Ashley Barrett is once again playing a starring role in Amazon Prime Video's The Boys Season 5, and her new superpowers come with some big twists. The Boys Season 4 ended on a shocking cliffhanger for Ashley Barrett, as, after learning that she was atop Homelander's hitlist, she took Compound V and lurched in pain as her near-bald head was exposed. The almost two-year-old cliffhanger left her true superpowers a mystery that is only just unraveling in Season 5.
The supe series' fifth and final season kicked off with multiple major reveals for Colby Minifie's Ashley Barrett, including that she is now U.S. Vice President under President Steven Calhoun, who is merely a puppet for Antony Starr's Homelander.
Throughout The Boys Season 5 premiere, Ashley claims in the White House's press room and an Oval Office interview with Firecracker, alongside her new devout Christian fiancée, that she has mind-reading powers. However, there is more to Ashley's mystery superpowers than initially meets the eye.
Responding to a reporter who hadn't even asked their question yet, Ashley claimed that she "[knows] exactly what [he's] thinking, literally," implying that her powers involve mind-reading. She also claims to have been in the superhuman closet for some time, while fans know that she only recently got her powers:
"I know exactly what you're thinking. Literally. And, no, just because I happen to be a super-abled American does not compromise my objectivity of allegiance to the U.S. of A. That is exactly the kind of Super-phobic question that kept me in the closet so long."
Ashley is engaged to Hamilton star Daveed Diggs' Oh-Father, a religious-themed supe and CEO of Samaritan's Embrace, which was a Christian charity that was previously run by Ezekiel. They claim in the interview that they met at the National Prayer Breakfast and "share the belief in a dream of a Christian nation."
The Vought supe couple simultaneously declare that it was "love at first sight," as Ashley claimed to use her mind-reading powers to foresee what he would say. That said, Ashley seemed overly eager to flex her powers, adding, "See, I knew he was gonna say that. Try marrying a mind reader."
Episode 2, "Teenage Kix," finally unravels the mystery of Ashley's real supe ability, and it doesn't seem to be as simple as mind-reading after all. During a meeting atop Vought Tower, the Vice President clearly wants to comment but doesn't have the guts to, until she hears her own voice telling her to "speak up."
Toward Episode 2's conclusion, Ashley removes a wig to reveal a second face behind her head that she describes as a "psychic f***in' tumor." Ashley's two faces seem to represent the conflict between her moral compass and survival instincts, as it tells her, "You used to wanna do some good in the world."
It's still unclear after Episode 2 whether Ashley actually has mind-reading powers or if the voices in the back of her head simply represent her better instincts.
Will Ashley Come Out on Top in The Boys Season 5?
If The Boys has proven one thing, it's that Ashley Barrett is, first and foremost, a survivor who will stop at nothing to come out on top. Last season, Ashley realized that the tide was turning more than ever in favor of Homelander and Vought's supes, so, you know what they say, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."
That decision may have saved Ashley's life, but things didn't work out as hoped, and her luck-of-the-draw supe transformation turned out to be much more gross and unlikely to win public favor than expected. Ashley may be hiding the truly gross nature behind her mutation to maintain a strong public image.
While Ashley isn't one of the supes most likely to kill Antony Starr's Homelander, it's easy to imagine her betraying him at some point in Season 5 when the tide inevitably turns against him. Only time will tell whether that gets her killed or results in her coming out on top, given that she often has in the past.
Even though Homelander is bound to be defeated after The Boys, showrunner Eric Kripke teased that the VoughtVerse will be a "wild west" with a "lot to explore" in multiple spin-offs after Season 5. It would be interesting to see how Ashley navigates that future, especially if she maintains power in the Oval Office.
