Season 5 of The Boys has already claimed its first victim and completes a redemption arc that began in the first episode of the popular Prime Video show.

the boys‘The last season premiered on Prime Video.
Its first episode claims the life of one of its longest-lived characters
Fans are devastated by the disappearance of said individual.

the boys The first two episodes of season 5 debuted on Prime Video, and the latest installment of the show has already claimed its first victim.

In fact, after being warned that “no one will be safe” in the boys‘ final season of stars like Karl Urban, fans expect there to be numerous victims throughout its eight episodes. However, I don’t think many predicted that the first of those deaths would occur in its first chapter.

April 8, 2026

Yes, and it caps a redemption arc five seasons in the making for the speedster, whose real name is Reginald ‘Reggie’ Franklin.

Remember the opening scene of the boys‘first episode? You should, but if you’ve somehow forgotten: A-Train is responsible for the death of Hughie’s then-girlfriend Robin. It’s a shocking incident that not only introduces us to the world of this satirical and sinister superhero series, but also inadvertently sets the show’s entire plot in motion.

Since that heartbreaking moment, A-Train has been on the road to redemption. Sure, he did a lot more bad things in the early seasons of the Amazon TV Original. However, with each passing season, it became abundantly clear that he was a reluctant villain who eventually saw the error of his ways and began walking a nobler path from season 4 onwards.

It is his increasingly frequent acts of heroism that make his disappearance in the boys The first episode of season 5 is even harder to swallow.

A-Train fought for what is right until the end THIS LEGEND GONE TOO SOON😭😭 #TheBoys #TheBoystv pic.twitter.com/jYTraig1TxApril 8, 2026

He initially refused to help Butcher, Starlight, and Kimiko free the rest of the titular team from one of Homelander’s detention camps to protect his family, but A-Train soon returns to help their cause, and just in time.

As part of a scene that humorously mocks the Quicksilver sequences from the more recent X-Men films, A-Train realizes that Homelander is about to murder Hughie with his heat vision. Using his superpowers, A-Train rushes in and rescues Hughie before Homelander’s laser eye attack can kill him. Considering A-Train was the man behind Robin’s untimely death, him being the one to save Hughie is a touching moment of atonement.

Homelander’s speed is absolutely insane #TheBoys pic.twitter.com/P0CFqcQoZJApril 8, 2026

Fearing for his life, A-Train flees the scene but, armed with his supersonic flight ability, Homelander doggedly pursues a fellow Supe whom he now considers a traitor.

Just when it looks like A-Train might escape with his life, a near-carbon copy of the Robin incident *ahem* derails him. In fact, he nearly crashes (and kills) an unsuspecting woman who gets out of her car while talking on the phone. Fortunately, A-Train manages to evade her at the last second, but doing so causes him to lose his balance. Entering a new stretch of the nearby forest that Homelander chased him through, an out-of-control Reggie crashes into numerous trees before coming to a stop.

Coming down from above, Homelander catches up to A-Train. However, instead of begging for his life, he laughs and mocks his adversary. Enraged, Homelander grabs A-Train by the neck, who continues to laugh at his rapidly approaching death. It’s a move that angers Homelander even more and leads him to snap A-Train’s neck, killing him.

April 8, 2026

About as good as you’d expect. In the wake of Reggie’s death, social media platforms including Reddit and

“A-Train saved his family, he saved Hughie, he redeemed himself from episode 1 by sacrificing himself to avoid running into a random woman, and Homelander laughed death in the face,” Redditor HollowLoch aptly summarized. “Welcome to the sprinters hall of fame.”

“A-Train started off by accidentally killing Robin while running, only for him to finally die in this episode because he didn’t want to tell anyone else again,” wrote MargielaMan568. “Excellent narration. 9/10 ep.[isode] for me.”

“They perfected A-Train’s arc, but I’m so sad,” said TeamVorpalSwords, before HarryHagaran weighed in: “That was a great journey for A-Train… I’m glad he got some quick but meaningful closure with his brother, and that he saved the day with his own ‘X-Men Quicksilver’ moment.”

“We all knew it was coming, but what a path forward for A-Train,” DoctorSpuge said. “Running into Robin started it all. [of] This and avoiding that woman finished him off. The development arc was done brilliantly and he was finally able to face the only person he was mortally afraid of without any fear. He literally laughed in the face of death.”

“A-Train’s death flag has been up for so long since his redemption arc began that the ending wasn’t a huge surprise, but DAMN, it was hard to see it finally happen,” italiambmt1 wrote, while Mother_Literature903 said, “Say what you want about this show. The fucking writers got A-Train’s story arc right.”

Xapros_mc also wrote: “A-Train dying because he didn’t want to kill an innocent woman is amazing. He really changed.” Meanwhile, byfo1991 summed up many fans’ feelings by saying, “I never thought I’d be sad to see A-Train go… Absolute top-notch redemption arc. RIP A-Train, you were a real one in the end.”

With seven episodes left, including this season’s second episode, which is also available to stream right now, I imagine there will be even more heartbreaking deaths to come. I suspect, however, that very few will be executed as brilliantly and movingly as A-Train’s was.

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