It’s time to say goodbye to everyone’s favorite vigilantes.

Prime Video‘s hit superhero series The Boys bids farewell in a grisly hour-long finale that is as sentimental and fun as it is predictable. But series creator Eric Kripke told DECIDER that he hoped to make the conclusion feel like fans are “saying goodbye to friends, people who you’ve come to know and follow for years and years.”

Kripke admitted “it wasn’t easy” getting all of the moving parts of the finale – Kimiko’s superpowers, “Chekhov’s ball gag,” Ashley helping the Boys, etc., – to fit together.

“It was so satisfying and cathartic after so much time,” he said of the finale’s grand conclusion. “Everyone got their moment. You know, even Hughie got to rely on his little technical knowledge. It was just such a long time coming.” Kripke also gloated a bit about Homelander’s fitting conclusion, saying it was “immensely satisfying” and “fun to watch.”

Indeed, the highly anticipated series finale gives everyone their moment to shine and a conclusion that fits each unique character. Even Sister Sage gets her happily ever after, though it won’t look like anything we could have expected. Though this episode is noticeably more sentimental in tone compared to the rest of the series, it’s still the brutal and bloody show fans know and love.

Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about The Boys series finale. But keep in mind, there’s major spoilers ahead for The Boys Season 5, Episode 8, which is streaming now.

What happened in The Boys finale? Who dies in The Boys finale?

The Boys finale opens on Frenchie’s funeral where he is being buried by Butcher and M.M. Hughie reads his last will and testament which is just as ridiculous and perverse as one could expect, with Frenchie going into detail about having “seen each and every one of your assholes.” Regardless, it’s a fitting farewell for everyone’s favorite evil genius.

Homelander pays Ryan a visit at the remote cabin he’s been hiding out in to convince him to join him. Ryan refuses and instead gives him a piece of his mind, telling him that amassing even more power will only make him “an even more lonely, miserable piece of shit” in a poignant scene that really highlights young Cameron Crovetti’s acting skills.

The Boys fans get one final chance to say goodbye to the Gen V crew. The focus group members who were almost killed by Dogknot and Sheline have been hiding out here with Marie Moreau, Emma and Jordan. Annie is trying to convince Marie to help the survivors get to safety. Marie resists and offers to help them take down Homelander, but Annie reminds her that helping these people survive is also a major part of being a superhero. Annie admits she’s become jaded in this battle against Homelander and Vought. But, she reminds Marie, “It’s not about winning. It’s about keeping the light burning as long as we fucking can.” After her sweet moment with Annie, Marie takes off for Canada with Jordan, Emma and the survivors to get them to safety and reunite with the rest of their team.

Before Frenchie was killed, he was conducting experiments and radiating Kimiko in an attempt at giving her Soldier Boy’s abilities to vanquish Supes’ powers. In the finale, Sister Sage ragebaits Kimiko into blasting her with her newfound powers. It turns out Frenchie’s experiments worked: Sage successfully loses her super-intelligence. “I’m fucking stupid like you guys,” she says before offering Kimiko a heartfelt thank you.

Now that they know Kimiko’s powers work, their plan is beginning to take shape. They plan on sneaking into the White House using the underground tunnels J.F.K. allegedly used to sneak Marilyn Monroe in, according to Butcher. Everyone’s on board except for Sister Sage who will be using the rest of her free time to visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, Florida. She leaves the Boys and finally gets her “girl who’s going to be okay” moment.

Meanwhile, Homelander kills an Elon Musk-type billionaire named Günter Van Ellis. Oh Father insists that meeting with the “world’s richest man” who represents a “consortium of billionaires” would be in Homelander’s best interest in taking control, but Homelander is tired of waiting and depending on what other people think of him. “I don’t need anyone anymore. I don’t need billionaires,” he says after flying Günter into space and leaving him there.

The Boys arrive at the White House just as Homelander is preparing to deliver his speech in a special broadcast to the nation. The broadcast is being played in theaters, where psychics are reading the viewers’ minds and flagging any nonbelievers in the audience. Secret Service asks to move Ashley to a safe area after learning Butcher and his team have infiltrated the tunnels. Beneath them, the Boys get trapped and shot at in the tunnels.

Ashley decides to do the right thing and splits from the Secret Service to help the Boys. Her twin finally stops giving her the silent treatment and leads her to the Boys, where she helps them escape the room and tells them how to get to Homelander. But she will not be going with them. Ashley is always going to prioritize herself first.

Does The Deep die in The Boys?

When they finally breach the White House, they come across The Deep crying after Homelander laid into him. The Deep, ever the delusional narcissist, thinks “the universe rewarded me for my loyalty” by bringing him Annie. He vows to kill Annie so Homelander can “finally see” his loyalty. Annie flies off with The Deep for their own face-off, while Oh Father goes after Butcher, Hughie, M.M. and Kimiko.

