Spoilers ahead for Season 3, Episode 4 of The Boys, “Glorious Five Year Plan.”
The latest episode of Amazon Prime Video’s The Boys finally brought Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy to the present, after fans had only seen him through flashbacks taking place during World War II. It was certainly an episode to remember as well, as the usually costumed man out of time was nude when making his modern-day debut. After the episode's premiere, showrunner Eric Kripke shared some insight into the character's entrance and Ackles' own feelings on it.
Fans know that The Boys has no problem getting raunchy when it wants to, and nudity definitely isn't rare for the show. As the man behind this small-screen comic book adaptation, Eric Kripke is more than aware of that fact. He brought up that very fact when discussing Soldier Boy’s memorable arrival in the present with TVLine and giving his reasoning for the nude approach:
All the characters in this show at some point or another have… simulated nudity. It’s just not realistic that you would be dressed while you’re in some sort of gassed chamber [while] unconscious.
In the episode, the titular group was trying to locate the storied hero and eventually stumbled upon the fully nude supe, whose mind also seemed to be a big fragmented. I don't think many viewers were likely paying much attention to the character's thoughts, though, as they were more than likely zeroing in on Jensen Ackles' bare bottom.
It was definitely a change of pace for the star himself, as he usually kept the majority of his clothes on during his 15-year tenure as Supernatural's Dean Winchester. (That was mostly due to the limits placed on network TV.) One would imagine that it was a different kind of experience for the actor, but one that he was ready to take on, according to Eric Kripke:
I would never ever, ever, ever make an actor show any nudity or do anything that they’re uncomfortable with, period. Jensen and I joked lately that there was a scene he didn’t want to do, and that’s really not true. The truth is I revised it to make sure that he was OK. I would never put an actor in an uncomfortable situation. So I called him and I said, ‘This is the thought, but 1000 percent, if you don’t want to do it, don’t do it,’ and he said, ‘No, I think it’s honest to the character, and I think that’s true to the tone of your world, and everyone else has done it. I’m in.'
When Jensen Ackles was announced to be joining The Boys, some probably assumed that his character would have some wild scenes, and this one didn't disappoint. One would think that Ackles and Eric Kripke's working relationship (birthed from Supernatural) made it easier for him to slip into the role that Kripke helped him snag. It's good to hear that the two were able to joke and keep the atmosphere light as they prepped for the big moment.
Of course, now that Soldier Boy is in the present, he's already making a major impression aside from his nude debut. He had a run-in with Kimiko, who failed to heal following the scuffle and, as the showrunner went on to tease in the same interview, it'll bring a “very new and important turn” that will be explored as the season continues. The presence of a superhero with a likely-corrupt mind will surely keep things interesting and, per Kripke, “it’s really going to be a bomb into the social order of it all.”
I would also keep an eye out for other wild sequences, as there already a few scenes in Season 3 may not sit too well with some viewers. There's the giant penis prop, which may or may not haunt your nightmares, for example. And one of the grosser scenes even involved The Deep eating his best friend, Timothy the octopus, and the moment actually earned the show an award from PETA. So if you're still stuck on Soldier Boy's nudity, then know that there are even wilder moments to come.
The Boys drops new episodes on Thursdays, so be sure you have an Amazon Prime Video subscription so that you can check them out.
