Why Homelander Lets The Legend Live In The Boys Season 5
By Published May 7, 2026, 11:00 AM EDT Kyle is a senior writer at ScreenRant and has been part of the team for over two years. Having led coverage on The Walking Dead projects alongside Rick & Morty, Kyle is well versed in numerous genres.
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Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Boys season 5, episode 6, "Though the Heavens Fall."
Having not been seen since season 3, The Legend finally returned in season 5's sixth episode, and despite having a tense run-in with Homelander, the villain surprisingly let him live. Although The Legend's role in the show has been minor, his history with Vought makes him the perfect man to contact when trying to get sensitive information.
That's why MM and The Boys tracked him down and used him to gain details on Bombsight's whereabouts, so that they could try and get their hands on V-One. Reluctantly, The Legend decided to help them since he wasn't given much of a choice, but wanted no further part in their plan, deciding to walk away after his initial assistance.
Unfortunately for him, Homelander was next to find him, wanting to know where The Boys' hideout was. The Legend swiftly took him there, yet the gang was nowhere to be seen. Knowing he now had little chance of surviving this confrontation, the former Senior Vice President of Hero Management accepted his death and opted to speak openly with the villain.
Considering previous episode despite her complete devotion, The Legend was right to expect the worst, yet uncharacteristically, Homelander let him go following their conversation. It's rare we ever see the Seven leader show restraint or mercy, making this scene a genuine shock, especially since Homelander has only grown more wrathful.
Therefore, The Legend walking out of this encounter in one piece is a miracle, as if he wanted to. However, the reasoning behind this decision comes down to The Legend's honesty and lack of fear, a trait that Homelander seems to respect, despite how twisted his mind is.
The Legend's Honesty Saves Him From Homelander's Fury
Rather than lying to Homelander or trying to tell the villain something he wanted to hear, The Legend chose to just be honest, which ultimately saved his life. After accepting Homelander likely wasn't going to let him walk out of their confrontation alive, The Legend gave him a pep talk about how all supes eventually get pushed out of the limelight.
During his speech, he unintentionally provided Homelander with some useful information about how he could track Golden Geisha's whereabouts, which definitely earned him some remorse. However, it was his lack of fear and upfront nature that Homelander legitimately respected, since most people around him are usually terrified.
The Legend even claimed to sympathize with the antagonist and called him talented, which ultimately persuaded Homelander to let him go, since he could tell the older veteran was being genuine. While this may seem like a momentary act of mercy, it is actually quite fitting with his character throughout The Boys.
We've seen Homelander spare the likes of Butcher, Stan Edgar, and even Hughie when they decided to stand up for themselves and refused to give in to intimidation. Given that Homelander is by some distance, he's not used to people being themselves, as they're usually trying to say whatever he wants to hear.
As a result, speaking your mind and not being scared are the best ways to survive Homelander's fury, and while saying the wrong thing or not having his respect could easily end badly, The Legend proved that this technique is worth a shot, as it's the only reason he's still alive.
Homelander Sees The Legend As Another Father Figure
While honesty is the biggest factor behind The Legend surviving Homelander's rage, being a father figure in the villain's eyes also helped. With his childhood being so irregular, Homelander has always sought love and admiration, particularly from those he sees as the father he never had.
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Even though Stan Edgar always hated him and called Homelander out for his failures, there was still a sense of wanting to prove him wrong and make him proud that prompted Vought's poster boy to keep him alive. It's the same reason he woke up Soldier Boy in season 5, despite their feud a few seasons prior.
He clearly needs someone to look up to, and despite how unhinged he has become, there's a part of Homelander that just wants a pat on the back. This is why he responds so well to The Legend's "That's talent" line, as he's obviously not used to hearing an older, respected figure say something like that to him and actually mean it.
Even after getting , it's unlikely Homelander will ever be content, but little interactions like the one he had with The Legend are what he lives for, hence why he'd never kill this kind of father figure. Whether The Legend knew this or not is anyone's guess, but that fatherly approach certainly went in his favor.
It's hard to imagine we'll see The Legend return, as he's bound to try and slip under the radar again and return to a normal life. However, if Homelander requires some wisdom and parental guidance during The Boys' final two episodes, he may attempt to track down the former Vought figure for one last chat.
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