The Boys killed off its second best character before season 5, which feels wrong

This article was published on July 20 and republished on July 21.

The Boys had a really great finale that ended what I would otherwise describe as a pretty uneven season. Crazy plot twists and Homelander’s escalating power struggle made the episode a must-see and built up the excitement for Season 5, the final season.

But the show also did something I hated: They killed off the character I would consider the second best. Spoilers follow.

That would be Victoria Neuman, played by Claudia Doumit, a mainstay of the series who far surpassed her original version, who had a major crossover role in Gen V and has been key to the plot for years now.

Just when it seemed like she had reached the climax of her redemption story, turning against Homelander and his plan to make her president (after he exposed her as a Supe on live television), the seemingly invincible head-buster is ripped apart by Butcher, who has just been taken over by his parasite Jeffrey Dean Morgan, twisting her in half with tentacles erupting from his body.

Even in a show that often features shocking, brutal deaths, I didn’t like this one. It didn’t feel right. Doumit was an incredible addition to the show, a more compelling character than any of The Boys at that point in the series, and her development was fascinating to watch. I only call her the second best character because, well, I mean, how are you ever going to top Antony Starr’s Homelander?

Doumit seems to be taking it in her stride, even better than her co-stars like Erin Moriarty from Starlight. Here’s a video of them talking about her death. That’s how I found out she’s Australian.

I just think she was too good and too important as a character to sacrifice to Butcher like that, even if it now establishes him and his parasite as a genocidal plague. It seemed like she should have been a major part of the final season rather than meeting her end like that. I don’t know, I always feel like there’s a difference between deaths that hit hard because of the character and deaths that feel bad because it seems wrong to cut a great actor from the show.

Anyway, I look forward to seeing her in other projects in the future. I won’t be hoping that she can stitch herself back together like Kimiko did, and I think she’s really gone.

We’ll end here on a more positive note: Did you know that Doumit is dating Hughes Jack Quaid in real life? Very cool!

Update (21.07.): Claudia Doumit has more thoughts on her untimely death, and she really doesn’t seem to hold it against the show, saying it’s a “cautionary tale” (for the show, not the acting). Here’s what she told The Wrap:

“It embodies the self-destructive nature of the pursuit of absolute power, and that pursuit always costs the individual his integrity and humanity,” she said.

This wasn’t a big shock to her when she was originally cast in the show:

“From the moment I came on this show, I thought it was going to die. Not because anyone told me, but because I knew what show I was coming on. I honestly thought it was going to happen sooner. I’m just glad I spent so much time on the show. I came on at the end of season two and thought, okay, I’ve got a couple of episodes and they’re going to kill me off. Then season three came and I thought, okay, I’ve got a couple of episodes and they’re going to kill me off, but they didn’t.”

Eventually she was invited to a meeting with Eric Kripke and given the circumstances she knew it was coming. She said it was like a breakup in a way (though she obviously has no hard feelings). She seems really great and I’m sure she’ll get some great roles after this.

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