Butcher quotes from The Boys

Listen, Ryan, I got a lot to say and fuck-all time to say it. I got a lorry out back. I can get you out of here.

Ryan

What are you talking about?

I know you're angry with me, and you got every right to be. But you know how dangerous Homelander is.

Ryan

He's my dad.

Ryan, he–he murdered some poor sod right in front of your eyes!

Ryan

But that guy was a pedophile.

Ryan, it ain't true. He's lyin' to ya. Let me take ya to Grace, alright? And then you don't gotta see me no more... Please, son. I'm beggin' ya. It's what your Mum would want.

Homelander

[walking into the room] "No" means "no", William. This isn't the Neverland Ranch. Don't worry. Nothing bad's gonna happen, right? [pause] Oh... Seems it already has. Look at that big, black mass curdling around your brain. What do you got, six months? Less? It's too bad, we're not gonna have that last dance together. I'll miss us.

Bloody hell, you wank to your own voice, don't ya?

Homelander

That's the spirit, champ.

Hughie

Thank Christ. Can we go now? [recoils in shock when he sees Neuman] Jesus!

Hey, Hughie.

Hughie

Hey.

You gotta teach Butcher the meaning of the word "covert". He just got made by a 12-year-old.

Hughie

You mean Zoe, who just murdered two guys? Vic, you–you shot your own daughter up with V? How could you do that to her?

I needed to keep her safe.

Hughie

Safe? You turned her into a fucking monster. Like you.

I'm sorry. That sounds like the pot calling the kettle a teleporting dude with his dick out.

Hughie

Worst mistake I ever made. [pause] Vic, you and me, we were… We were like family. I mean… Was everything just… bullshit?

I almost told you once. That night of the blackout, you remember? You brought every bodega snack you could carry for Zoe. We played Uno with her for hours until the lights came back on. And I thought… you were one of my closest friends. I mean, hell, you're dating a Supe. If anyone would understand, it'd be you, right?

Hughie

Why didn't you tell me?

I was scared.

Hughie

Scared you'd have to pop my head.

I was scared to lose you. [Hughie sighs] I always cared about you, Hughie. That part was real.

Hughie

Hey, Vicky… Fuck you!

Seriously? [scoffs] I have to be on TV in, like, ten minutes, you fuckin' asshole!

Hughie

We're gonna out you! We're gonna go to the press, tell them you blew up Congress! I still–I still got the Red River files!

Okay, okay, okay. Have you ever seen WarGames? What am I saying, look at you. Of course you've seen fucking WarGames.

Hughie

We're making jokes?

Mutually assured destruction. I hurt you, you out me. You out me, I kill everyone you've ever loved. The only thing that makes sense is a truce.

Or Plan B.

Hughie

Jesus, fuck!

[groans] How is it you guys are actually getting worse at your jobs? [hears her phone chime and checks it] Mmm. They just called Arizona. Guess I better go change.

Billy Butcher.

Joe Kessler. Fuck me, how long's it been?

I'd say eleven years, but officially speaking, none of that shit show ever happened.

Then how come I remember you high on opium, rimmin' out the General's wife?

Well, fuck you. [laughs along with Butcher and hugs him] Hey, let me buy you a bad cup of coffee.

Demoted from your own fucking team. What's your shitty code name again?

The Boys.

Oof. Who came up with that shit? Why you putting up with it? Walk away.

No, my son, I've got plans and schemes. I'll be back at the head of the table in no time.

Well, you better. You know, a lot of the guys are thinking you got benched at the worst possible time. You know, Mallory's so focused on killing the VP-elect 'cause that's what Singer wants, and half of goddamn Langley's on it.

Well, you know Grace. She's always been a bit of a political animal.

And what are you focused on?

Homelander. He killed that poor cunt in broad daylight, and they fuckin' cheered. I mean, what d'you think that taught him, eh? No. We're whistlin' away towards a fuckin' apocalypse, and Grace's eye ain't on the ball.

You had a clean shot at him, right? With Soldier Boy? You didn't take it. Was your eye on the ball?

Why do I get the feeling we ain't just bumped into each other?

You remember the Panjshir Valley?

Yeah. Pretty hard to forget.

You dragged me out of there and dropped how many bodies to do it, without giving it a second fucking thought.

And yet you still didn't name your son after me, eh?

We need someone like you, Billy. Right fucking now. Before the Supes start rounding us up and dumping us off in camps.

Hughie

Jesus. You're just telling us now? Have you seen any specialists? Have you…

How long you got?

It's none of your fuckin' business. I'm not sure why I'm tellin' you at all.

