The first two episodes of the fifth and final season of The Boys are now streaming and to celebrate premiere day, we wanted to share our exclusive interviw with stars Jack Quaid ("Hughie Campbell") and Erin Moriarty ("Annie January/Starlight"), where we discuss the major developments from the premiere and where their lovebird characters go from here.
With Annie leading the Resistance and Hughie locked up, Moriarty tells me more about what headspace Annie is in as we start the season and why she has waited over a year to make an attempt to rescue Hughie, MM, and Frenceie. Then, Quaid shares his perspective on Hughie's time being locked up and how he still manages to stay optimistic even with the world crumbling around them. Then, the two stars tease what's to come next for their relationship this season and whether or not it's possible for their characters to get a happy ending.
The season five main cast features Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Capone, Karen Fukuhara, Nathan Mitchell, Colby Minifie, Cameron Crovetti, Susan Heyward, Valorie Curry, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jensen Ackles, and Daveed Diggs.
The first two episodes of The Boys season five are now streaming!
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ROHAN: Erin, in the premiere, due to dire circumstances, Annie is forced to leap into action to save the Boys, where would you say she’s at and why she’s been waiting for a more opportune moment to strike?
ERIN: Well, I mean, listen, she's been, obviously, separated from Hughie and all the Boys. She's been on her own. She's been at the forefront of a movement that's entailed a lot of casualties, and that, you know, in addition to that period of time between Season 4 and 5, and having to deal with the fact that this movement that she's leading has entailed a lot of casualties, that compounded with all the previous seasons and what's happened to her, she's finally at the point where she's forced to become a little bit more, a little hardened in the way that we've kind of expected of her these previous seasons, and the way that we meet her, and we come across her in season five, is that she still wants to do good, she still wants to save the world, but I think the way that she's going about doing that has become a little bit more detached.
I think it's not necessarily disassociation, but it's a necessary hardening, and I think it's as a result of her continuously having her heart broken and living in fear of ultimately Hughie getting hurt. I don't think she's afraid of herself getting hurt. I don't think she's afraid of anything outside of not attaining the ultimate goal of taking down Homelander, and outside of making sure that Hughie stays alive, and so I think as a result of that, because both of those things are such high stake objectives to have to make sure Hughie remains alive and make sure Homelander eventually gets taken down, I would say it's safe to say she's in a really tense, hardened spot.
ROHAN: Jack, even in the worst situations, Hughie has an uncanny ability to stay optimistic. Where would you say he is mentally after having spent this past year locked up? What keeps him going?
JACK: So, it's really interesting, especially, so it's Frenchie, MM and Hughie that are in the prison, and MM, who is usually, you know, in the absence of Butcher, the group's leader, and the person who's like pushing everybody to be better, MM has kind of fallen into a bit of a spiral. He's lost a little bit of hope, and Hughie is the person trying to keep hope alive within the group, and I think with anyone he meets. And I think that's an amazing theme that runs through this season, through Hughie, which is that hope is a choice, and sometimes the only thing we have is hope, but it's really hard to make that decision every day, to have hope. And Hughie does it, and I don't think it's too optimistic or naive. I think it's kind of badass and rebellious. And I love that they put that in there.
But yeah, I think, you know, he very much wants to - he's loyal, you know, he really cares about the people in his life, whether it's Annie or the Boys or, you know, even Butcher, as insane as he is now, he's trying to see the good in him, if he can, maybe. They're gonna have to work a lot harder to get that done, but we'll see. But yeah, I think it's really interesting the fact that he's, you know, he's also like in a prison camp, and he's been through more than most people ever will in their entire lives. So, I think he's also at a point where he's just like, yeah, dude, I've already had the worst life possible, like, what else can you do to me? And there's a confidence that comes with that which was really interesting to play.
ROHAN: Since the beginning, Hughie and Annie have done their best to maintain a relatively "normal" relationship and continuing to provide each other strength. But now, as we approach the endgame, how do you see their story coming to a close? Is it what you envisioned in season one or has it evolved over the course of the series?
JACK: I mean, every season is different, right, where we have to kind of like renegotiate where they're at. If they're in the same place the whole time, it would be boring.
ERIN: Yeah, I mean, they definitely give each other strength, for sure. And I think it's kind of cool, because when you see one falter in their strength, the other one definitely steps up, and they have this really beautiful relationship, in that respect. Not to say their relationship is flawless at all, because, like, we explore in season three, with your masculinity, so it's very flawed. But I love that, because it makes it all the more human, which we need in this show.
But I think, you know, from season one, the cool thing about this show, I think, for audience members, but also us, is we had no idea where this show was going to go. No idea! I mean, even the fact that they've made it like this long, like, up until the beginning of season five, we're not allowed to say what happens beyond the first episode, but the fact that they've made it this far, and they've gone through these complexities within their relationship is really cool. I would not have been able to tell you, as of the start of season one, where their relationship was going to go, but I am really glad that they have managed to stay together, at least up until now, because the external circumstances outside of their relationship are so extreme.
There's so much going on, that the love story of a show like this, in any other show would be predictable, that they would end up staying together, or maybe like the romantic heartbeat of the show, the fact that they've stayed together is actually the unpredictable element, which I love, because in the chaotic environment around them, that juxtaposition provides something really grounding, like their characters, individually them as a couple, like collectively provides the audience, I think, with something grounded that provides contrast that we need in the show.
JACK: Definitely, it can't all just be like exploding dicks and misery.
ROHAN: I mean, the explosions are still fun.
JACK: *laughs* Hey, we love them, but Hughie & Annie don’t.
Check out more of our The Boys season five interviews:
The Boys Season 5 will premiere the first two episodes on Wednesday, April 8th, followed by weekly episodes, leading up to the epic series finale on Wednesday, May 20th.
In the fifth and final season, it’s Homelander’s world, completely subject to his erratic, egomaniacal whims. Hughie, Mother’s Milk, and Frenchie are imprisoned in a “Freedom Camp.” Annie struggles to mount a resistance against the overwhelming Supe force. Kimiko is nowhere to be found. But when Butcher reappears, ready and willing to use a virus that will wipe all Supes off the map, he sets in motion a chain of events that will forever change the world and everyone in it. It’s the climax, people. Big stuff’s gonna happen.