‘The Boys’ Director Explains When Butcher Accepted His 'Fate' Ahead of Season 5

Season 4 of the hit TV show The Boys put a certain level of focus on the struggles each character was battling. While the spotlight landed on different stars of the show at various points, no character has battled their inner demons as much as Billy Butcher, portrayed by Karl Urban.

Butcher's struggles date back to Season 1 of The Boys, as he's dealing with losing his wife, Becca. That remains a constant battle for the character, but his stepson Ryan, whom he later finds out is Homelander's illegitimate son, becomes a key factor in his back-and-forth storyline.

Butcher's internal battle becomes even more rocky after he takes Compound V, giving him temporary superpowers to fight Homelander and Vought, essentially. At the same time, it also gave him a fatal brain tumor.

Karen Fukuhara, Jack Quaid, and Karl Urban speak at "The Boys" Panel during Comic-Con International at San Diego Convention Center.

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The popular character and initial leader of "The Boys" went back and forth between trying to play the hero role for Ryan and taking Compound V to overtake Homelander.

During a recent interview with IndieWire, The Boys director Eric Kripke offered some unique insight into the show while helping to answer some of the big questions about characters.

One specific comment from Kripke revealed when the switch flipped and Butcher's internal battle between good and evil ended. In short, it was the moment the character "accepts his fate," as Kripke put it.

“For Butcher, it feels like a line that Ryan has crossed that he won’t come back from. And if he doesn’t have Ryan, then what the hell is he holding onto his humanity for? That’s when Butcher accepts that fate,” revealed Kripke.

Along with the confirmation of Butcher accepting that fate, which mainly became apparent at the end of Season 4, it's also a telling sign for what's ahead in Season 5. 

Tack on that Ryan, who chose to stay with Homelander, is still seemingly aligned with the show's primary villain, and it should only add to the fireworks surrounding Butcher.

Urban's character features one of the most interesting storylines heading into the fifth and final season, filled with many unanswered questions. However, as Kripke highlighted, Butcher is no longer holding onto his "humanity,"

If the character was a bit unhinged and more than ready and willing to go rogue before, both of those things are bound to be on a different level in Season 5 of The Boys.

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