The fifth and final season of The Boys is here on Amazon, and with the two episodes it has dropped so far, it has delivered on its promise of being the most brutal and gory phase of the series. The violence and the plotting leading up to one final face-off between Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) and Homelander (Antony Starr) are going to be epic moving forward. But one thing that has fascinated the viewers even more is how unhinged Butcher is in this season. He has really tapped into something darker to fight Homelander.  

Opening up on Butcher’s character arc, Karl Urban revealed the best part of playing the character in season 5.

In a recent interview with DiscussingFilm, Karl Urban went deep into the character arc of Butcher in The Boys season 5, examining the shades viewers will get to see in his portrayal of Billy. He was asked about the character’s repeated change of gears between heroic and evil, and which one of the two sides he enjoyed portraying the most on the screen.

“We really get to see a dual character in regard to when Butcher flicks that switch, he becomes very cold & terminator-like,” Urban says.

He continued by saying that he still had shades from the old Butcher to counterbalance those occasions. He is still erratic and entertaining like the previous seasons. Urban went on to say that while his character is still the unwaveringly motivated leader of The Boys, persuading everyone to follow his lead, he also struggles to maintain the last remnants of his humanity.

Toeing the line was never really Butcher’s style, but he really ventures deep into the darker territories with his latest rendition in season 5, and Urban plays both versions of the character very efficiently with smooth transitions between both personas. The upcoming episodes will showcase more of these conflicting shades and how Urban will play Butcher through this "wonderful struggle."

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Karl Urban’s statements about Butcher only increase curiosity around the future of the character in the series.

After the conclusion of The Boys season 4, Butcher's life is slowly coming to an end due to the ill effects of using Temp V. There is a high probability that he succumbs to the side effects of the compound at the end of the season. But he certainly will not go down before defeating Homelander, as a final battle between them has been in the reckoning ever since the show started. 

However, having a good idea about his current state, he is no longer holding back. It would not be surprising that he is also responsible for some of the significant fatalities that have been hinted at throughout the last season, given the parasite that is devouring him every second. Now, which one of Butcher’s sides wins will only be revealed in the future episodes.

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Do you think Billy Butcher will end up on the side of the evil till the end of The Boys season 5? Share your thoughts.