The Boys Season 5 Star Teases A-Train's Redemption Arc (Exclusive)

Speaking with The Direct at the Saturn Awards, The Boys star Jessie T. Usher (A-Train) teased his character's continuing redemption arc as the show approaches its final season.

The Boys and its spinoff Gen V (both from Amazon Prime Video) are based on the comics by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson but deviate from the original story in major ways.

For example, in the comics, A-Train is arguably a far worse person than he ever is in the show and dies seemingly with no regrets despite the terrible things he did.

So, where A-Train's story goes next after running away at the end of Season 4 remains a mystery to fans of the show and longtime comic readers alike.

Jessie T. Usher on A-Train's Redemption Arc In The Boys Season 5

Speaking with The Direct's Russ Milheim on the red carpet at the Saturn Awards (where he was a presenter), Jessie T. Usher gave some insight into A-Train's ongoing redemption arc in The Boys.

He talked about how when he first started as A-Train back in Season 1, the character felt "one-dimensional," being someone "who only really cared about the money and the fame, and he didn’t care who he hurt to get there:"

"When you start a show and like you're developing a character, you get a breakdown and the writers, they tell you like, ‘Well, this is what this character’s done, where he’s at, where we think he’s going to go.’

I didn’t see it going this far, you know what I mean? He was just one of those guys who only really cared about the money and the fame and he didn’t care who he hurt to get there what he had to do in order to keep that. So I thought he was like one dimensional in that way."

As such, being able to add new depth to the character by giving him a redemption arc was "a nice surprise, even for" Usher himself — he shared that when he first looked into A-Train, he thought, "This dude’s gonna die in Season 2" because he could not tell "where else [he could] go" with the character:

"To see him start to care about something else and make decisions because of that is, you know, it’s honestly a nice surprise even for me, because I was looking at the comics and stuff. I was like ‘This dude’s gonna die in Season 2,’ you know what I mean? Like, where else can he go?"

Usher thanked Eric Kripke and the writers room for shaping the character from the ground up the way they did with A-Train:

"And then they just sort of stripped him of everything and rebuilt him. So my hat’s off to them. I’m very thankful to Eric Kripke and the writer’s room to be able to come up with a plan that works to sort of get him out of that slump.”

Now, filming on The Boys' final season is officially underway, and Usher shared that even though they had "known all along" that this would be the end, "it's different when you're there:"

"We've had that same emotion from the moment that they announced we were gonna start Season 5, because it's, like, the beginning of the end, you know what I mean? We've known all along, but it's different when you're there, you know, and it's... It's different when you're, likel having dinner with the cast and we're like, ‘This is gonna be the last time we eat here,’ you know what I mean? It's weird. It's like, ‘What are we gonna do after?'"

Still, Usher is glad that they "get to end it on [their] own terms," after having "hoped and wished" to make it to Season 5:

"It's beautiful at the same time that we hoped and wished for five seasons. We made it to five seasons, you know, we get to end it on our own terms. It's a beautiful thing that doesn't really get to happen very often. So as much as we will miss this show, it's lovely to just be here in this moment and actually know that this is what we want.”

Could A-Train Return in Gen V?

Usher could not answer for sure whether fans can expect to see A-Train in one of The Boys' spin-off shows, like Gen V (which is approaching its second season), but he hopes there is more to come.

He explained that the way he sees it, "A-Train as a tool is available in a lot of ways."

He wants to see people "get creative" in how they could incorporate the character moving forward, but he knows that ultimately, it comes down to "if they want to use him or not:"

"I mean, he can help people out in a lot of the universe, you know what I mean? And it's just a matter of if they want to use him or not. I feel like A-Train as a tool is available in a lot of ways. So I hope that they get creative, you know what I mean, in using the character. But I'm a fan too, I just want to see how it's gonna play out."

Watch the full conversation with Jessie T. Usher below:

The first four seasons of The Boys and Season 1 of Gen V are available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.