You have to agree that Billy Butcher can be quite impulsive sometimes. As I see it, he is a conflicted individual who is in a constant state of war with himself. On the outside, Billy wants to be that strong and frosty lad who doesn’t care about the world. But deep down, he does. And yes, his mental dilemma has everything to do with his abusive father and his brother’s death. But you already know that, don’t you? My point is that, for such a volatile person, any kind of drug just amps up the monsters in their head. And Butcher didn’t inject just one, but two experimental drugs into his system, which exacerbated his emotional wounds. His consciousness got split into two: good and evil, thereby making him more chaotic than ever before. A part of Butcher’s consciousness that took the form of his old friend from the army, Joe Kessler, told him that the only solution to the supe-problem is to kill the whole lot of them. But the saner part of Butcher’s consciousness, which takes the form of Becca, told him that his actions would affect not only Homelander but also Ryan and his supe friends Starlight and Kimiko. And in Becca’s eyes, Butcher isn’t the kind of monster to walk on such a dark path to exact revenge. So the question here is: to be or not to be?
Spoiler Alert
Throughout The Boys season 4, Butcher had been on the lookout for a supe-killing virus to take out his nemesis, Homelander. He was really close to realizing his dream when a shocking revelation hit him. Sameer Shah, the lead scientist, informed Butcher that if anyone tried to make a supe-killing virus strong enough to kill Homelander, then it could become extremely volatile. It might mutate and become airborne, thereby killing all the supes in the world. For Ryan’s safety, Butcher decided to make the ultimate sacrifice and backed out of his mission to kill Homelander. The brain tumor had been slowly killing Butcher, and lying on the hospital bed; Butcher accepted his fate.
However, before leaving the world, Butcher had one last wish. He wanted to convince Ryan to leave his biological father’s side and start living with Grace Mallory like old times. The CIA had plans to make Ryan strong enough so that he would be able to face his father in the near future and even kill him if needed. However, Ryan wasn’t a supe-killer like Butcher, which is why the young lad failed to understand why someone would make such a demand. He tried to run away from the facility, but Mallory wouldn’t let him. In a fit of rage, Ryan lost control and used his powers to kill Mallory in front of Butcher’s eyes. It was at this moment that Butcher witnessed Ryan’s dark side for the first time. He believed Ryan was no less than Homelander himself. For Butcher, the last remaining hope was lost forever. He couldn’t trust Ryan anymore and, therefore, had to get back on track to finish what he had started.
In The Boys season 4 finale, Kessler’s words started ringing in Butcher’s ears as the former made him realize that Ryan wasn’t the savior that he had hoped for him to be. Butcher might die soon, but not until he has killed Homelander, because Butcher is the only person who could pull off the impossible. Or at least that’s what Butcher’s consciousness told him. He decided not to submit himself to fate and instead let the parasite take charge of his body so it could help him fulfill the mission. The supe-parasite wouldn’t let his host die at any cost, and if I am correct, it might even help Butcher deal with those cancerous cells in his body. In simple words, to live, Butcher had to let the devil use him as its vessel, and Butcher was ready to make such a trade to exact his revenge. And because Kessler had been telling him to use the supe-killing virus to annihilate the world, Butcher quickly arrived at the warehouse where Frenchie had been developing the virus. It was a mere coincidence that Hughie had invited Neuman too to the facility to help her and her daughter, Zoe escape Homelander’s wrath. But the evil Butcher, who now considered all the supes his enemies, saw Neuman as a threat to his plan and therefore decided to deal with her first.
Butcher’s parasite gave him a new set of powers. Through his parasitic tentacles, he could beat the hell out of anyone who came in his way or rip them apart the way he did Neuman. But to be honest, I don’t think that Butcher had any personal vendetta against Neuman. I mean, he did want to kill her numerous times, but then he also tried to get her help against Homelander. In this scenario, I believe Butcher’s actions were motivated by a new agenda to “butcher” all the living supes. But then you might ask the question, why didn’t he kill Zoe? Maybe because he didn’t see her as a threat—at least not for now—and therefore spared her life. Or maybe there is still an ounce of humanity left in Butcher, which might help him redeem himself in the next season. Speaking of Zoe, she can surely strike back at Butcher for killing her mother. We never know.
Whatever the case might be, Butcher finally got where he had come for, and he might be mass producing that vial of supe-killing virus so as to kill all the supes who swear their allegiance to Homelander. The next time, there won’t be any discussion or arrest. Butcher is going to be the judge, jury, and executioner for these supes.
