With the third season of The Boys in the rearview mirror, fans have had the chance to see many of the show's biggest characters at their absolute worst, from Homelander losing fights to A-Train's watching his brother get paralyzed and Black Noir meeting a grizzly end at Homelander's hand.
But the character who experienced the saddest moments by far was one of the protagonists who has been central to the show since its inception: Billy Butcher. Though he certainly wasn't at his lowest in season 3, he had a broad range of truly devastating scenes, as he has from the start of the show.
Billy Lost Becca For Years
The first major tragedy that struck Billy in the show (via flashbacks), and the one that left the biggest mark on him, was the disappearance of his beloved wife, Becca. Though Billy was originally utterly stunned by her sudden vanishing, when he discovered Homelander's involvement, he became utterly determined to take him down.
Had Becca not disappeared, Billy might have simply been another man who hated supes, but he likely wouldn't have even contemplated his years-long mission against the hero. It was that tragedy that started nearly a decade of suffering in pursuit of taking down Vaught entirely.
Billy Has A Good Cause But Bad Means
Given that superheroes in The Boys are the worst, Billy's goal to take down Vaught and its supe empire is a noble one. After all, the supes tend to be horrible people who view civilians as nothing more than fans to fawn over them or just as bags of meat to be torn apart.
But, despite having a noble cause, Billy goes about it in the worst possible way. He's more than happy to slaughter civilians, sacrifice his teammates, and hurt even retired and innocent supes. It's a sad thing to see a good cause turned terrible, and a sad thing about Billy is that there just isn't a line he refuses to cross.
Billy Is As Bad As His Enemies
If Homelander views human beings as expendable, Billy is no better. More than happy to throw his fellow of the Boys to the dogs if it means catching and killing a supe, Billy has grown to be a truly manipulative force, and it's part of what ruined the lives of each member of the team.
While Homelander is certainly the antagonist, it's hard to deny that Billy Butcher isn't also a villain. He went into the mission with good goals, but he's slowly warped into something unrecognizable as he's fallen deeper and deeper into his mission. There's truly no bottom for Billy anymore, which makes him no different than his mortal enemy, Homelander.
Billy Refuses To See The Good In Supes
For Billy, supes are nothing more than tools to be used and disposed of in his quest to kill Homelander. The sad part of that is that many times, the supes are trying to help him — or are, at least, on his side. While most of them are evil, those supes are sometimes heroic, which just makes Billy look like his hatred has blinded him whenever he turns on heroes like Queen Maeve and Starlight.
It becomes all the more tragic when Billy decides to start using Temp V, turning himself into a supe. For a man with utter hatred for all things super, it's as ironic as it is tragic to see him become one himself.
Billy Befriended Hughie, Then Used Him
Though Billy did come to see Hughie as a true ally and friend, that only makes it even sadder that Billy was willing to throw Hughie to the wolves. Even though the other man is young and inexperienced, as long as he's capable of serving as a good soldier, Billy is happy to use him.
The relationship between Hughie and Billy is one of the best friendships in the show, even in spite of Billy constantly putting Hughie in danger. The two genuinely care about each other and made a meaningful connection. Unfortunately, Billy's mission blinded him, making him utterly unable to see the wrong in what he's doing. However, things may be changing as Billy went out of his way to save Hughie from death by Temp V.
Billy Is Dependent On Temp V
After relying on Temp V to take on supes like Soldier Boy and Homelander, Billy gained two things: temporary access to superpowers and less than two years to live. After all, as a non-supe taking Temp V, there's no way to survive several doses of the compound, so the anti-hero found himself in a hospital bed.
It's genuinely tragic that Billy's relentless pursuit of vengeance led him here. With few prospects and little time, it's likely his mission will only escalate. But with a terminal diagnosis and no chances left, it's starting to look like Billy has finally reached the end of the line — if he doesn't find a way to become a permanent supe, that is.
Billy Nearly Killed Teddy Stillwell
Though Billy couldn't have known it, he very well could have killed a child when he elected to destroy Stillwell's home with a homemade bomb jacket just to get at Homelander. After all, Teddy Stillwell, just a baby at the time, was busy sleeping in his crib, and Billy had no way of knowing that the baby would survive.
Luckily, Teddy was secretly a supe and had the ability to teleport on a whim. Without it, Billy's story would have grown even sadder, as the man easily could have killed a child. If he had, it would have pushed him even further down the hole he'd dug. Instead, he just came harrowingly close.
Billy Lost Becca To Ryan
After rediscovering his wife and reuniting with her, Billy was forced to watch Becca die in his arms, thanks to a stray strike from Ryan's laser beams. The only woman that Billy truly loved, it was a genuine tragedy to watch the two find each other again, only to be torn apart once more.
It was devastating for Billy and was one of the most shocking deaths in the show. Right after a major victory, wherein the team killed one of the Seven, they found themselves mourning Becca, and all their light and hope died out immediately. For Billy, it was a complete breaking point — and understandably so.
Billy Fights With Ryan
Though Becca's death was a complete accident since Ryan was trying to save his mother, it would have been a very Billy move to lash out against the child. After all, his initial grievance was against Homelander, but that fury ended up being targeted at every single supe in The Boys.
But Billy initially did his best to help Ryan. Though they eventually fought, leading to Ryan defecting to Homelander, Billy wanted to get the boy somewhere safe. He even tried to get Ryan out of the line of fire, which is what led to their fight in the first place. Even when Billy tries to do the right thing, it never quite ends well.
Billy Can't Beat Homelander
The ultimate tragedy in Billy's life is that he's ultimately powerless in the face of the man who caused all the horror he's experienced. As a mostly-powerless man against the most powerful supe in the franchise, it isn't really possible for him to do anything more than needle him.
Even with Temp V, Billy can't take him on alone, and it's part of what drives Billy to conflict after conflict. He can't win. Homelander is simply too strong, and that means Billy will never really be able to accomplish his goals without getting the help of the supes he despises.
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