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The Boys: Laz Alonso on MM's Happy Ending, Ryan, Spinoff Idea & More

The Boys star Laz Alonso discusses MM's ending in the series finale, decision to adopt Ryan, spinoff ideas/"Vought Rising," and much more.

Laz Alonso's journey as Mother's Milk in The Boys is unique in that, while he shares a mutual hatred for supes, he chooses to stay away from his loved ones to protect them from those within Vought who might do them harm. MM and Frenchie (Tomer Capone) are the only members of The Boys not to take any variation of V (different from their comic counterparts) to try to even the playing field, relying on their resourcefulness and tenacity to survive the cathartic world of the Eric Kripke-created series. By the time the dust settles after Homelander (Antony Starr) finally dies at the hands of Butcher (Karl Urban), and the latter makes his final stand before Hughie (Jack Quaid) stops him at Vought Tower from unleashing Frenchie's supe virus to the world, killing him in the process with Butcher having nothing else to live for with his dog, Terror dying and his wife's son, Ryan (Cameron Crovetti) rejecting him. Alonso spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about MM finally reuniting with his wife and daughter, adopting Ryan, despite Ryan's grandfather Solider Boy (Jensen Ackles) killing MM's grandfather, into his family, the loose end regarding Vought CEO Stan Edgar (Giancarlo Esposito), MM and Ryan's future, and the upcoming Vought Rising.

The Boys Star Laz Alonso on Mother's Milk's Ending, Ryan, and Their Future

As far as Mother's Milk's story in The Boys and its ending, "It was always Eric Kripke's intention to make Mother's Milk story an arc about breaking generational cycles and curses. If you remember in season three, that was the season we actually got to learn what was haunting Mother's Milk, his backstory. Why does he have OCD? Why is he so passionate about hunting down these supes? [Viewers learned] where his war against Vought came from, and it came from Soldier Boy killing his grandfather in Harlem," Alonso said. "That's what completely changed his life. The irony here is that Mother's Milk's biggest fear has never been supes. His biggest fear was passing down his generational trauma that he got from his dad and his dad got from his dad. They were all fighting against this whole Vought and supe situation. The more MM tried to fight passing down that trauma, the more he actually made it worse. And in season five, we finally see a side of where he lets go of that fight, where he's almost become a cynic and given up. He's no longer the beacon of hope, the glue, the guy that's trying to look at the bright side of things and keep the team together. He's relinquished that need to control the situation. But the weirdest thing happens when you no longer try to hold on to something so tight that it slips between your fingers. When you let go, you're free, and he found freedom in that."

As far as how Homelander's son factors in, "Being able to adopt Ryan and take him under his wing was a symbol of breaking generational curses, because if we understand who Ryan is to MM, he's very, very close to MM's story, because he's the grandson of Soldier Boy, the man that killed MM's grandfather and sent him down this completely different life of spiraling out of control," Alonso said. "So when Kripke explained to me the whole arc of the character, and MM has to live, and what his responsibility is moving forward by taking Ryan under his wing, it just blew me away, how much thought he's put into these characters and their stories and arcs. I've read comments online and they're like, "We feel like [MM's] story was not finished, because he didn't kill Soldier Boy." But killing Soldier Boy wasn't necessarily MM's full story. His full story was regaining his life, making it home to his family, and not passing on the trauma that he's carried on for so many years."

Another key difference between Alonso's TV and comic counterpart is that the original comic incarnation of MM dies, "No, I knew since season three that MM wasn't gonna die. Kripke and I had very, very deep conversations about MM's series arc. Especially in season three, when he started to really become more of a prominent character within the group. But I didn't think that Butcher was gonna die," he said. "I did have hope that something was gonna change and Butcher wouldn't have to die, especially at the hands of Hughie. That really broke my heart to read. [Karl Urban and Jack Quaid] played it beautifully. These guys, the life that they gave to what was on the page — you can only write so many details. When the actor takes hold of it, they give it a whole new, different breath, and I just felt like Jack and Karl, their relationship and friendship made that scene so beautiful. It did not play the same way it read [in the script]. It read a little bit more violent. And they played it with so much humanity and tenderness. It was a tearjerker."

With The Boys finale, there's still a loose end that Alonso has for MM, "I think so, to be honest. You know, I think that the fact that he made a promise to Stan Edgar, MM is a man of his word, and Stan Edgar told him that he was gonna be running far again. MM told Stan Edgar, 'When that day comes, I have a job to do, too, and that's to put a bullet between your eyes,'" he said. "So, I do think that in the Vought universe, as long as Stan Edgar exists and he continues to proliferate this business of supes running amok, it's only so long before he is gonna feel like he has a job to finish. And now he's got Ryan by his side, so there's a lineage there. You think about when Butcher recruited Hughie [in season one] and he taught him the ropes. I almost feel like there's something there with MM and Ryan that would be really interesting to develop."

Regarding Alonso's spinoff idea, "Hey, listen, I'm always pitching. So, Amazon, if you're listening; Kripke, if you're listening. No, I'm kidding. As an actor, you're always thinking in stories, in storylines. Obviously, this is not a conversation that was had with me or this is not something that was told that there's a potential thing. But in my mind, that's what's happening," he said. "MM made a promise, and if I know him — and I think I know him pretty well — he meant what he said."

As far as thoughts on the upcoming The Boys prequel spinoff, the 1950s-set Vought Rising, "I think they should [on connecting the series to MM's family]. I anticipate that 'Vought Rising' is gonna have a very, very successful launch and many successful seasons. And at some point, as time progresses — I don't know what kind of timeframes or time blocks they'll be building each season — but at some point, I think it would be interesting to see Soldier Boy in Harlem. The connection between Vought Rising and The Boys really is, if you think about it, a direct storyline connecting to a member of The Boys to Soldier Boy. So, it would be interesting to see MM's mom working in a compound V factory, MM's dad suing Vought for unsafe work conditions, MM being born with a V addiction, if they decide to show any of that. There was a lot that connected The Boys' world to Vought, and that connection was through Soldier Boy and MM."

For more on Alonso talking about behind-the-scenes moments of the series, and what it meant to be part of the Kripke series and its legacy, you can read the entire interview. All five seasons of The Boys are available on Prime Video.

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