Kimiko

[signing to Frenchie] What's going on?

Let's just say I got an angel on my shoulder. And she's a right bloody nag.

Butcher, I tried to warn you that that shit was poison!

You ain't one of us.

Hughie

Hey!

Alright! [to Butcher] A word.

You're done.

Yeah, what?

Fired. Grab your shit and get the fuck out.

I level with you lot and this is the thanks I get. Fuck me. See what bein' honest gets ya?

Honest? Motherfucker, you've been lying to us for the last six months!

Not tellin' ain't lyin'. Look, you need all the help you can get, mate.

Not from you. You're a liability, Butcher.

I ain't gonna let this stand, then. The Boys is mine.

Says a dying man with one last bluff. Now grab your shit and get the fuck out. Or I'll throw you out.

Hughie

Just–

I don't wanna hear it. He's out. You can join him if you don't like it.

Sister Sage

Do you actually believe all of this? Or is it just bullshit smeared on top of a personal vendetta?

Firecracker

Ain't you a little mouthy one.

Sister Sage

Appreciate the subtextual racism there, but I'm a Supe. Sister Sage. I work with Homelander.

Firecracker

Bullshit. [Sage shows her the selfie she took with Homelander] Goddamn! Is he here?!

Sister Sage

Of course not. He wouldn't be caught dead with these ringworm-infested cousin fuckers. Though there's a chance you could meet him. First, I wanna see your powers though.

Sister Sage

Wow, that is... lackluster.

Firecracker

I'm… strong too, though.

Sister Sage

Look, what's important is… what are you selling?

Firecracker

I'm here to share the truth and nothing but.

Sister Sage

What are you selling?

Firecracker

Did I stutter? [pause; scoffs when Sage is about to leave] Purpose. I sell purpose. These people got nothing. Maybe they lost a job or a house or a kid to Oxy. Politicians don't give a shit. Mainstream media tells them to be ashamed of their skin color, so I bring them together, tell them a story, give them a purpose. Which would you rather believe? That you belong to a community of warriors battling a secret evil, or that you're a lonely, inconsequential nobody that no one will ever remember?

Sister Sage

[chuckles] Deep's Blue Sea Room. 9:00 p.m.

Sage has got no powers, right?

Besides her brains? Nope.

So, why all the sneakin' around shite? Let's just grab her, work her over and rumble what we need.

Hey. This is surveillance only, okay?

Alright, you sit tight and watch me do your job.

Alright, enough.

Get your fuckin' hands off me!

Just go home, alright?

Or what? We have a Barney?! Well, come on, then! Have a go!

Butcher, for fuck's sake.

You've been gaggin' for it. Ever since Soldier Boy. Ten pounds of C4 with an inch fuse pokin' out your arse, you are! Well, c'mon, then! Have at it, son!

'Cause that's the only way you feel any regret, is to get it beaten into you.

You're a shit skipper, you are. Hughie's fucked off, Kimiko's hammered. We've been here for hours and still know fuck all! You're gonna get this bloody lot killed. You can't eat, you can't sleep, and you ain't willin' to do what it takes to run this mob 'cause you ain't got the bollocks, son.

Nice try, Butcher. But it ain't gonna work.

Yeah, ain't that what your wife said?

All that bullshit you pulled, and the mess you always leave behind for me to clean up. You know why I kept coming back? 'Cause I thought maybe this time, it'll be a little different. All the fucking shit we've been through together, man. I thought maybe this time, maybe you and I could just… just be fucking brothers again! [pause] Just go home, man.

There’s enough here to take down a bull elephant.

Ten bull elephants. I’m not takin' any chances. How you gonna get close enough to use it?

If I can get Ryan here, I can dose him. You just be ready.

He’s not gonna be real happy with us when he wakes up.

Grace built the Hazlet Safe House with the specific intention of hot-boxin' Supes. It’ll hold Ryan.

Not for long.

Then we better work fast. Like when we deprogrammed them two ISIL lads, eh?

And if he doesn’t listen to us?

Homelander

[on TV] My son, Ryan.

…Then we keep him high on halothane till he does. Now listen here, Joe. We get Ryan’s head clear, and that’s it, alright? Nothing about trainin' him up to top Homelander.

So you’ve said.

I mean it, Joe. Would you train your boy up to be a killer?

Listen, brother. You don’t trust me, go back to your team. Oh, wait.

I’ve got Connect 4, and LEGO. Plus, a special little something just for you. [opens cookie jar] Your mum’s recipe. World-famous, some say.

Ryan

Mom used to bake them every year for my birthday instead of cake, but… No, thanks.

