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The Boys: Karen Fukuhara on Kimiko-Frenchie, Finale, Speaking & More

The Boys star Karen Fukuhara reflects on her full-circle journey as Kimiko, bonding with Frenchie actor Tomer Capone, MVP moments, and more.

For the better part of five seasons on The Boys, Karen Fukuhara has largely had to play Kimiko as a mute character, communicating only through ASL, which her boyfriend Frenchie (Tomer Capone) was the only member of the Boys who understood. As the two developed their relationship, the Prime Video series slowly unraveled the source of her trauma that prevented her from speaking until Frenchie was taken away by Vought forces at the season four finale, which she screamed out for him. She regained her voice, relearning how to speak in season five, regressing in the penultimate episode, "The Frenchman, the Female, and the Man called Mother's Milk," after he's killed by Homelander (Antony Starr). Initially reluctant to use her new supe neutralizing powers, a vision of Frenchie, who provided proper motivation to make her regain her resolve and blast Homelander, Butcher (Karl Urban), and Ryan (Cameron Crovetti) in the final fight at the White House to become the difference. Fukuhara spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about her journey as Kimiko and getting proper closure for her and Frenchie in the Eric Kripke-created series.

The Boys Star Karen Fukuhara on Kimiko's Journey and Resolve

When asked if she was disappointed, Kimiko lost her voice for the finale, "No, not at all! I actually thought it was serving the storyline and Kimiko's muteness. Kimiko was mute because of her past trauma, and she did a lot of work in order to get to the point that she is where we meet her in the beginning of season five [when she regains her speech]. Losing Frenchie is another traumatic event that happens in her life, so she reverts to her muteness," Fukuhara said. "It really fueled her arc of the season, and it sets her back a little bit. People say two steps forward and one step back; I feel like this was the one step back moment for her. But she regains it, and she regains her power, and that is what catapults the entire fight sequence with Homelander. I am quite satisfied that Kimiko is the one that takes Homelander's powers away. It's a big underdog story, and I would have never imagined her to be the one to do it when I signed on for the role in season one. I didn't realize how big a role she would have in the finale, and I was delighted reading it."

As far as how the final fight turned out and being the X-factor in stripping Homelander's powers, despite Butcher delivering the coup de gras, "It is a very full circle, and she's one of the characters that is very deserving of that role. She's grown a lot, learned a lot about herself, and overcome so many struggles. So it made sense to me that she would be the one to go in for the kill. Obviously, technically, Butcher is the one that has the final blow, but she has a large part in making that happen," Fukuhara said. "I also love that she regains her voice after she sees the ghost of Frenchie. That scene made me really emotional, and also appreciative of the writers and Tomer. He came back for that one day of shooting, and it really meant a lot to me to play opposite him and have the ending that Kimiko would have wanted, the proper send-off, since she doesn't get to do that in episode seven. His death really comes out of nowhere and is really shocking to her, so [episode] eight gives her the opportunity to not only say, 'Thank you, goodbye, and I love you,' but I love that he's the one that helps her realize that she's going to be okay. We see that at the end of the season, when we see her with her Bernedoodle at the cafe. I think that it was a great send-off for all of the characters."

For more on Fukuhara comparing Frenchie-Kimiko and Annie (Erin Moriarty)-Hughie (Jack Quaid), the subtlety of Kimiko's "Bye" to Frenchie, filming the group's final scenes, Kimiko's future, and getting matching series-related tattoos with Capone, you can check out the entire interview. All five seasons of The Boys are available on Prime Video.

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