‘The Boys’ season 5 has taken a surprising turn, giving Billy Butcher humanity after two seasons of pushing him towards becoming a monster. Many fans were hoping Butcher would make a complete switch to his darker side during the last season.
In the fourth season, he killed Victoria Neuman, threatened everyone around him, and seemed even more dangerous than ever. The early trailers even suggested that Butcher would be as frightening as Homelander. The marketing made him seem like a bomb about to explode and kill all those around him. However, seven episodes in, that’s not really what happened.
‘The Boys’ Season 5 Just Made Butcher Human Again
Butcher has been the show’s final bad guy, but for much of season 5, he’s been reconnecting with parts of himself he put to bed years ago. He’s still ruthless, still angry, and still determined to stop Supes, but there’s a definite shift in his approach to those around him.
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One of the most significant was when he let Hughie keep some V-One because he wanted to help Kimiko and Starlight. It would’ve been destroyed by earlier versions of Butcher without hesitation. The Season 5 version listened.
Even the little things, like caring for Terror or risking himself for Ryan, have brought a touch of emotion that the show was about to lose. He has a bit of guilt in him now, and perhaps a little hope. It’s a huge departure from the cold, self-destructive man audiences were expecting after season 4.
The trailers, in all honesty, feel like they’re trying to be misleading. That famous “drag your broken carcasses over the finish line” line sounded terrifying in the teaser, but in context, it was strangely inspiring. Butcher was not threatening the team; he was trying to rally them one final time.
The Finale Could Still Change Everything
The ending trailer suggests that Butcher might yet have the comic plot in mind, where he decides that all Supes need to be wiped out, whatever the cost. The “scorched earth” speech is not exactly a wartime call to arms. It looks like a man who is losing his mind.
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This is what makes the finale interesting. The show has been spending the past seven episodes trying to win back Butcher’s sympathy just before it could destroy it all. If he does cross the line in the final episode, it will hurt far more now because viewers were beginning to believe he could still come back from the edge.
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