The Boys Season 5 has finally premiered on Prime Video. Season 5 is a hard-hitting finale and is not going to be a simple one for the show’s fans. The Boys Season 5 started releasing on April 8, 2026, with the first two episodes. Season 5 has one of the most emotional scenes. A-Train dies in the first episode of The Boys Season 5, and the way he dies is agonizing, but at the same time, it is completely appropriate for his character.
Jessie T. Usher has portrayed Reggie Franklin (A-Train) since the series debut (2019). In five seasons, A-Train transitioned from one of The Seven’s most reckless and self-centered members to one of the few Vought members attempting to do the right thing. The death of A-Train in The Boys Season 5 premiere marks the end of that path for him. It really hits you hard because the show gives you all the weight of the choices that he made to get to that point.
In this episode of The Boys Season 5, a rescue mission to get Hughie Campbell, Frenchie, and Mother’s Milk out of one of Homelander’s Freedom Camps goes sideways after Homelander shows up. A-Train steps in and pulls Homelander out of the area from other members to give them a break. He sprints, and Homelander chases after him. For a while, it looks like A-Train is going to make it away.
But then an ordinary person steps out of their car into his path, and rather than run through them the way he might have done in the early seasons of the show, A-Train swerves to avoid them. He crashes into the forest, loses control, and that is where Homelander catches him and snaps his neck.
Why A-Train’s death in The Boys Season 5 is a full circle moment that goes back to Season 1
This death scene hits viewers hard because of its direct parallels to the first season. A-Train killed Hughie’s girlfriend, Robin, in season 1 by literally running through her and killing her instantly. This was the catalyst for all of the stories told about The Boys. Even after killing Robin, he didn’t slow down to look back. It defined A-Train, too, for a while. He was a guy who saw others as roadblocks. He kept running.
His death in The Boys Season 5 premiere is a sharp contrast to how he was in the previous seasons. He actually swerves intentionally; he prioritizes other people’s lives above his own speed and safety, and loses his life as a result. It is the identical road, and the same power. But it is a totally new character, making a totally new decision. The show obviously draws that parallel, and it is one of the best narrative devices on the show.
In an interview with TVLine following the premiere of The Boys Season 5, Jessie T. Usher spoke about A-Train’s final moments, saying,
“I love the fact that he makes a conscious decision and he understands what comes with that. I just like that, from the Blue Hawk storyline all the way until now, that’s sort of where he is. He’s like, let me weigh my options and then I’ll let you know what I’m willing to do. And even in this moment, he’s willing to die to save the only thing that he sees continuing [this fight].”
What did Usher say about A-Train’s fate in The Boys Season 5, and what did his co-stars feel?
What makes A-Train’s death even more poignant is that Usher himself had already seen this coming. He was not surprised by it, and in fact had gone to showrunner Eric Kripke with his own concerns about whether there was any realistic way out for his character.
Usher told TVLine that he approached Kripke towards the end of Season 4 and told him directly,
“I personally don’t see a reasonable way out. I don’t see him surviving what he’s doing right now in any shape or form.”
Usher added that he had:
“felt like we were just waiting to see how it was going to happen,” because A-Train had no allies, he had no one that he can depend on or manipulate or even ask a favor from who would put their life on the line to keep things going for him.”
Usher kept the knowledge of A-Train’s death from most of his co-stars for about a year. Karen Fukuhara, who plays Kimiko, told TVLine that when she finally read episode 501, she was completely blindsided.
“It stopped me in my tracks, and I texted him right away,” she said,
adding that she was devastated, while Usher was completely calm about it, telling her simply that he had known for a year.
The Boys Season 5 is streaming on Prime Video, with new episodes every Wednesday through to the series finale on May 20, 2026.
Edited by Priscillah Mueni