Warning: SPOILERS ahead for The Boys season 4, episode 8.
Summary
Billy Butcher takes a dark turn inThe Boysseason 4 finale, andthe episode’s opening minutes tease his villain twist long before he kills Victoria Neuman.The Boysseason 4, episode 8raises the stakes for the main characters, withHomelander and Sister Sage gainingmore political power and Butcher giving in to his crueler impulses. After realizingJoe Kessler is the devil on his shoulder, Butcher tries to strike a balance between his hatred of Supes and his humanity. However, Ryan’s actions in the season 4 finale push Butcher to embrace Kessler and the Supe genocide he suggests.
This means Homelander won’t be the only villainous character inThe Boysseason 5; it seems the show’s heroes will need to contend with Butcher as well. Although Homelander and Butcher will be on opposite sides of the looming conflict, they’re rapidly on the way to becoming mirrors of one another. Anda clever moment fromThe Boysseason 4 finale foreshadows this turn of events, drawing a clear connection between the two characters.
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They Both Face Down Their Mortality In The Last Episode
Within the first 10 minutes ofThe Boysseason 4 finale,both Butcher and Homelander find themselves in similar situations— and the series seamlessly transitions from one to the other to highlight this fact. Butcher’s first scene in episode 8 finds him on his deathbed, where Kessler continues to push for a Supe genocide. Then Grace appears, and Butcher lights a cigarette and asks for a pint. He knows that he’s dying, and he faces his mortality by embracing his vices one last time. He’s not the only one staring down his own mortality when the episode opens, either.
The Boyshints at these characters being similar by showing them going through identical issues.
Butcher’s first scene transitions to a shot ofHomelander looking at his collection of gray hairs, proof that The Seven’s leader is aging. Homelander is disgusted by how rapidly it’s happening, and it’s clear that he’s just as fixated on his mortality as Butcher — even though Homelander has plenty more time at this point in the show.The Boyshints at these characters being similar by showing them going through identical issues. And although Butcher evades his death at the ending ofThe Boysseason 4,the finale’s last moments prove he’s as bad as Homelander.
Both Characters Have The Same Goal For Season 5
Butcher is an easier character to root for than Homelander throughoutThe Boys,butseason 4’s final episode proves he’s just as bad as the Supe. Both characters have the same goal heading intoThe Boys’fifth and final season: they both intend to commit genocide, just against different groups of people. Homelander wants to round up non-Supes and traitors and place them in internment camps, ensuring the U.S. is only safe for superheroes. Meanwhile, Butcher wants to use a virus on Homelander that could start a global pandemic among Supes.
Needless to say,Butcher and Homelander will both be villains in future episodes ofThe Boys.This makes their final showdown more tragic, as Butcher becomes just like the people he hates in order to enact his revenge. Unless hisvisions of Beccaor The Boys can talk sense into him, it seems Butcher is doomed to die the villain. He’ll go down with the other Supes inThe Boysseason 5, and he seems happy to do so, as long as his plan works out in the end.
The Boys
Cast
The Boys is a gritty and subversive take on the superhero genre, focusing on a group of vigilantes who confront powerful superheroes abusing their abilities, exploring themes of corruption and moral ambiguity in a world where heroes are not always what they seem.
