The explosive second season of Amazon Studios' The Boys ended with an equally explosive finale. In one of the most subversively perverted moments from the entire series, the Season 2 finale featured a shot of Antony Starr's Homelander standing on top of Vought Tower, masturbating while he looks out over the city saying, "I can do whatever the fuck I want!" In an interview with TheWrap, showrunner Eric Kripke explained that the breakout success of The Boys allowed for that scene to be included in Season 2:

"That was amazing. Well, it helps- it helps to be a hit. Originally, we had a different final image for Homelander. He was just kind of, he was actually in space and he was like, hovering over the earth, kind of like Superman does, but had like a scary sociopathic look. It was awesome. We shot it. But Amazon had the note of like, 'We'd love to see if we could stick the landing on him a little harder. And, you know, have something that maybe isn't quite as ambiguous.' And I was like, I got just the idea!"

Last year, Kripke had revealed that the shot of Homelander pleasuring himself in public was originally intended to be a part of Season 1. But at that time, Amazon execs were concerned the scene was pushing the boundaries of taste too much, and thus the scene never made it to air.

After Season 1 earned rave reviews and a loyal global following, Kripke was given more freedom, and actively encouraged to make the second season even more extreme. That resulted in a series of shocking plot choices for Season 2, which culminated in the final shot of Homelander getting frisky by himself atop Vought tower. According to Kripke, the scene became an important establishing shot for Homelander's current state of mind:

"We dropped [the scene] back in and I sent it to [Amazon] without comment. I just sent it to them with like, 'Did your note.' But to their credit, they were like, you know, I think it actually really works in this in this context, because it's telling us something about how powerless and pathetic he feels in that moment and how dangerous he'll be moving into Season 3. But yeah, thrilled to get it back in."

With the upcoming third season of The Boys, which has already been greenlit, Kripke has promised that things are going to get even more extreme, and Homelander is going to give free rein to the depraved depths of his psychosis, meaning the shot of him in the Season 2 finale is a mere taster for what is going to come next year.

Amazon Studios' The Boys features an ensemble cast of Karl Urban as Billy Butcher, Jack Quaid as Hughie, Laz Alonso as Mother's Milk, Tomer Kapon as Frenchie, Karen Fukuhara as Kimiko, Erin Moriarty as Annie January, Chace Crawford as the Deep, Antony Starr as Homelander and Aya Cash as Stormfront. Seasons 1 and 2 are currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video. This news first appeared at The Wrap.