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While The Boys have cobbled together a family in their battle against an evil conglomerate during the first season of Amazon’s hit show, they do have families of their own to contend with as well. Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso) has his wife and children and the guiding force in his life, whereas Billy Butcher’s (Karl Urban) life is turned upside down when he learns the status of his wife.
Alonso and Urban spoke to Screen Rant about the second season premiere on September 4, and had plenty of thoughts on their respective families and the influence they each have on their character arcs.
[Mother’s Milk is] one of the members of the Boys that has something to live for; he has a family. I’m not saying that Billy doesn’t – we’ll talk about that in a second. In what ways, though, does that affect his decision making in season two?
Laz Alonso: That’s always at the forefront of his of his mind. He literally just wants to get home to his wife and kids. He justifies this mission by saying that accomplishing this goal will basically free his daughter from having to fight the same battle that he’s fighting, and that his father before him fought.
There’s a really cool monologue in episode 4, where he kind of opens up that can of worms and reveals that he’s infected with the disease of activism. That runs through his veins and ran through his father’s veins, and the almighty corporate, greedy supremacy company that they’re fighting against is intricately connected to Mother’s Milk’s family history. That’s what drives him to to risk his family for this.
On the other hand, Billy’s backstory with his family life is up front and center in season two. Why do you think he’s so convinced that Becca simply wants to be there in her new life on her own? Do you think he is convinced?
Karl Urban: Well, you know, the revelation that Becca Butcher is alive is a huge game changer for Billy. At the outset of season two, he doesn’t know where she is, doesn’t know her situation. Really, the journey is for Billy Butcher is about finding his wife and and rescuing her and trying to pick up the semblance of their marriage. But obviously in true Boys’ fashion, there’s a few curveballs along the way.
This season is really about humanizing Billy Butcher in a way that we come to understand more of how he became the man he is. He’s forced to take a good, cold, hard look in the mirror. And there’s the sort of ugly demon that dwells within Billy Butcher. He’s that side of Billy Butcher that smashed Mesmer’s head into the sink. He’s forced to really kind of reconcile himself with that, so it was a really challenging season. And I can’t wait for it to drop.
I was talking earlier with Antony about the Homelander and Ryan relationship. If there was a way to get Homelander out of the picture, do you think that Billy could ever accept Ryan as his son? Or is that something we can possibly explore further?
Karl Urban: Listen, that is a great question. It’s really one of the central threads through the season, and I’m just gonna let the work speak for itself. But in true Kripke fashion, everything in season two is a lot more dynamic and a lot more complicated, and the stakes are raised. The action is just off the Richter scale. I can’t believe we get to do it, and I can’t believe that they allowed us to do it. Lots of exciting stuff for fans of The Boys in season two.
The Boys season 2 premieres on Amazon on September 4, 2020.