Really?

Ryan

I’m not hungry.

Alright. Maybe later, then. Fancy a game?

It’s nothing. I’m fine.

Ryan

Butcher. [pause] Are you… scared?

Scared of what?

Ryan

To die, I mean.

…I’m alright with it.

I saw your save on the telly. So you’re a big hero now, eh?

Ryan

Not really.

Come on, you’re a star. Nailed your lines and all.

Ryan

I actually… I accidentally hurt someone.

What do you mean, “hurt ’em”?

Ryan

I was supposed to throw them… but I did it too hard.

They gonna be alright?

Ryan

[shakes his head] My dad says I shouldn’t even care. [pause; tearfully] I get why you don’t want me. I wouldn’t want me either.

Hey… Now you listen to me. Them horrible things I said… I didn’t mean ’em. I have this, uh… I have this habit, see, of pushin' people away.

Ryan

Why?

‘Cause, uh… ‘Cause I’m a bad man. I ain’t got no business lookin' after a kid.

Ryan

That's not true.

Before, you asked if I was scared. And the truth of the matter… is I’m bloody terrified, mate. I’m leavin' this world with nothing to show for it. I lost me bruv… your mum. And I could be leavin' without makin' things right with the one part of her that is still alive. And that… that scares me more than anything.

Ryan

Why’d you do that?

I fucked ’em up. Put way too much sugar in ’em.

M, I got a favour to ask.

You think you’re in a position to ask for a favor?

If I can’t get the job done before I, uh…

I need you to get Ryan away from Homelander.

Oh, Butcher.

I gotta be realistic. Some days I can barely even fuckin' stand. Get him outta there. Raise him.

Raise him?

You’re the best dad I know, M. The best fuckin' anyone.

That might be one of the nicest things you’ve ever said to me... but what if Ryan doesn’t wanna go?

Then you’ve gotta make him.

White trash walking.

[claps; to Firecracker] Top-notch show, love. Just weren’t sure whether you wanted us to kneel before your cross or burn it.

Firecracker

…Oh, you’re those motherfuckers that killed my friend.

Yeah, cryin' shame, that. But if it’s any consolation, he’s up there with God, noshin' on his holiest of holies as we speak.

Firecracker

I’m gonna shut your fuckin' face–

Alright, alright. Keep your hair on, love. We just want a little chin wag’s all.

Firecracker

Talk American.

Right. You remember that magical summer when you was 28, workin' as a counselor at the Capes for Christ Bible Camp in Davie, Florida, and you met that lovely fifteen-year-old boy who tickled your fancy, and… Well then, tickled more than that, didn’t he? Hmm? Ring any bells? [shows a tweet about Firecracker's arrest on his cell phone] Here’s a little keepsake snapped by the Broward County Sheriff’s Department that you can stash in your wank bank. You and your little Bieber edgin' in the back of your RAV4 in the car park of Buca di Beppo.

Whatever voodoo Vought’s lawyers pulled to get your statutory charges dropped, I don’t think they’re gonna matter too much to your evangelical audience back there.

You’re gonna tell us everything you know about Sage and her grand plan, [points at his cell phone] or I hit this little tweet button here. [smirks]

Firecracker

[beat] How about I just send it myself? [presses the phone's "Send" icon, to Butcher and M.M's shock] Fuck around and find out.

A-Train

It’s bullshit, right? You’re not gonna forgive me. [pause; Hughie just stares at him] Yeah, thought so.

Hughie

Wait. You’re right. I–I was gonna tell you to go fuck yourself, but I changed my mind. We’re good.

You fuckin' dog wanker.

Hughie

Jesus. How long have you been standing there?

Long enough. How could ya?

Hughie

I didn’t–I didn’t do it for him. I don’t wanna spend the rest of my life hating anybody.

[looks at the Compound V] Whatcha gonna do with that, then?

Hughie

I mean–Look, you're probably the only guy that would understand, but I was gonna give it to my dad.

[shakes his head] Oh, Hughie.

Hughie

Look, I know. I know it’s insane and terrible, but what other choice do I have?

Any other fuckin' choice, you twat.

Hughie

You’re really telling me that you wouldn’t take some if you were in his shoes? ‘Cause you kind of are. There’s enough here. It’d save you, too. It’s gotta beat dying of brain cancer, right?

I already took some. Nicked it outta Frenchie’s desk four months ago. Thought it might cure me.

Hughie

Jesus. Do you have powers?

No. All it did was bring up the big day. I’m tellin' ya, quit while you’re behind. You’ll only make matters worse.

