Content Warning: The following contains reference to rape.
Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Boys season 3.
The Boys' season 3 just set up a tragic ending for Billy Butcher. Throughout The Boys season 3, the series seemed to be setting Billy Butcher up to take on his villain role from the original comic book series of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darrick Robertson. However, The Boys' season 3 finale subverted this by having Butcher save the lives of Hughie and Ryan. Yet, in doing so, it sets up the character to have a pretty grim ending despite these positive changes.
The Boys season 3 deals with the titular group trying to find a means to kill Homelander. Ultimately, their quest leads to Butcher and Hughie taking some temporary Compound-V and teaming up with The Boys' Soldier Boy. Even though the group defeats Soldier Boy after the Supe turns on them, they fail to kill Homelander. Bearing the brunt of this loss is Butcher, who is now forced to deal with his greatest failure just when he found out he was dying from his exposure to the Temp-V.
In The Boys season 3 finale, Homelander locates his son, Ryan, and takes him under his care. The final scene shows him introducing Ryan to his radicalized fandom, who celebrate Homelander after he kills a protestor. As the crowd cheers on, the boy gives off a sinister smile, implying the possibility of him becoming just as evil as his father in The Boys season 4. This ending is particularly tragic not only because of Ryan's turn but also because of how it will impact Butcher. Not only did he fail to protect Ryan from Homelander as he had planned, but he also failed to honor the dying wish of his mother, Becca.
The Boys' Butcher Failed To Honor Becca's Dying Wish
The Boys' Becca was the love of Butcher's life and she was the mother of Ryan, a pregnancy that was the result of Homelander having raped her. In The Boys' season 2 finale, Bacca dies, begging Butcher to care for and protect Ryan with her dying breath. By shutting the kid away early in The Boys season 3, Butcher leaves him vulnerable to Homelander, which in turn leads to Ryan choosing Homelander as his father over Butcher. Even though Butcher experienced some positive character development in The Boys' season 3 finale, he will likely never be able to get over this failure, which in turn makes his eventual death (be it by his illness or other means) far grimmer.
For now, it's unclear what will happen to Butcher in The Boys season 4. After all, it's still possible for him to become a villain should he kill Ryan and go mad from the Temp-V. That being said, The Boys' season 3 finale seems to suggest that he will be going down a more positive path as he approaches the last legs of life. Nonetheless, losing Ryan to Homelander and thus failing The Boys' Becca will surely weigh heavily on him for the rest of the series.
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