Elon Musk posted one word about The Boys series finale, and somehow that single word touched off one of the messiest TV feuds of 2026. The word was “Pathetic.” What followed was showrunner Eric Kripke doing a victory lap, the cast piling on with joy, and Musk coming back a second time to accuse Kripke of projecting his own cowardice onto a fictional supervillain. A perfectly normal week on social media.
The Boys finale, which aired on May 20, 2026, capped off the Prime Video show’s five-season run by killing off a Musk-like billionaire and stripping Homelander of his powers before his death. It was not subtle. The show has been taking swings at Musk since Gen V Season 2, when a goat named “Elon” was levitated on screen and violently exploded. Musk shrugged that one off by joking, “That’s fine, I blew up a small hotdog called Jeff Bezos, so I guess we’re even.”
The finale apparently touched a nerve. X user Kangmin Lee posted a lengthy criticism of the show, writing that the writers “turned Homelander into a Trump analogue” and called the whole series “a deranged sexual humiliation fantasy.” Musk replied: “Pathetic.” Creator Eric Kripke saw the tweet, quote-posted it, and wrote, “OMG this is his review of what @TheBoysTV did to Homelander, I’ll never get a better review ever.” He posted the same thing on Instagram.
The cast treated it like a championship announcement, of course. Antony Starr replied with multiple laughing emojis. Jack Quaid wrote, “Hahahahahahha.” Simon Pegg posted a boisterous “Bwahahahahahahhahah!!!” Crew member Stephan Fleet added, “Hahahaha. We win!” Fans in the comments celebrated too, with one writing, “Congrats on the run, Kripke! And for getting under Musk’s greasy skin.”
Musk came back for round two on May 22. He admitted he had not actually watched the show, writing, “I didn’t watch the show tbh, here’s the second best review… Kripke probably got flack from his wife’s bf for Homelander being used in based memes and had to write that ending as a groveling apology.” Then, responding to a clip of Kripke explaining why it was important for Homelander to experience powerlessness before death, Musk posted: “Kripke is simply projecting his own cowardice.”
The irony of all this is that the finale also hit series-low IMDb scores of 6.2 and 6.4. Fans who had nothing to do with the Musk argument were also unhappy: Soldier Boy still frozen, Vought still standing, Hughie and Annie’s ending leaving people confused, and Homelander’s final fight underwhelming by most accounts. Kripke was busy celebrating a billionaire’s attention while a significant chunk of the actual audience felt the show did not stick the landing.
Whether you think Kripke won or not probably says a lot about which part of this story you were following. Either way, doesn’t sound like Elon Musk will be watching The Boys anytime soon.
RELATED: The Boys’ Homelander Agrees That Jensen Ackles Should Be Batman
