For a brief but unforgettable stretch, The Boys Season 5 turns into a full-on reunion for fans of Supernatural, reuniting Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, and Misha Collins in a chaotic, violent set piece that leans heavily into both nostalgia and meta-casting humor.
In episode 5, “One-Shots,” Ackles—already established in The Boys as Soldier Boy—shares the screen with Padalecki and Collins, who appear as new supes Mister Marathon and Malchemical. Their inclusion is made even more fitting by the presence of showrunner Eric Kripke, who originally created Supernatural and helmed its early seasons.
A Reunion Built for Chaos
Padalecki and Collins’ characters are positioned as lower-tier Supes who openly resent Homelander’s authoritarian rule. When Homelander and Soldier Boy arrive at their mansion seeking V24, tensions quickly escalate into a violent confrontation.
What follows is a short but explosive sequence where alliances shift in seconds. Malchemical manages to incapacitate Homelander with a toxic gas attack, while Mister Marathon pushes Soldier Boy toward a decisive strike against his own son. For a moment, it even looks like the trio might actually succeed in taking down Homelander.
Meta Humor Meets Brutal Violence
The scene leans into layered meta-textual humor, especially for viewers aware of the actors’ shared history on Supernatural. Soldier Boy’s sudden betrayal and brutal throat-crushing moment lands not just as shock value, but as a darkly comedic callback to long-running fan dynamics between their previous characters.
Even the most infamous emotional beats from Supernatural—including Castiel’s confession to Dean in the show’s final season—hang over the moment, adding an extra layer of ironic weight for longtime fans.
A Brief but Memorable Detour
Despite its intensity, the reunion sequence occupies only a small portion of the episode. Still, it stands out as one of the season’s most entertaining segments, offering a rare burst of absurdity in an otherwise grim narrative dominated by Homelander’s escalating control.
Once the sequence ends and Homelander returns to power, the tone snaps back into the season’s darker trajectory. But for a brief window, the show indulges in its more chaotic, self-aware roots—delivering exactly the kind of over-the-top spectacle The Boys is known for.
New episodes of The Boys stream weekly on Prime Video.
