‘The Boys’ Star Karen Fukuhara on Kimiko & Frenchie’s Kiss and What That ‘Gen V’ Crossover Means (VIDEO)

Sometimes Going Rogue Pays Off

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[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for The Boys Season 4, Episode 8, “Season Four Finale.”]

Season 4 of The Boys thrust the titular group of vigilantes into the heart of a political uprising as Homelander (Antony Starr) made a grab for constitutional power beyond his terrifying Supe abilities, but there were some pockets of sunshine to be found amid the chaos, particularly with Karen Fukuhara‘s Kimiko.

Sure, she had her struggles and challenges like many of the other characters, but she worked on finding her voice and managed to be honest with will-they-won’t-they second half, Frenchie (Tomer Capone), sharing their first real kiss in the finale episode. But as with most things in the world of The Boys, the good can’t last forever as Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) revealed his new abilities in the final moments by tearing Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) apart, and not long after Kimiko and Frenchie were separated when apprehended by Gen V‘s deputized Supes, Cate (Maddie Phillips) and Sam (Asa Germann).

Below, Fukuhara opens up about reaching a new milestone for Kimiko and Frenchie, hopes for a Gen V crossover, and The Boys‘ fifth and final season. Plus, she reveals her reaction to Butcher’s transformation and more.

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Most of Kimiko’s story this season is focused on finding her voice as well as on her relationship with Frenchie. What was it like balancing that?

Karen Fukuhara: Yeah, this season is unique in that Frenchie and Kimiko have very different storylines. Usually, they coincide and they’re on a parallel path. And I’ve loved working with Tomer over the years, but it was nice to have a change really. It’s brought opportunities for Kimiko to build bonds with other characters like Hughie and Annie, a little bit of MM as well. And so that’s been really exciting.

All of the characters this season are really going through it. They have their own inner demons coming for them, and they all have to face it in their own way… Frenchie and Kimiko are dealing with it in different ways on their own separately. And a part of it has to do with her learning how to speak. Without [Frenchie there all of the time], she’s having a hard time connecting with the other characters and making friends. And so I think it is giving her perspective on how important it is to be able to speak audibly.

You talk about building bonds with other characters. We got to see Kimiko teach Hughie how to fight. Did it feel like you were teaching Jack Quaid the ins and outs of stunt scenes?

It was sort of meta in that way because you’re right, I’ve been working with the stunt team for a long time now, and Jack has always wanted to have a cool fight sequence and he’s finally gotten it in the season, and it was just so fun to be on set with him and work on all the moves. I will not take credit for teaching him. We have an amazing stunt coordinator John Koyama. He just won an Emmy for the show. He’s brilliant. I love him. We call him Koy and he taught Jack everything. And when I arrived on the day, I was so blown away and impressed with what Jack could do. He killed it.

Considering Kimiko brings a mostly positive energy to the group, how do you think she feels about Butcher’s killing of Victoria and where do you think The Boys stand in regards to his new powers?

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I love how you asked this question because we were all doing our own things, separate paths, whatever this season; we really felt it even off set. And between takes, we’re just so used to always being the five of us, now with Annie, but we’re always shooting together, we’re playing backgammon. Karl is always there, and we didn’t have that as much this season and we missed it… And then that final sequence, when Newman is [killed], there was a take… the first take of that scene, and I just didn’t recognize him. I started crying, and it was like a visceral reaction to when you see someone and you haven’t seen them for a long time, and they’ve changed so much that you don’t even recognize them. It felt like that with Kimiko and Butcher.

While that’s definitely a darker aspect of the finale, we did get to see Kimiko and Frenchie share their first real kiss. What was it like reaching that point in their relationship?

