WARNING: Spoilers ahead for The Boys season 3, episode 4
One amazing detail in The Boys season 3 reveals the tragic truth behind Butcher and Hughie's brotherly dynamic. Ever since Karl Urban's Billy Butcher recruited Jack Quaid's fresh-faced Hughie Campbell in The Boys' very first episode, the pair have rarely seen eye to eye. Hughie rebelled against Butcher for abandoning the Boys in season 1, they came to physical blows in season 2, and the opening episodes of season 3 see the dysfunctional duo arguing over Termite's release. In almost every conceivable way, Butcher and Hughie have represented two polar opposites - the reckless renegade vs. the compassionate idealist.
And yet one The Boys theory suggests otherwise. Though Butcher and Hughie so often occupy opposite ends of the supe-spanking spectrum, their mentor-student bond always implied Hughie would one day become Butcher. With enough time under the coarse-tongued Cockney's wing and the right emotional trigger, could the wholesome Hugh Campbell begin devolving into a mini-Butcher? According to The Boys season 3, yes. Frustrated by constantly relying on Starlight and discovering Victoria Neuman is a secret supe, Hughie gets desperate. He instructs Starlight to stay near Homelander, putting their plan before her safety. He lets Kimiko break his arm as a "get out of work" ploy, then refuses to criticize Butcher for taking V-24. Indeed, Hughie even asks for a dose himself.
These shady acts prove Jack Quaid's Hugh Campbell is rapidly transforming into another Butcher in The Boys season 3 - and that personality shift is cleverly reflected in visual terms. When Hughie first appears in The Boys season 3's premiere ("Payback") his face is completely clean-shaven - so smooth Termite could play miniature air hockey on it. Hughie keeps that style right through until the end of episode 2 ("The Only Man In The Sky") but when he first appears in episode 3 ("Barbary Coast") Jack Quaid's character is rocking a noticeable touch of stubble. Maybe this is just the look of a man who just realized his boss is a serial killer, but by the time the Boys reach Russia in episode 4 ("Glorious Five Year Plan"), Hughie's facial hair growth has accelerated into a proper light beard, bordering precariously on goatee.
Billy Butcher is famous for many things - mercilessness, bulldogs, colorful language. Karl Urban's antihero is also never seen without an impressive slab of dark facial hair across his entire lower face. Though Hughie's hairy chin is a small detail in The Boys season 3, it's certainly not there by accident. As Hugh Campbell adopts more and more of Butcher's character traits - the cutthroat attitude, the lack of compassion, the desperation - his physical resemblance catches up, serving as a visual demonstration of their strangely symbiotic connection. Incidentally, Hughie's facial hair also brings Jack Quaid's live-action character design much closer to his comic counterpart drawn by Darick Robertson (in the style of Simon Pegg).
Hughie's growing resemblance to Butcher is even more important because of Lenny - Billy's deceased kid brother. When the Boys visited Aunt Judy in season 2, she noted an eerie similarity between Lenny and Hughie, speculating this was the real reason Butcher took such an interest in him. Lenny looked up to Billy when they were younger, and Billy was fiercely protective in return, but the younger sibling died in tragic circumstances. Hughie acting like Butcher in The Boys season 3 proves how accurate those Lenny comparisons were, since he's now looking up to Billy in exactly the same way. Young Lenny already made a brief appearance this season (during Butcher's dream sequence in episode 2), so he clearly plays an important role in the coming episodes. Maybe witnessing his destructive influence on Hughie and remembering Lenny inspires Butcher to set a better example for those he loves.
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The Boys continues Friday on Prime Video.