The Boys' Nathan Mitchell Believes Bad Mentorship, Not Dead Fish, Led to Black Noir's Demise

[Warning: The following contains spoilers for The Boys Season 5 Episode 6, "Though the Heavens Fall." Read at your own risk!] 

It's the final season of The Boys, and no character is safe. Before the latest episode, viewers bid farewell to supes like A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) and Firecracker (Valorie Curry), who each played a pivotal role in the ongoing fight between The Boys and Vought. And in "Though the Heavens Fall," another major character met his demise. Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell) — occasionally known as Black Noir. 2.0, after Homelander (Antony Starr) killed the original one in Season 3's finale — was murdered by The Deep (Chace Crawford).

It happened after Noir proudly shared that he was behind the oil spill that led to the death of 1.4 billion of The Deep's aquatic friends. Noir had punched a hole in Vought Petroleum's pipeline to avenge the murder of his theater director Adam Bourke (P.J. Byrne). (In the previous episode, an eel attacked Bourke from the toilet at the request of The Deep.) Enraged at this reveal, The Deep chokes and stabs Noir, putting an end to their brotherhood. 

Nathan Mitchell, who has played Noir from Season 1 of the Prime Video superhero dark comedy, spoke to TV Guide about his reaction to Noir's death and the two pieces of advice his character followed that led to his downfall. 

ALSO READ: The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke says he was never making filler episodes: 'Are you expecting a huge battle scene every episode?'

Before The Deep kills Black Noir, he says, "I killed one dude, you killed 1.4 billion fish." Do you think Noir has any regret about the harm he caused the communities of fish?
Nathan Mitchell: No. I think Noir's attitude is kind of a reflection of the wider attitude of the characters in the show, where they don't really think about aquatic wildlife in the way that Deep does. And I think that is The Deep's one — I don't know how many redeeming qualities The Deep has — but his empathy for aquatic wildlife is one of the things, if not the thing. And in that moment, really highlighting how people don't really think about the ocean and the environment and aquatic life, and the fact that they are living creatures that deserve care and thought. I think that blind spot is an important thing to highlight and to make a note of. And obviously it triggered The Deep for a reason.

Do you imagine that in his final days, Noir found the validation he was seeking through acting and Adam Bourke's words? 
Mitchell: Yeah. Throughout the two seasons, new Noir has really been looking for a mentor. He's been looking for guidance, for direction. And Bourke not only offered direction, but he offered support — there was a degree of care there. I think that's really what made it so important to Noir. He was pursuing his dreams, he was getting the direction he needed as an actor, and he had this support from this father figure.

What was your reaction when you read the script for this episode? Were you personally satisfied with how Noir meets his end?
Mitchell: I was satisfied, and I thought it was fitting because Noir has been on this journey with The Deep. And it's been this journey about brotherhood, and also about mentorship — where he's looking for direction, and no one's giving him any direction. And then Deep steps in and is like, look, this is what it's about. It's about violence. And now that's the wrong message. But again, Noir's story is also the story of bad mentorship and taking lessons from the people we look up to and the people we confide in. The Deep says violence is power. Bourke says if you're being upstaged, upstage them right back. And Noir takes those two pieces of advice, and he uses them to get back at The Deep. But also he uses them in a way that leads to his end. If he didn't take that advice, I don't think he would be dead right now.

If Adam Bourke hadn't died, do you imagine Noir would've found a way to leave the Seven and go to Broadway?
Mitchell: I think he was on the verge. Leaving the Seven is never as easy as you think it would be, but I feel like he was on the cusp of doing that. I think there would have been a lot of complications. I think he would have left, I don't think he would have been that easy afterwards. He'd probably be doing a show, and then when he finishes, he'd probably have some people show up outside of his door. But I think he would have left.

Episode 5 was probably the longest we've seen Noir, unmasked. What was it like filming those scenes with your face out in the open after playing this character masked for so long? 
Mitchell: I love superheroes, I love the show. And so to get to have an episode where it's primarily me, outside of the mask, that's been something I've really appreciated. I love showing Noir's heart and his care. We get to see what he wants, what he wants to fight for. I think there's a lot of story to tell with Noir, and I think just getting that window into his world and into his soul, it does a lot to help us understand the character. It was one of the most fun set of scenes to shoot in this whole series for me.

Finally, I have to ask — what do you think is something most people don't know or think about when it comes to playing a character who is masked for most of a show?
Mitchell: Simply, you don't think about how much you would sweat, and you don't think about how foggy the goggles get. There's so much that is seeped into me through playing this role that I don't think of off the top of my head anymore. But I think the notion that, when you're really feeling something, or when you're really having these thoughts, they're gonna come through. There's this quote I always come back to, and it's, "the funny thing about a mask is, no matter how hard you try, it's always a self-portrait." The mask that we choose to wear, that decision says something about us, it's a reflection of ourselves. And obviously, Noir didn't necessarily choose his mask, but this thought of in every action we take, we're revealing ourselves in one small way or one significant way. 

ALSO READ: Eric Kripke says the 'craziest' Homelander line in Season 5 'already happened' in reality

New episodes of The Boys Season 5 premiere Wednesdays on Prime Video.