The Boys Boss on [Spoiler]’s Surprise Return, Butcher’s ‘Cronenberg-ian’ Condition and A-Train’s ‘Terrible Risk’

Warning: The following contains spoilers for The Boys Season 4, Episodes 1-3. Proceed at your own risk!

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There’s something very wrong with Butcher.

During The Boys’ Season 4 premiere, it first appeared as if Karl Urban’s character was talking to himself or an imaginary figure. Toward the end of the season opener, it was revealed that Butcher is having visions of his late wife Becca (played by Shantel VanSanten), who implored her husband to save her son Ryan from Homelander’s grip. She urged him to be the man that she married, but Butcher responded that he died a long time ago.

Speaking of death, Butcher only has six months left to live, but even more worrisome was the parasite-like thing that was moving underneath his skin in the premiere’s closing minutes.

While things were looking dire for Butcher & Co., A-Train stepped up more than once to help out the Boys in a surprising move. First, he handed over Vought security footage to Annie and Hughie in Episode 2, then he saved Hughie from being killed by Homelander in the third installment. Seeing how much A-Train’s conscience is weighing on him, MM sought out the supe in an effort to flip him to the Boys’ side.

Below, showrunner Eric Kripke breaks down Becca’s return, what’s going on with Butcher’s health and whether A-Train just painted a target on his own back. (For more Season 4 scoop, check out TVLine’s post mortems about the big-name cameos and Episode 2’s Mrs. Maisel “crossover.” )

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TVLINE | It was a really pleasant surprise to see Shantel VanSanten as Becca again in the premiere. Why did you decide to bring her back now? And what does her presence mean for Butcher going forward?
One, I love Shantel, and I’ll work with her every chance I get. We really wanted to present a Butcher at war with himself this season. He’s only got six months to live. He needs to decide, is he going to fulfill his promise to Becca, or is he going to give into all of his worst impulses? So we thought to really dramatize that promise that he made, to sort of bring her back as sort of the angel on his shoulder that he’s conflicted by, was a good way to show his inner turmoil.

TVLINE | Speaking of Butcher’s inner turmoil, that image at the end of the first episode was almost parasite-like, which suggests there’s more here going on than just someone with a deteriorating, close-to-death time bomb. What can you say about what’s happening with Butcher, what his condition is?
All I will say is that when Compound V is involved, f–ked up s–t happens in the most Cronenberg-ian way possible, and Compound V isn’t quite done with Butcher.

TVLINE | We see the beginnings of a very unlikely alliance between A-Train and the Boys in these first three episodes. What has changed for A-Train that he’s willing now to help out the Boys?
I think it’s really a natural progression of where he went in Season 3. In Season 3, he decided that his brand was going to be pretending to give a s–t, and as he was pretending, he actually started to give a s–t. Taking that same character into Season 4, especially with all of the abuse that he has to take, making this bulls–t movie and watching all the violence that The Seven continue to perpetrate, it just seemed like he was naturally growing more and more disaffected as his conscience, really, was awakening. I think what makes MM so brilliant is he recognizes it and is able to connect to A-Train and enlist his help.

TVLINE | Has he put a target on his back? What does this new development mean for his place within The Seven? He’s working with someone as unpredictable as Homelander…
It certainly is not safe. Anyone whose primary concern is survival, I would not recommend making that decision for [them]. [ Laughs ] But I think he understands the risks. I think he just, for once in his life, wants to do the right thing. I think he wants his family to be proud of him. So I think all those emotional factors weigh on him and motivate him to take this terrible risk.

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