5 Saddest Deaths On The Boys, Ranked

At this point, it's virtually impossible to keep track of the body count on "The Boys." Granted, some superfan with a lot of time on their hands has probably counted it with 100% accuracy, but the point still stands: Lots of people die in Prime Video's acclaimed superhero series — usually under violent circumstances. What's more, some of these characters' final moments have led to the show's most tearjerking scenes.

Death is often treated as a throwaway gag on "The Boys." Heck, characters have bitten the dust after having their butts and nether regions literally blown to smithereens. With that in mind, you'd think viewers would have become desensitized to the atrocities, but some of them pack an emotional gut punch.

Of course, some deaths are sadder than others, and TVLine has selected five that stand out as being particularly painful. So, without further ado, it's time to grab some tissues and revisit some of these heartbreaking demises.

A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) begins life as a member of The Seven on "The Boys," but he isn't a clear-cut villain. In fact, the character undergoes a redemption arc as the series progresses, becoming an agent who feeds the Boys information about Vought International. He's a bona fide hero by the time he bites the dust in Season 5, Episode 1, which makes his demise even more upsetting.

But the one upside is that A-Train is given a hero's death on "The Boys." He saves Mother's Milk (Laz Alonso) and Hughie (Jack Quaid) before Homelander (Antony Starr) makes him pay for his face turn. That said, A-Train might have escaped the leader of The Seven if he didn't pause to avoid blasting through an innocent bystander at warp speed. Once upon a time, he ran through innocent people without giving it a second thought.

A-Train's final moments symbolize his growth as a character. Back in Season 1, the speedy Supe accidentally killed Hughie's girlfriend, Robin (Jess Salgueiro), by running straight through her and treating it like an unfortunate inconvenience. Sure, his death is like an atonement for his previous sins, but dying at the peak of his heroic transformation still feels like a kick in the teeth.

Who doesn't love a good love story? The relationship between Frenchie (Tomer Capone) and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) gave "The Boys" a romance worth rooting for, with the pair hoping to live happily ever after in France someday. Unfortunately, an unpleasant interaction between Homelander and Frenchie ruins any chance of them smooching and enjoying croissants for breakfast.

Frenchie's exchange with Homelander is quite heroic, as he tells the fascist Supe to gargle certain body parts and gives him the middle finger. However, the hero's subsequent tear-filled farewell conversation with Kimiko is heartbreaking. She cradles her dying lover in her arms and thanks him for saving her life. But with his dying words, Frenchie says, "No, Mon Coeur. You saved me." 

There's a lot of death and despair on "The Boys." The prospect of potentially seeing Frenchie and Kimiko survive was like a carrot of hope the show kept dangling in front of viewers' faces before taking it away. Still, the series ends with Kimiko visiting Marseille, and while Frenchie isn't there with her, you get the impression that his memory will help her live on.

Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) has one mission throughout "The Boys" — kill Homelander and defeat The Seven. The grizzled Supe-hunter ultimately achieves that goal in Season 5's final episode, which should have led to him moving on to a life of peace, right? Wrong.

The series finale of "The Boys" sees Butcher spiral after defeating his aforementioned enemy. A heartbreaking event (which we'll cover later) leads to him becoming a would-be genocidal maniac who wants to destroy all Supes, forcing Hughie — one of his closest allies — to shoot him. Prior to pulling the trigger, though, Hughie tries to convince Billy that he isn't a monster, but his words fall on deaf ears.

Butcher is buried next to his late wife, with Mother's Milk reminding everyone that it's the outcome he always wanted. It's a tragic swansong, though, as Butcher could have lived on, but he was too far gone to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Becca Butcher (Shantel VanSanten) has one of the most tragic arcs on "The Boys." After being sexually assaulted and impregnated by Homelander, she gives birth to their child, Ryan (Cameron Crovetti), and tries to raise him the right way. However, the kid Becca sets out to protect ultimately leads to her downfall.

The heartbreaking moment happens during the Season 2 finale of "The Boys." Becca finds herself being overpowered by Stormfront (Aya Cash), and Ryan uses his laser eyes to try to free his mother from the villain's grip. Unfortunately, Ryan accidentally shoots Becca, and she passes away pleading with Billy Butcher to keep her son safe.

After all she'd been through on "The Boys," Becca arguably deserved a happy ending more than most. But the one upside is that her dying wish comes true, as Ryan survives the events of the series and doesn't side with his biological father during his authoritarian crusade.

Eric Kripke's decision to kill Terror in the series finale of "The Boys" wasn't unexpected. After all, the English bulldog meets a grisly end in Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's comic book series, so it wasn't exactly random. Fortunately, Terror is given a peaceful send-off in the Amazon Prime Video adaptation, but it's still sad.

For dog lovers, the sight of Terror lying motionless on his bed is heartbreaking in and of itself. Dead dogs are always going to upset a large portion of a show's audience. However, Terror is also one of the only morally pure characters on "The Boys," which adds an extra layer of sadness to his demise.

Of course, Terror's passing ultimately sets more tragic events in motion in the finale of "The Boys." The English bulldog is the anchor that kept Billy Butcher in touch with his own humanity throughout the series, so his death causes the antihero to lose his will to live. At the same time, Terror being alive was probably just delaying the inevitable for his owner.