The Boys has given a host of characters that have gotten fans interested in the show. Given the show’s tendency for brutal send-offs to characters, it is concerning that one of its main characters, Billy Butcher, has been revealed to have only 18 months to live in the show.
However, given the number of liberties the show has taken with the source material, fans have been speculating The Boys might introduce a plot element that could end up saving Butcher, given that he is one of the show’s most popular characters.
Temp V has put Billy Butcher in a tough spot
Throughout season 3, Butcher and Jack Quaid’s Hughie were toting around the ultimate weapon that could kill Homelander: Soldier Boy. Apart from that, as a way to give himself an edge in the fight with the supes, Butcher had got his hands on Temp V, a drug developed by Vought, that could give its user temporary superpowers. This made the character as strong and as durable as his nemesis, giving The Boys a fighting chance against a menacing, god-like Homelander.
However, when the dust settles, the season finale leaves The Boys with much less. Soldier Boy is gone, and Hughie and Billy have been forbidden by the doctors to use Temp V, taking away the one edge that the characters had in the story. However, that is not the end of it for Butcher, as he also has to deal with the revelation that Temp V has irreversibly damaged his body, with no cure to help him recover. He has all but 18 months left to live, a fact that he has hidden from the rest of the team, so that they may soldier on to slay the Supes.
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However, there might be hope for Billy Butcher
Despite the dire straits that the character finds himself in, there is a possibility that Butcher might be saved. Given that he is the protagonist of the show, and that his leadership is more than valuable to his team, Butcher might find himself being saved at the 11th hour, or much before that,
There are a few ways that this can happen. To begin with, the Temp V that Butcher took was experimental. This means, a perfected version of it could perhaps stave off the disease, if not completely cure it. If not, there is always the possibility that Butcher could get, or willingly take, Compond V, thematically and literally becoming what he once swore to destroy, while being cured of his disease.