Fuck all this cloak and dagger shite. It’s bloody freezin' out here.

Well, I mean, I was thinking we could meet in your mom’s pussy, but you know, I wanted someplace more private.

[chuckles softly] So, what you thinkin'?

Butcher, listen. How about we do this job, just you and me?

I don’t know, Joe. It’s a bit all of a sudden, innit?

Billy… your team is a joke. You think I haven’t noticed? M.M.’s on the verge of a breakdown, Frenchie’s a fucking junkie, Hughie is a gaping wet pussy. And the two Supes on your side? Man, for whatever reason, you have a blind spot for them.

Alright, I’ll give you Starlight. But Kimiko’s a bloody good weapon, and the rest of them are still up to scratch.

Well, I don’t get you. I don’t. Half your brain is a fucking tumor. This is your last shot at Homelander, and now you decide to go soft? Yeah, they are decent people. But you and me, we don’t belong with decent.

Fuckin' hell, it’s like a morgue in here. What’s with all the long faces?

I don’t know, maybe because I’m getting blamed for the murder you did.

I’d call you a cunt, but you ain’t got the depth or the warmth.

I’ve been meaning to ask you something. How was it that you took out Ezekiel?

I have no idea.

Bullshit.

God’s honest. I, uh… blacked out, came to, and there he was. All over the shop. But never mind that bollocks because, my son, I have found it… The answer to all our prayers.

And what might that be?

Ah, it’s nothing much. Just a… a virus that kills Supes.

Frenchie

Such a thing does not exist.

Did not exist. Does now. Y'see, some clever cunts over at Godolkin University cooked up a bug that latches onto the V in their bloodstream. Now, it’s completely harmless to humans, but to Supes? Fuckin' diabolical.

So, you shove this shit into me and Kimiko and we just… drop dead?

Yep. That’s the idea. Now, it ain’t juiced enough to kill Homelander, but I reckon we get our hands on some and try it out on our lovely VP-elect.

And why the hell are we just finding out about this shit, Butcher?

There’s only one small snag. When I went to God U to nick it, Neuman had pipped me to the post, so we’re gonna have to nick it from her.

This is insane and desperate. Even for you.

Well, insanely desperate’s where we are, don’t you think, love?

Okay. Alright, alright. Time out. [to Annie] Look, if this virus is as dangerous as Butcher says it is, do you really want it in Neuman’s hands?

[pause; sighs] No, you’re right.

Alright, then. Then, we’re sorted. Oh, uh… One other tiny little thing. I need you to get us one presidential pardon.

What’d you find?

Frenchie

It’s what I did not. See, the labels mark each iteration of this virus. Somebody’s been running tests, but now… it’s all gone.

What? [Frenchie, whose nose is also bleeding, points at M.M.'s nose] Holy shit.

Fucking bitch.

Easy.

Edgar

Victoria. You’re looking well.

You think I wouldn’t know the minute you and your ankle monitor stepped out of that prison?

Edgar

I don’t recall giving you permission to turn my rec room into a virology lab.

You brought these assholes here? They want to kill me.

Edgar

I’m sorry. Are you upset that I betrayed you?

Oi, knock it off, you two. This ain’t Family Pies.

[to Butcher] You have five seconds to tell me what you did to Sameer, or I paint this fucking room red.

Who the fuck’s Sameer?

Edgar

[to Annie as she makes the lights flicker] Enough. [to Neuman] So, you brought in Sameer. Smart. That’s what I’d have done. But whatever happened to him, it wasn’t us. We should find him together.

You’re fucking kidding me.

Edgar

If I’m not mistaken, you hurt these people, they expose you as a super-abled killer, yes? Then I’m afraid that we are at a stalemate. You might as well use their expertise. At the very least, they’re effective cannon fodder.

[sarcastically] Thanks. That's really nice of you.

Zoe’s not here, is she? Because… [Neuman shakes her head] No?

No, no. She’s okay. She’s okay.

Sameer

Okay, good.

Wait… Oh, my God, is that Zoe’s dad?

Edgar

Dr. Shah was my top man at Vought R&D before he went behind my back and deflowered my daughter.

Okay, I was twenty–thoroughly deflowered–and this isn’t the time or the place. [to Sameer] What happened?

Sameer

We gave V to a hamster, so we could test the virus on it.

Frenchie

Oh, a V’d-up hamster was your first mistake, mon ami.

Sameer

It got loose. Trashed the lab. We ran, but the V had already leaked into the groundwater.

Is the virus gone?

Sameer

…Yes.

Fuck.

Sameer

Except for, uh… [holds up a syringe filled with the virus] Except for one dose.

