The existence of Homelander’s son, Ryan, has broad implications for The Boys, making it unlikely that the TV series will conclude with the same tragic, pessimistic ending from the comics. The Amazon Prime show, based on the comic series from Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, imagines a world in which superheroes are the sole property of a corporate powerhouse, Vought Enterprises, and revel in the impunity they are afforded, not just by their superpowers, but by the moneyed infrastructure backing them. However, while The Boys series and comic book share much of this setup, Ryan's presence could see the show diverge dramatically from the source material.
At the end of the first season, Homelander, the leader of Vought’s Avengers-equivalent, “The Seven”, discovers that he has a preteen son who was hidden from him by Vought. More than that, Ryan has inherited Homelander’s Superman-like powers. Before Ryan, all “supes” have been given their powers through infusions of a mysterious chemical known as “Compound V”, and while supes with children are not uncommon, Ryan is the first to have his parent’s powers ed down, making him the first-ever naturally born supe.
In the comics, however, there is no exception. Ryan does not appear, and there is never a naturally born supe. The series concludes with Vought continuing to manufacture new proprietary superheroes, suggesting that despite the efforts and sacrifices of The Boys, little has ultimately been changed. The existence of Ryan, however, makes it more unlikely that the show will end with Vought still in total control. If supes can be created without Compound V, the specific ending mentioned above is nearly impossible. Ryan’s life presents a threat to Vought’s monopoly on superheroes.
The threat to Vought’s monopoly could theoretically be undone later on in the series, but that would most likely require the show’s writers to engineer some lengthy exposition to explain that what happened with Homelander’s child can’t be replicated. More than that, the writers would likely have to kill Ryan as well, to eliminate any chances that he could father a naturally-born supe in the future. All of this is unlikely to happen, however, since the writers have already felt free to make significant changes elsewhere in the series, from changing Stormfront’s gender to creating an ill-fated romance between A-Train and Popclaw.
The trajectory of The Boys' television adaptation is unlikely to follow the same path laid out by the comics, but that's fine. Adapting a story across mediums and audiences inevitably leads to narrative changes. Fans of Game of Thrones had famously strong reactions to every little change between the television series and George R.R. Martin's books. The creative team behind The Boys should enjoy the freedom to tell their own story, and it will be exciting to see what kind of ending they devise.