This article contains major spoilers for The Boys.
Right from the start of The Boys Season 5, it was clear that something had shifted. Maybe it was that the show had simply run its course and it was due for a proper ending, or perhaps I’ve simply been exposed to other shows with better writing and my standards have been raised. Either way, I don’t think there’s any denying that the writing quality has taken a dip in Season 5. From the show’s failure in reconciling Kimiko’s speech with her personality, to the weird sub-plots meant to set up the Vought Rising prequel series and Soldier Boy’s character assassination, Season 5 has been a bit of a letdown so far.
Which is why I continue to remain grateful for the consistency of my favorite character in The Boys: The Deep, played by the fantastic Chace Crawford, previously only really known for his work as Nathaniel Archibald in the forever iconic Gossip Girl.
While he may not be the most complex or nuanced character, The Deep has gone through one of the most genuinely compelling development arcs in the show. Starting off as the toxic pretty boy drunk on power in The Seven, his fall from grace had him exploring different parts of the manosphere in Season 2, which ultimately shaped him into the insufferable doofus we have now. His main role on the show has always been to be the butt of the joke, the silly fish guy that no one takes seriously.
The Boys isn’t afraid to play up the “joke” parts of his character, gifting us with ludicrous scenes of him trying to break a dolphin out of the aquarium, having a sexual affair with Ambrosius the octopus, and then being forced to eat Timothy, another octopus pal of his. As ridiculous as these scenes are, however, The Boys has always used them to fool us into thinking that The Deep at least has one redeeming quality: he truly cares about marine life. He’s the Lord of the Seven Seas for a reason, dammit.
Over the course of five seasons, however, The Boys has also been slowly ramping up his lust for power and control. He doesn’t just fear Homelander; he probably truly believes that siding with Homelander is the only way for him to stay in a position of power, and he’ll suck up to him for as long as he needs to. And where has this gotten him? Being forced to eat Timothy alive, in one of the most unsettling scenes in the show.
All of that has culminated in what I believe to be the final act of The Deep’s character arc. In Season 5’s penultimate episode, we see the consequences of his desire for power and lack of scruples. The Deep has allowed his toxic masculinity to become his entire personality, leading to him antagonizing Black Noir, which in turn led to Black Noir busting up the oil pipe to kill literally a billion fish. Even before that, we’ve seen the depths to which The Deep will now sink to just to gain favor with Homelander, as he falsely advocates that the pipeline in the Bering Sea is now safe for marine life.
Now, even the fish have turned against him and The Deep has lost the only thing he had left going for him. Realizing that The Deep no longer has their best interests at heart, the fish warn that if he ever steps into a body of water again, they’ll straight up kill him. On one hand, it’s exactly what he deserves. And on the other, the thought of a person losing quite possibly the only thing that he ever genuinely cared about — and the only thing that made him decent — is extremely sad. He might as well have lost his powers.
It helps that Crawford plays him so earnestly too, switching seamlessly between the toxic loser persona and the boy who cares about marine life. It feels a bit strange to say this about a show with the likes of Butcher and Homelander stealing every scene they’re in, but I’ve always appreciated The Deep as just this consistently written character who never fails to make me laugh when he’s onscreen.
I’m glad the writers stuck the landing with The Deep. The man has ended up exactly where he’s supposed to be. In a season full of weird plot twists and strange character development, at least we’ll always have The Deep.
The Boys is now available for streaming on Prime.