Okay.

Hey, how transmissible is that?

Sameer

Not very. Only through bodily fluid. Blood, saliva… semen.

Okay, so we inject it into [motions at Henry's body] your dead buddy over here as bait, and then we put him outside to infect the crazy fucking flying sheep!

Frenchie

This man is in no condition to fuck a sheep.

Edgar

They would eat him.

Frenchie

Oh…

Bollocks. That’s the only dose. I say we fuckin' leg it!

Butcher’s right, it’s too valuable.

Okay, we run, we don’t all make it.

Darwinism, love. Don’t gotta be the fastest, just not the slowest.

No fucking way!

Enough. Not now.

Edgar

[to Neuman] I won’t be able to outrun them.

Oh, don’t you cry for that cunt! He’s just tryin' to nick Zoe from you. That’s his whole fuckin' plan, innit?

Edgar

He’s lying.

Sorry, Stanny. Just business.

Guys, stop.

Edgar

Son of a bitch.

I should’ve fucking known.

M.M. could die, okay?! Or Frenchie! I mean, you really don’t care who you just throw to the wolves?

No, not really.

You’re a monster, and I’m not letting you do this.

Or what? You gonna go stark ravin' like you did with Firecracker? I got the head popper and you can’t even get it up!

Enough! Enough! Look, look! [rolls up jacket sleeve] Y’all see this? Hives. And I got 'em because y’all motherfuckers are driving me the fuck crazy! Now, Annie, you can’t just go around fuckin' everybody up. And Neuman, do you really wanna risk Zoe growing up in a group home the way you did? [to Butcher] And you… Look. My little baby girl needs me, and I intend on seeing her. You’re not a monster, Butcher. You are a motherfucker, but you a motherfucker with a heart.

[chuckles] Now, see? That is classic Butcher.

Sameer

You get away from me! Get away from me!

Alright, take it easy. I ain’t gonna hurt ya. Well, not no more. It was just enough to convince people.

Sameer

You chopped off my fucking leg!

Yes, I did. I ain’t gonna sugarcoat it. Your football days are over, but don’t you worry. We’ll patch you up right as rain, and you’ll be back to work in no time.

Sameer

Work? What work?

Well, what the fuck do you think? You’re gonna make us some more of that virus.

Well, looky here. Christmas came early, Sameer.

Nicked it off a French bloke. Should be enough to get you started.

Sameer

[coughs] I won’t do it.

The fuck you won’t.

Sameer

Do what you want to me, but I can't–I can’t do this for you.

Listen. One dose strong enough to top Homelander. And then, you can go back to what’s-her-name, and you don’t gotta see me no more. But this first.

Sameer

You don’t understand. I can’t. It’s what we realized in the lab. To make the virus strong enough to kill Homelander would evolve it into something unstable.

What d'you mean, unstable?

Sameer

Airborne, highly contagious, super lethal. No one with Compound V in their bloodstream would be safe.

A global fucking pandemic.

Sameer

We’re not just talking about killing Homelander. We’re talking about killing every Supe on Earth.

Becca

[appearing behind Butcher] That’s Annie, Kimiko…

Ryan.

Sameer

Vicky, Zoe. [shakes his head] I’m sorry. But when they say shit’s fallen into the wrong hands… they mean your hands.

This is beyond our wildest dreams, man. Dude just gave us the silver bullet. We can wipe them all out.

Becca

Billy, you cannot go along with this.

Listen, mate. No one ever said nothing about genocide.

Is that a fucking joke?

Becca

He’s insane.

Who was it that said, “They all gotta go? Every fucking last one of ’em?”

Becca

He’s talking about murder, Billy. Of thousands.

Think how much better the world would be.

Becca

And a lot of them are innocent, okay? I know you–

Shut your fucking cake hole, bitch!

[pause] Wait a minute… [stammers] You can see her?

…What the fuck’s that supposed to mean? You’re me?

I mean, out of all the fucking people that your festering fucked-up brain could’ve conjured up, you picked me. The real Joe Kessler? He’s dead in the Panjshir Valley, motherfucker. You never dragged me out. You left me to die.

No. No, I’d remember that. I’d fuckin' remember that.

Unless of course you’ve got a big old, fat, V’d-up brain tumor, you cunt. Which is why you're seeing me in the first place. [pause; Butcher looks at Becca] I killed Ezekiel for you. I am inside of you. I am you… which is why when I tell you you wanna do this, I am literally telling you that you fucking wanna do this. So don’t you worry, Billy, my boy. [smiles] Daddy’s home.