Billy Butcher’s Best Line of Advice on The Boys is Harsh But Accurate

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With the fifth and final season of the popular Prime Video series The Boys on the way, it’s a good time to remember everything that’s happened so far. While spin-offs like Gen V and the upcoming Vought Rising add to this dark and cynical world, the original show is still central to the story. There are many memorable lines from Billy Butcher, but some advice he gives in Season 4 is particularly striking – and honestly describes the difficult fight against the superheroes.

Superheroes from Marvel, DC, and other sources are still hugely popular in movies and TV. While the show The Boys uses these famous characters for humor, its real focus is on the abuse of power. One creator believes The Boys is actually a political show, and sadly, the world is starting to look more and more like the disturbing scenarios it portrays. The powerful corporation Vought and its seemingly invincible hero, Homelander, represent a serious authoritarian danger. However, as the fight against them progresses, the ‘heroes’ themselves risk becoming just as problematic. Billy Butcher’s journey serves as a clear example of how easily moral boundaries can be crossed, and his advice to the team is stark: winning this fight will come at a great cost, and not everyone will survive.

Butcher Tells the Boys a Harsh Truth

Season four started with a rift between Butcher and his former team, but they eventually found themselves working together again. This time, they teamed up with unexpected allies – Victoria Neumann and Stan Edgar – while Hughie was notably absent.

I’m telling you, it was insane! They all converged on this secret lab, tucked away on a farm – a place where scientists were desperately trying to create a virus that would take down anyone with Compound V. Everyone there, even those who usually clash, were united by one goal: taking out Homelander. This bioweapon felt like their only real shot. But get this – they tested it on a hamster first, and the little guy got powers and completely trashed the lab! It was chaos.

Compound V contaminated the farm’s water supply, giving the animals extraordinary and dangerous powers. With almost all of the virus eliminated, Starlight believed the best course of action was to euthanize the animals to protect others, including her team. Billy Butcher strongly disagreed, prioritizing the ultimate goal of killing Homelander above all else.

When she points out that they all couldn’t escape the animals, he explains how to survive:

“Don’t got to be the fastest. Just not the slowest.”

As a critic, I found Annie’s reaction completely understandable. She’s one of the rare heroes with a genuinely strong moral compass, so Butcher’s methods understandably disgust her. But, and this is where it gets interesting, Butcher does have a point. He views the whole situation as a war, and in war, he believes getting the job done – no matter the cost – is paramount. It’s a chilling logic, but a logic nonetheless, and it creates a fascinating internal conflict.

Butcher’s warning isn’t just about surviving the enhanced animals; it applies to any dangerous situation. When facing a powerful enemy, those who hesitate or are unprepared will be the first to fall. Even if you’re not the strongest, simply avoiding immediate danger gives you a chance to fight later.

Butcher’s Best Line of Advice Is Played for Laughs, but It Reveals How Far He’s Fallen

Look, Butcher’s right about fighting, I’ll give him that. But honestly, the way he thinks is really troubling. It’s not just that he’s tough – it feels like he’d throw anyone, even his friends, under the bus if it meant he could be the one to finish the job. It makes me question if he’s really a leader at all, you know?

A central idea in The Boys is that Butcher and Homelander are essentially mirror images of each other. Butcher is becoming the very thing he’s fighting against. This all-consuming focus has led him to distance himself from his team and even from Ryan, the son of his deceased wife.

Homelander is now focused on much larger goals – taking over the country and eventually the world. While there will still be some interaction between the characters in Season 5, they have different priorities now.

Billy Butcher is driven by a desire to kill Homelander, but he also craves power. From the beginning of the series, he’s presented himself as a flawed hero, but over the last four seasons, his actions have increasingly blurred the lines between right and wrong, changing his own self-perception.

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Following Butcher’s blunt words, Mother’s Milk intervenes to ease the tension. He argues that Butcher isn’t inherently evil and points out he still has feelings. However, the episode took a dark turn when it was revealed that Butcher had actually kidnapped the main scientist, faked his death by amputating a leg, and forced him to work on recreating the virus.

The season finale ended with Butcher driving alone on a deserted road, holding the last dose of the virus. With the rest of The Boys – Hughie, Frenchie, M.M., and Kimiko – all in jail, Butcher isn’t the quickest one left, but he’s certainly not the last one moving either.

You can watch the first four seasons of The Boys on Prime Video now. The fifth and final season will premiere on April 8, 2026.

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2025-12-27 01:10