The Boys Season 4 reveals new supes to complete the Seven, as well as a new dark horse played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan. A fan-favorite character also returns to haunt Butcher’s waking visions.

The Boys‘ new season confirms time is running out for Butcher, who appears to be succumbing under Compound V’s aftereffects. His imminent mortality also puts things into perspective as he races to make amends with Ryan. The premiere hinted he was slowly breaking down with seemingly psychotic episodes, but these were eventually revealed in internal dialogues with his wife Becca (played by Shantel VanSanten). Becca’s appearance is hardly a surprise considering how Season 4 orchestrated her return; showrunner Erik Kripke told TV Line this was almost inevitable since Butcher has never listened to any other character in the show.

Kripke said they wanted to reveal what Butcher was really thinking by using Becca as his conscience. “We really wanted to present a Butcher at war with himself this season,” he asserted. “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.” Becca’s return is likely more traumatic than cathartic to Butcher, who had conflicting emotions about the way she died in Season 2.

The Boys’ Butcher Is Haunted By Becca’s Ghost

Becca last appeared in the Season 2 finale, arguably The Boys‘ pivotal episode: the culminating scenes had Ryan accidentally kill Becca in a fit of rage to stop Stormfront’s assault. Butcher saw those last moments unfold and subconsciously blamed Ryan in the aftermath. Becca made Butcher promise to protect Ryan, which proved to be difficult up until Season 3’s final episode. It’s yet to be revealed if Butcher’s current visions are his ways of coping or if it’s one of Compound V’s side effects, but his scenes with Becca are instantly reminiscent of Dexter Morgan’s dialogues with Harry’s “ghost” in Dexter (also with Debra’s in Dexter: New Blood).

The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke reveals what he knows at this point about the very end of the series.

While The Boys Season 3 revealed Compound V’s effects are irreversible and ultimately fatal, Kripke hinted the symptoms in the meantime are also complicated. “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,” he teased. Season 4’s premiere episode ended with a glimpse of Butcher’s brain seemingly infested with a parasite-like organism or substance.

The Boys is streaming on Prime Video.