Episode 5 of The Boys Season 5 begins with Firecracker and Oh Father updating the Seven on the progress of the Democratic Church of America. Firecracker tries to stall Homelander's ascension by lying that the Homelander Bible won't be ready by Easter. Oh Father exposes her, and she pretends she was just being cautious. To make matters worse, her mentor, Reverend Dupree, reveals that a local supe, Praying Mantis, has been terrorizing his church. The Reverend reminds Firecracker of her religious beliefs and asks her to put in a word with Homelander to go easy on them. She has a crisis of faith and accidentally confides in Soldier Boy, who has become a regular hook-up. For the next episode of her talk show, the top story is Praying Mantis' attack on Dupree's church. She tears up as she is forced to falsely report that it is a hub for Starlighters and Dupree is a pedophile.
Next, we see Black Noir II aka Justin's day. He hates that Homelander credits Deep for bringing in Stan Edgar. During the day, he ditches his mask and rehearses for a play directed by Bourke, the former Vought director. They accidentally bond over Deep's egomania and Bourke advises Justin to put Deep in his place. Oh Father is a guest at Deep's next podcast. Justin hijacks it by suggesting Homelander "heal" his voice and give him the power to fly on Easter. Oh Father loves the idea and Deep is furious. He follows Justin to the theater where Bourke reveals they are going to Broadway. Deep kills Bourke and an upset Justin confronts him. But Deep threatens to reveal Justin's theater gig to Homelander, who has banned the independent arts.
Next we see Terror, Butcher's dog, who is sexually attracted to Homelander. Frenchie won't make steaks the way Kimiko wants, so she gives them to Terror. Terror then watches MM tell Butcher that he has accepted his death which makes it easy to do what needs to be done. When Frenchie finds Terror, he confesses that he cannot give Kimiko the peaceful life she deserves.
At the same time, Hughie and Butcher argue about the risks of delaying the destruction of the V1. The Boys notice that Terror has eaten chocolate and panic. Hughie saves him and Butcher is grateful. He thinks about his brother and agrees to save Kimiko and Annie by giving the V1 to them.
Next is Sage. She uses reverse psychology on Soldier Boy, hoping he will destroy V1 instead of finding it for Homelander. As backup, she ropes in Back Ashley, who can actually read minds, to ensure Soldier Boy won't go against her plan. Ashley refuses to cooperate and Sage reveals her master plan.
The second phase involves the downfall of humanity, with supes and humans killing each other. Sage has a plan to hide in her bunker and live peacefully for the rest of her days. To sweeten the deal, she invites Ashley to join her in the bunker.
Soldier Boy is next, and Quinn has unlocked some feelings in him. He feels like he owes Homelander for not trying to kill him and agrees to help find V1. He threatens to kill Zoe and Sameer, and Edgar reveals that Mister Marathon may be able to help.
Homelander and Soldier Boy visit Mister Marathon (played by Jared Padalecki) in LA. He was once the fastest supe in the Seven but was replaced by A-Train, and now he's a B-grade actor and drug dealer. His gang includes Malchemical (played by Misha Collins) and a group of actors: Seth Rogen, Kumail Nanjiani, Will Forte, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Craig Robinson. They've been able to evade arrest by snitching on their fellow actors.
Mister Marathon pretends to call Bombsight and stalls. Homelander is annoyed and decides to leave. However, Malchemical releases a toxic gas and knocks Homelander out. He and Mister Marathon try to convince Soldier Boy to kill Homelander, as he's ruining everything good. Soldier Boy realizes that he doesn't want to hurt his son and kills Malchemical.
Mister Marathon goes after him but keeps accidentally killing the actors, who Soldier Boy uses as shields. Finally, Soldier Boy breaks Mister Marathon's legs, and Homelander kills him. Homelander is further surprised by Soldier Boy's change of heart when the latter reveals that he's been sleeping with Firecracker but will stop. He mentions Firecracker's "pillow talk," and Homelander connects the dots.
He fires her for still believing in Jesus, and she tries to fix things. She begs for one more chance but eventually claims that everyone needs love, even Homelander when he becomes "God." He sees this as a weakness and kills her.