Annie and The Deep end up on a beach where she attempts to appeal to what’s left of his humanity. But The Deep is lost in the sauce, blaming her for all of his problems. As she demands he take responsibility for himself, he refuses to hear the truth and goes after her. Their fight is short-lived. Annie and The Deep trade a few punches before she blasts him into the ocean where he quickly gets swarmed by several sharks and sea animals seeking revenge for the pipeline genocide and for the death of The Deep’s octopus ex-girlfriend, Ambrosius. The Deep’s death is poetic and painful – he dies after being impaled by a tentacle. #JusticeForAmbrosius!

Does Kimiko die in The Boys? How did Homelander lose his powers?

Butcher and Kimiko interrupt Homelander’s speech in the Oval Office for the final showdown, which gets broadcast across America.

Butcher and Homelander face off against each other and Ryan arrives just in time to keep Homelander from flying off. Now it’s Ryan and Butcher versus Homelander, while Kimiko struggles to power up enough to blast him with her powers. Her powers flicker and fade in her chest, and, in those last desperate moments, she sees Frenchie one more time. He reminds her that it is not her rage that empowers her, but her capacity to love.

When she comes to, Butcher and Ryan hold Homelander back and she blasts all three of them with her powers, making them all human. Homelander no longer has his super abilities. He pathetically tries to fly away as Butcher gloats, knowing he finally has him.

How does Homelander die in The Boys?

Butcher beats Homelander into a bloody pulp as the Supe cries and begs for his life. Blubbering through a mouth full of blood, he offers everything he possibly could to Butcher in exchange for his life, including a blowjob or getting a shapeshifter to pose as Butcher’s ex-wife Becca.

“You ain’t nothin’,” Butcher tells Homelander right before planting his crowbar into his forehead. “And this, this is for my Becca.” Butcher pries Homelander’s scalp his head in a grisly murder in the Oval Office, ending the all-powerful superhero once and for all.

Annie, Hughie and M.M. arrive then and pick Kimiko up. The compatriots share a meaningful moment together when they realize the job is done.

Does Ryan die in The Boys?

Ryan survived the blast of Kimiko’s powers, though he no longer has his powers. Back at the safe house, Butcher tries to comfort Ryan and remind him that he did the right thing in helping him kill Homelander. He offers him the chance to “start again” somewhere new with him and Terror. But, in a surprising twist, Ryan declines his offer. “I know what my dad was. And it’s better that he’s gone. But you’re not a good person either,” he tells Butcher in the heartbreaking scene. “I didn’t choose you over him. I choose myself. I don’t want a fresh start with you. I want this to be the end.”

The finale reveals Ryan goes to live with M.M. and is present at his wedding to Monique. He looks happy.

Does Butcher die in The Boys?

To pour salt in the wound, Butcher goes back to his bedroom and realizes Terror the dog has died, leaving him feeling particularly alone in the world. It’s clear the gears are turning in his head when he sees the virus again. Now that Homelander is dead, should he carry out the rest of his plan?

Butcher sees Stan Edgar announce in a press conference that he is stepping in as interim CEO of Vought, which means the superhero company will be continuing operation. Butcher takes this as a sign to put an end to Supes once and for all.

Hughie finds Butcher in Vought Tower, where he rigged the sprinkler system with the virus. Butcher says he’s waiting for the Vought employees to arrive for work in the morning so they can become infected with it which will allow it to spread worldwide within days. While Hughie thinks they already won by killing Homelander, Butcher believes it’s inevitable that another Supe will eventually try and do the same thing Homelander did.

Butcher and Hughie begin to fight. But for a moment in their altercation, Butcher experiences a brief moment where he begins to see his brother Lennie in Hughie. For a second, it looks like he might change his mind. But Hughie, seeing Butcher’s finger on the trigger, shoots him in the stomach. Hughie sits with Butcher in his final moments as he admits, “I wasn’t gonna stop. All that blood and shite I put you through… You stayed yourself, no matter what I’d done.”

Hughie, Annie, M.M., Ryan and Kimiko lay Butcher to rest next to Becca. This is everyone’s final farewell. Kimiko leaves for France, while M.M. heads off with Ryan. Annie and Hughie are heading to the topless steakhouse in Reno that Butcher used to go to with his brother.

The Boys concludes with a happy ending for everybody. Kimiko travels to Marseille in honor of Frenchie to enjoy a madeleine. Meanwhile, Ryan looks happy standing by M.M.’s side during his wedding to Monique. And Hughie and Annie get their own little happily ever after. They’re expecting a baby together! The happy couple are running a tech/video shop together. And the pregnancy is not stopping Annie from fighting crime whenever she can.

The couple share a sweet kiss on the sidewalk outside the video store as Annie flies off to fight crime. The moment is a direct parallel to how The Boys premiered six years earlier, when Hughie’s girlfriend Robin was killed while they were standing outside his store.