I love it. I’ve shipped Kimchie for the longest time, but I kind of kept it under wraps because a writer once told me that once you speak it out into existence, they’re not going to write it. So whenever fans would ask about their storyline or their relationship, I was like, “Oh, I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going to happen,” because I didn’t know, and I was just hoping that it might lead into some kind of romantic relationship. But I was also okay with it being this sort of two souls melding together. We called it Twin Flame, two magnets getting pulled to one another and leaving it platonic as well. So we were open to whatever the show was going to give us, but I’m very happy with how it turned out. Kripke was the one who directed that episode, and I didn’t know how beautifully it was going to be lit, and the wide shot, the toes going up to reach his height and backlit. It was just beautifully done. And I loved it. Can’t say enough good things about it.

Their bliss doesn’t last long because Cate and Sam interrupt their getaway. Do you know what was said to Frenchie by Cate in order for him to walk away? We know her power is persuasion through touch, which could have devastating consequences.

Actually, I do know the exact line… it was scripted. I didn’t even think about it. Does she not say it in the [episode]?

Prime Video

No, it’s silent for viewers.

Okay. I know what [Cate] says, but maybe they left that out so that they can bring that back in. So I’m not going to say it, but I know what she said. Yeah.

So can fans hold out hope for Frenchie and Kimiko then?

I don’t know. I honestly don’t know. They’re still writing the fifth season, and so I am as clueless as anyone out there. I will say that day was really cool because we shot that before Gen V came out and we hung out with the cast. Maddie’s great, Asa is great, I love them, but we had no idea what Gen V was about other than it was a college show. They have superpowers, but they were very tight-lipped about who’s good, who’s bad, why they’re doing this, why are they taking us, and any of that.

So it was just so fun picking their brains on that day and being like, “Maddie, what are your powers? How powerful are you?” I think some of the takes that I did with Asa holding me back, I escaped, and Kripke was like, “No, no, no, he’s really strong. He’s stronger than you.” And I was like, “Oh, okay. Sorry, my bad. I didn’t realize that you were like the Hulk.” So yeah, that was a really fun day on set for us—and tragic. Tragic, but fun to shoot.

Some of your costars have already crossed over with Gen V on that series. Would you like to see Kimiko drop into that side of The Boys universe?

I have been pitching this for the longest time. I want to be in the Gen V world. I think it’d be so fun to be on set with them shooting, and I hope there’s a crossover coming. We’ll see. I would love to… I think also the college element is very cool.

When Frenchie is led away from Kimiko, she finally finds her voice. What is it about that moment and circumstance that allows her to find that volume in vocals?

I’ve always thought that if she were able to speak, it was going to be a guttural reaction to something. In the comics, she says a very important line, and that’s her first time speaking. I forget what the exact line is, but it’s when The Boys are trying to decide whether they stop Butcher or they go their separate ways. And in the comics, she’s the one to speak up and say like, “Hey, we got to get together. We have to do this.” And I thought that was an iconic moment to speak up about something. But I love the way we did it on our show. It’s coming from a place of like, I can’t help Frenchie because I’m being pinned down by Asa. And I thought that this fairytale ending was happening… They had the kiss and they were going away together.

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They at least have each other, and even that is being taken away and god knows what’s going to happen to Frenchie. So it was a really devastating moment for Kimiko, and the only thing that could potentially stop them from getting away was her voice. So yeah, that was a really special moment for Kimiko. And yeah, I was nervous to be honest, because there’s a lot of expectations with that, and I wanted to get it right, and I got some excellent notes from Kripke that day.

How do you imagine she’ll use her newfound voice moving forward in the franchise?

I don’t know. I think it would be kind of weird if she’s yapping away the whole time. I’ve done quite a bit of research and I’ve spoken to a speech therapist, and it’s not that easy to get over emotional trauma and to start speaking again. So I’m hoping that it’s baby steps and then maybe at the end of the season, she’s speaking more. But we’ll see. I also don’t know what’s going to happen. They’re getting taken away. Where are they going to go? How is she going to find them? Is she going to find them?… [It’s] all up in the air, and we have excellent writers on our team, and they always come up with these crazy storylines that I could never come up with. So I’m just as excited as the viewers to read the next script. I can’t wait.

The Boys, Seasons 1-4, Streaming Now, Prime Video