The Boys Was Set to Kill Off [Spoiler]: Here’s Why It Didn’t

“There was a draft of the script where he was dead.”

As if The Boys‘ season three finale didn’t make our jaws drop to the floor enough, showrunner Eric Kripke‘s revelation to E! News that the Amazon Prime Video series was going to kill off a major character permanently unhinged our bone from our face. (Yes, we are considering legal action.) Warning: Major spoilers ahead! Proceed with more caution than a cow within 50-feet of Homelander.

That character? Jensen Ackles‘ Soldier Boy, who ultimately ended the episode being put back on ice (a.k.a. in an induced coma à la Captain America).

So what inspired the last-minute switch? “It was fan service!” the executive producer joked as a nod to Ackles’ devoted followers from his 15-season run on The CW’s Supernatural, which Kripke created.

In reality, there were several reasons why Soldier Boy—who was revealed to be Homelander’s biological father in the July 1 episode, resulting in a dramatic showdown between the two supes in the finale—ultimately survived.