for season five, episode five of The Boys.

The Supernatural reunion fans have been eagerly awaiting on The Boys has finally arrived.

This week’s episode, “One-Shots,” sends Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) and Homelander (Antony Starr) to Los Angeles in search of a lead on the last known dose of V1. At the suggestion of Stan Edgar (Giancarlo Esposito), the father-son supe duo tracks down former member of The Seven and Vought history buff Mr. Marathon, played by Supernatural star Jared Padalecki.

“It should be a delightful reunion,” Stan says.

Soldier Boy and Homelander’s interaction with Mr. Marathon is far from it. Upon stepping into Mr. Marathon’s mansion, they meet a crew of familiar faces playing poker — fellow Supernatural star Misha Collins as a supe named Malchemical, alongside Seth Rogen, Kumail Nanjiani, Will Forte and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, all guest-starring as themselves.

It’s no surprise that the final season of The Boys leans further into its Supernatural ties. The series is helmed by Supernatural creator Eric Kripke and has featured several stars from the long-running drama, notably Ackles and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Collins, known for playing Castiel, recalled emailing Kripke before the season was written, saying: “Just so you know, I think my son’s going to disown me if you don’t put me in at least a cameo somewhere in season five.”

In the comics, Malchemical is a shapeshifting antagonist. The show’s version bears little resemblance, forgoes the supe suit and has the ability to emit deadly gas from his mouth. In episode five, Collins’ character uses that power to knock Homelander unconscious.

Collins called the moment “gratifying,” especially given how difficult Homelander is to disarm.

“He is the most powerful, biggest bad on the series, so it was cool to be able to knock him out with my bad breath,” he said.

With Homelander down, Mr. Marathon and Malchemical try to convince Soldier Boy to help take him out for good. Soldier Boy considers it, agreeing that Homelander is an “asexual weirdo,” but ultimately refuses, because he’s still his son. Then, Soldier Boy grabs Malchemical by the throat and crushes it, killing him instantly.

It’s a relatively tame guest appearance for Collins, given the show’s reputation for outrageous, boundary-pushing scenes.

“There’s so many totally mind-bending and bizarre things that have unfolded for characters in The Boys, and I was relieved to not be stripped naked and mortified in some way or another by Eric Kripke's storytelling,” Collins said.

Still, he wouldn’t have minded a more dramatic death.

“I would’ve written a little bit more of a juicy demise,” Collins quipped.

After Malchemical’s death, the room erupts into chaos and guts. In a bloody sequence, Mr. Marathon, who has the power of super speed, runs through the remaining celebrity guest stars while in pursuit of Soldier Boy.

“I remember thinking, I’m really glad it's not me that's covered in blood for a whole week, because poor Jared had to wear that for hours,” Ackles said in a separate interview.

By the time Mr. Marathon catches up to Soldier Boy, he’s drenched in the blood of the celebrities he killed. As Soldier Boy presses him for information about a supe named Bombsight, who’s in possession of the last known dose of V1, he snaps Mr. Marathon’s ankle. Moments later, Homelander, now conscious, stomps on Mr. Marathon’s face, killing him.

Despite their characters’ grisly ends, Ackles said his Supernatural co-stars were enthusiastic about being part of the show — much like he was when he joined The Boys in season three.

“I was really thrilled to see how excited they got being on set and playing those ridiculous characters and going through a massive sequence as we went through, with blood everywhere and exploding people,” he said. “It’s the height of ridiculousness that we all enjoy with The Boys.”

Collins said that while working together on Supernatural, he, Ackles and Padalecki frequently tried to make each other laugh between takes and engage in pranks and other antics on set. When they reunited for The Boys, the actors were far more restrained.

“I think Jared and I, being guests in someone else’s house, made us show up with a certain degree of decorum that we are collectively unaccustomed to,” Collins said.

“There was definitely a sense of, 'Let’s mind ourselves a bit here, it’s not our house,’” Ackles said. “We had some really heavy hitters there, really talented people. It’s not a show that we started and that we built, so I think there was certainly a sense of, 'Let’s behave ourselves a little bit.’ We still had some fun, but we toned it down because we didn't want to be those guys.”

Although the episode avoids overtly meta references to their Supernatural roots, Collins confirmed that the trio did film an alternate take in character as Sam, Dean and Castiel.

“I am sure that footage will someday see the light of day,” he said.

The first five episodes of season five of The Boys are streaming on Prime Video. New episodes release weekly on Wednesdays, culminating in the series finale on May 20.