Billy Butcher’s character hasn’t been the most likable one despite him being the protagonist. Season 3 takes this unlikeable factor to a whole new level as we see him embrace his dark side by taking Compound V24.
In Season 3 Episode 7, we see Butcher remember his childhood when Mindstorm traps him in an eternal loop. Numerous parallels are drawn between who Billy now is and who Billy’s father was to him while growing up. Does this mean Butcher has become his toxic father?
Billy Butcher’s childhood trauma results in him acting like his father, the very person who caused him trauma. He mirrors his behavior to act tough and feel like he’s in charge.
There are many layers to Butcher’s character, and we’ve always known this. But only in Episode 7 do we see the various layers unfold before us.
To begin with, we see Billy that had a younger brother, and their father used to beat both of them after getting drunk. He was the classic toxic father who believed in being a “man.” Initially, Butcher protects his younger brother and gets belted instead of him.
However, this somehow breaks him over time. He starts to act like his father, saying the phrases he does. He even hits his brother in a fit of rage and realizes what he’s done. Although he apologizes, he later decides to leave the house and run away.
His brother pleads with him to stay, but it’s futile. Before anything else could happen, Mindstorm helps Hughie wake Butcher up, and he’s shook for obvious reasons.
All this indicates how and why Butcher acts the way he does. It’s not just Homelander that plagued his life, because Butcher has been broken all along. Butcher acts mean and uses people as he pleases because that’s his coping mechanism.
Somehow, he’s grown to care for Hughie and sees him as his little brother. In fact, there’s a slight hint of guilt in Butcher’s eyes when he realizes that Hughie has taken Compound V24.
Butcher realizes that he’s become his father in almost all the ways. This is brilliant character work on the writers’ part. Here’s why.
Until now, we thought that Butcher had become the one thing he hates most, Homelander, because he took away everything Butcher had. But now we understand that it was inevitable. The second Homelander ruined Billy’s life, he began following the same pattern he did when he was a child.
The question is whether Butcher will redeem himself in the season’s final episode. I guess we have to wait and find out.
About The Boys
The Boys is an American satirical superhero streaming television series developed by Eric Kripke for Prime Video. Based on the comic book of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, which was originally published by DC Comics under their Wildstorm imprint before moving to Dynamite Entertainment, it follows the eponymous team of vigilantes as they combat superpowered individuals who abuse their abilities.
The show is a satirical take on the superhero genre and showcases a world where superheroes are corporatized and controlled by companies. What happens when these superheroes step out of line and rub some boys the wrong way, is the story.
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