![‘The Boys’ Creator Explains Why [Spoiler] Was Killed Off So Early in Season 5](https://www.usintimes.com/uploads/2026/04/11/homelander-9e826bff_800w.avif)
The Boys opened its final season with a death that changes the shape of the show: Homelander murdered A-Train in the first episode of season five. Reggie Franklin, who had spent years outrunning his past, was killed in the episode’s final minutes after swerving to avoid hitting an innocent bystander.
The move lands as both a shock and a callback. In the series premiere, A-Train accidentally killed Hughie’s girlfriend, a moment that has shadowed his arc ever since, and his choice here to spare a stranger is what set Homelander on him. The chase ended with one of The Seven dead, and the final season started by making its point as plainly as possible: no one is protected anymore.
Eric Kripke said he was reluctant to cut A-Train loose that early. He said the writers pushed hard for a major death in the premiere because they wanted the season to feel dangerous from the start, and he admitted it was “a little scary” to kill him off so soon. Kripke said the team knew A-Train would be the first big death, but they had once been discussing a version in which he might survive until episode three.
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That matters because A-Train was not just another expendable speedster. Kripke said storylines about him reuniting with his brother and choosing to be a hero were condensed into the premiere, compressing what had been planned as a longer arc into one episode. The result is a season opener that does more than surprise viewers; it clears the board before the story really begins.
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Kripke had already warned that the final season would have a real death count, and the premiere delivers on that promise with a major spoiler and a blunt answer to anyone wondering whether the show was bluffing. The writers wanted the early killing to prove that no character is safe for the rest of the season, and Homelander made sure the message did not have to wait.
