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A lot of praise for The Boys performances often falls into Antony Starr's lap for his masterful portrayal of the maniacal Supe Homelander. But for me it's always been Karl Urban's brash portrayal of Billy Butcher that has been the standout in Eric Kripke's superhero satire.
Completely ruthless and willing to betray anyone for his final goal, he's been the most consistent character in the Prime Video show, ever since he sauntered onto our screens in his dusty trench coat with his dodgy cockney accent back in season 1. Often navigating absurd, diabolical dialogue strewn with expletives, in lesser hands, Butcher could have been a bit too on-the-nose, but Urban's cheeky grin has always elevated the character beyond caricature while also nailing his more emotional moments.
Unforgiving until the end
The finale gives us the showdown between Homelander and Billy Butcher that we've all been waiting for. Ever since their "scorched earth" exchange – and really, since season 1 – it's always felt inevitable that it would come to a head between these two. And while we had maybe hoped for a slightly more dramatic setting that just inside the Oval Office, the commitment to their rivalry more than delivers.
After Homelander has been depowered by Kimiko, Butcher turns on him, landing several punches. "This is for Frenchie," he begins, before bemusedly watching Homelander spiral as he begs for his life. "You ain't nothing," Butcher tells him, "and this is for my Becca" before he lands the killer blow, spilling Homelander's brains on the carpet.
Urban's cheeky grin has always elevated the character beyond caricature, while also nailing his more emotional moments.
There is no doubt that this is Butcher at his most brutal, barefisted against the formerly hugely powerful Supe, but Urban also gives a hugely emotional performance. The gravity of this final stand-off is all carried in his facial expressions, especially as he mentions his late wife. But even in such a hugely climactic moment, the cheeky Boys leader is never far away as he can't help but bend down and grin at the livestream audience after the deed is done.
It's an exchange that had me near fist-bumping the air. There's no one else that should have killed Homelander and even if the setting could have been bigger, these two delivered on the gravitas of the moment. Butcher's story didn't end there either as Kripke took it right back to where we all started.
Questionable decisions
Butcher has never been one to let anything stand between him and his goal – and he's true to this right to the very end. After briefly toying with a life happily ever after with Ryan and Terror (RIP), he changes tact, deciding to end the Supe threat forever. Taking the virus to Vought Towers, he puts it in the sprinkler system with the aim of spreading it worldwide and ridding the world of the potential for another Homelander.
However, Hughie comes to find him, begging him to stop. Their exchange is full of pathos, harking back to the way the whole series started for them. When Hughie first joined the vigilante gang, he and Butcher could never see eye-to-eye on the leader's complete hatred of Supes, which only grew more complicated when he fell in love with Starlight. While the focus of the show shifted this conflict into the background, it's apt that it shines so brightly in the finale.
It all comes to a head when Butcher almost pushes the sprinkler button, hesitating for a second as he sees his late brother in Hughie's face. That's all it takes as Hughie pulls the trigger, killing him, even though Butcher may have been about to give up. But he doesn't let him feel bad about his decision either, "I gave you no choice, I weren't gonna stop," he tells him, praising his friend right until the end.
As the sun rises on a new day behind him in New York City, Butcher is finally at rest. It's a heroic send-off and one that's strangely quite hopeful despite its sombre tone. Whether or not Hughie's choice to stop Butcher ending Supes for good is the right decision, it's definitely the more idealistic one – and one Butcher could not live to see the consequences of.
"Love him or hate him, he made the world a safer place," Hughie says in his eulogy, "which makes him a hero." But really, what it makes him is an anti-hero. Flawed and ruthless right to his very end, Butcher was a one-of-a-kind character – and despite any missteps in The Boys season 5 as a whole, Krikpe let him stay morally gray right until the very end. Fuckin' diabolical, that.
The Boys season 5 is now streaming in full on Prime Video. For more, check out our The Boys season 5 episode 8 finale recap, our take on the episode in our The Boys season 5 finale review, and all the details about what's next in Vought Rising.
