The Boys Season 5 Accidentally Predicted Trump’s Next Act

If you needed another reminder that truth is usually weirder than fiction, The Boys Season 5 just delivered a giant one. You’d think the writers behind Amazon Prime’s most chaotic superhero show were just riffing on the latest headlines in American politics. But nope—turns out series creator Eric Kripke and his crew wrote the whole season before the November 2024 U.S. election even happened. Accidentally, they may have predicted the future. And no, I’m not exaggerating.

When Satire Runs Up Against Reality

TV takes ages to make—it’s not live, despite what social media outrage might have you believe. Scripts for The Boys Season 5 were finished long before things in the real world went sideways (again). The idea was, 'Let’s show a wild parallel America. Wouldn’t that be nuts?' Even Kripke apparently thought his own paranoia was overblown. Oops.

In an interview, Kripke admitted the writers set out to craft a sort of ‘1984’ take on creeping American authoritarianism. His words:

'I wanted fans to laugh and think, "Phew, we dodged a bullet." But instead, we got hit with the bullet.'

The show’s always leaned into lampooning everything from politics to pop culture to evangelical megachurches, but Season 5 is hitting a little too close to home—even for the people who made it.

Real World? Or Just the Vought Cinematic Universe?

Here’s where things get uncomfortable: All those satirical, over-the-top storylines in this season? Some of that’s actually happening now. Let’s break it down:

• Propaganda overload: Homelander has to deal with memes about himself (poor guy), while anyone who mocks him gets chucked into “Freedom Camps.” That sound familiar?
• Disinformation and technology: AI, deepfakes, and accusations of 'fake news' show up in storylines just as they’re becoming election fodder in real life.
• Church and State: Enter Oh Father (Daveed Diggs), the shadowy new pastor now married to Ashley (Colby Minifie). He runs Samaritan’s Embrace Ministries, and Ashley’s not just covering her own skin—she’s Vice President, literally helping Homelander’s agenda out of fear.
• Old villains back in play: There’s talk of pardoning Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) for treason. Politicians hand out tax breaks to the wealthy and start tossing around the Insurrection Act like it’s just another Tuesday.
• America’s 'frenemy’: In Episode 3, when Ryan gets found in Russia, someone actually says Russia isn’t America’s enemy anymore. Most subtle this show has ever been? Not really.
• Messiah complex: In Episode 4, Homelander goes full-on religious visionary, sees angels, gets a statue, wants to ascend. Around the same time, reality treats us to former President Trump posting an AI-generated image where he looks… well, let’s just say messianic.

Politics and Religion Get Weird

Season 5, Episode 4 amps everything up even more. Homelander is no longer pretending—he calls himself the messiah and tells Firecracker (Valorie Curry) to sell his new gospel to the masses. Firecracker, who started off as what a lot of us thought was a Marjorie Taylor Greene parody, now seems more like a stand-in for other politicians (Lauren Boebert gets the nod).

But here’s where The Boys does something interesting: Firecracker starts doubting her own devotion when Homelander’s messianic act butts up against her beliefs. When even the diehards are spooked, you know it’s getting out-there. Meanwhile, Ashley—always the pragmatic survivor—admits she’s only sticking around because she’s terrified.

Not weird enough? There’s The Democratic Church of America, basically a money grab disguised as worship. Homelander gets a statue, calls himself a prophet, and his supporters lap it up. Kripke says the stuff in the writing room felt “really f**king troubling” in retrospect, since all those supposedly ‘insane’ ideas are showing up on the news now. He even hints that later in the season, there’s a line from Homelander that already became reality between writing and release. Because of course there is.

When the Audience Misses the Satire

A lot of people have totally missed that Homelander is not the good guy. Antony Starr (aka Homelander himself) had to get on social media in 2025 and basically tell fans to stop celebrating the world’s most terrifying fascist as if he’s the misunderstood hero. His words:

'They were really glorifying him, they loved him. Which is surreal.'

Sure, people love antiheroes—Dexter, Walter White, etc. But Homelander’s a bit different, since the show’s whole point is to satirize actual political dysfunction. Instead, the satire’s become a mirror.

Homelander: Donald Trump Proxy, Straight From the Writer

Kripke’s always been open about this: Homelander is supposed to be a stand-in for Trump. The original thinking (over three years before The Boys even started airing) was that the show would be about celebrity, authoritarianism, and how entertainment plus social media is basically a recipe for selling fascism.

As Kripke put it, 'He’s not really getting the nomination, is he?' Only, he did. So Kripke felt duty-bound to run hard at that angle. He never actually expected the world to catch up with the joke.

So now, Season 5’s outlandish, barely-fictional scenarios are less what-if and more oh-wait-this-is-real. The Boys is still a crazy, over-the-top show about superpowered jerks—and yes, there’s plenty of gross-out moments and satire for days. But this season, reality feels like it’s stealing their material.