‘The Boys’ Star Tomer Capone on Frenchie’s Little Nina Trauma and His ‘Soulmate’ Feelings for Kimiko

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Here Comes a Candle to Light You to Bed,” the July 1 episode of “The Boys.”

“The Boys” fans who have been shipping Frenchie (Tomer Capone) and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) for three seasons finally found out if the very dear friends will ever become something more with Friday’s second-to-last episode of the season. And while the decision made by the two — that they are more than lovers, they are family — may be one that breaks the hearts of some viewers, it’s the only way this relationship could have played out, according to star Capone.

“From day one, it was obvious to me and to Karen… we talked about it a lot and we read about it… what is soulmates? Does soulmates have to be someone you’re in love with, or you have an intimate relationship? And the answer is no,” Capone said. “A soulmate is just someone who complements you in the best way possible and that sees your flaws as your best things and teaches you and wants to make a way with you. So I think that was our jumping start. Those two are so innocent, in a way. Learning about Frenchie’s life — till the point that he met Kimiko, he was a drug addict. He was running away constantly from his past. And when these two met, something very interesting happened. And they both find themselves throughout the season in this, ‘I’m here, you’re there,’ up-and-down thing. And now, even with the signing, there’s something equal. And it’s a very interesting place to explore.”

In Episode 5 of “The Boys” Season 3, now forever known as the one where Kimiko and Frenchie do a big song-and-dance number in Kimiko’s daydream, Kimiko and Frenchie share their second kiss of the series. This one was initiated by Kimiko — with the previous having been a very misguided kiss from Frenchie when he was using drugs again in Season 2 — and drew complete shock from Frenchie, who almost immediately made an excuse to leave the room. He and Kimiko were then both kidnapped by Little Nina (Katia Winter) before they had time to really process what had happened.

According to Capone, this is what was going through Frenchie’s mind in those first moments after the kiss: “He would probably say, ‘You know when you do an hallucinogenic, like shrooms or something, and you’re scared, but you love it?’ That’s not me, that’s Frenchie channeled.”

But by Episode 7, when Kimiko and Frenchie were no longer fighting for their lives and she had decided she was going to willingly take more Compound V in order to get her powers back and be able to protect her friends, him most of all, they had a heart-to-heart about how the kiss was strange. And they agree it wasn’t because it was a bad kiss, but because they are in love with each other in a way that goes beyond romance. “Even what we’re talking about, the kiss, it feels like it’s two kids in kindergarten that are trying to feel something and feel so comfortable with trying it with each other,” Capone said.

“The Boys” showrunner Eric Kripke backed up the actor’s sentiments, explaining the kiss was more about getting Frenchie and Kimiko to a place where they — and the audience — finally realize what they truly are to each other.

“So far, my impression of the audience is that they really want those two to get together. And I get that and they’re adorable,” Kripke told Variety. “But in the same respect, in a way that I can’t even totally put my finger on, what they have feels deeper and more profound than just the ‘will-they-or-won’t-they?’ Ross-and-Rachel thing. They have this depth of connection. These two broken people finding each other. They’re soulmates in, like, the purest sense of the word. So to us as the writers, we might be running contrary to what the viewers want, but the writers always feel like it’s weird to us. We felt like, OK, we have to have the kiss so we can have the characters try it and then decide that it’s still weird to them. So we had to do it, but it felt weird to the writers, too. Like when we have them kiss, to me, that’s like two siblings kissing or it’s like a gray area, I guess.”

With one more episode to go in “The Boys” Season 3, Capone is very pleased with the amount he has been able to explore not just with Frenchie’s relationship with Kimiko, but Frenchie’s past trauma with his father as well as old boss and lover Little Nina, and how those have shaped his complicated relationship with his new boss Butcher (Karl Urban).

“In terms of characters that are revisiting the past, these are diamonds for actors,” Capone said. “It’s like a gold mine for just getting deeper in the character’s boots, just knowing his origin story more. What ticks, what tocks. Obviously, I kind of knew that we are going to head that way, because Frenchie’s life is so rich and the writers can do so much in terms of bringing characters from the comic book and combining it with the story. And I love that we did that this season with Little Nina, which sheds light about different sides of Frenchie. And it brings new questions.”

Capone made a call back to an important bit from Season 1, where Butcher explained to M.M. (Laz Alonso) and Frenchie that The Boys were better resolving their differences and sticking together than they would be apart by comparing them to the Spice Girls. Frenchie then uses that logic to try to bring Kimiko into the group when she is scared and using her super powers against them, but he sees something in her that makes him believe she too is a “Spice Girl.” But Season 3 dives into so much more about who the characters are outside of their group.

“Since the show started, Frenchie is one of The Boys. He’s one of the Spice Girls. I don’t know which Spice Girl, but he’s definitely one,” Capone said. “And then this season, there’s a whole new fountain of questions that he asks himself through Kimiko, through Little Nina, through his amazing father figure Butcher. What am I doing here? Who am I doing it for? Is there something to strive for in the end? What is the cause? What are we doing here? Which is, just in general, a very interesting question to me to ask myself with everything that’s going on in the world. What the hell are we doing? What’s our part? What can we do different? Should we change our ways? It opens up a whole new world that we can play with. And I’m super curious to see where it progresses with Frenchie.”