Warning: spoilers ahead for The Boys season 4, episode 5 and the comics.

A terribly sad Hughie moment from The Boys season 4 secretly serves as the first step toward another major character’s demise in the upcoming season 5. In one of the most devastating scenes yet from Amazon’s superhero series, Hughie euthanizes his own father in The Boys season 4, episode 5, “Beware the Jabberwock, My Son.” Played by Simon Pegg, Hugh Campbell Sr. became seriously unwell following a stroke. A shot of Compound V returns Hugh Sr. to consciousness, but triggers serious side effects, and Hughie realizes the kindest course of action is letting his father pass away peacefully.

A member of The Boys‘ cast since season 1, the death of Hugh Sr. means Simon Pegg is one of the few original cast members who haven’t made it to The Boys season 5 alive. The Boys‘ next season is confirmed as the show’s ending, and with the final act very much in sight, season 4 acts as something of a transitional year, setting the board and readying the pieces in preparation for an almighty final showdown. Specifically, Hughie ending his father’s life paves the way for arguably the biggest death in the entire story to happen in The Boys season 5.

The Boys Season 4’s Hughie Story Strongly Hints He Will Kill Butcher In Season 5

Killing His Father Proves Hughie Can Bring Himself To Kill Butcher Too

The point of Hugh Campbell Sr.’s death isn’t just to make viewers cry – it’s a demonstration of Hughie’s inner growth across the past four seasons. During a period of lucidity in “Beware the Jabberwock, My Son,” the ailing Hugh Sr. remembers Hughie’s childhood pet, Jar Jar, who became very sick. Hughie couldn’t bear to part with the animal, and Jar Jar died a gory, unpleasant death. When Hughie helps his dad die, The Boys shows how much the protagonist has evolved since his Jar Jar days. Previously unwilling to let his cat go in peace, Hughie can now euthanize his own father in the name of doing right by a person he loves.

The Boys season 4, episode 5’s ending proves Hughie’s newfound resolve, maturity, and emotional steel. He recognizes that his father is no longer himself, and understands the danger posed to innocent civilians. Hughie’s change of attitude all but confirms he will be the one who kills Billy Butcher in The Boys season 5. Butcher has become increasingly unhinged throughout season 4, injecting himself with Compound V, killing Ezekiel in gruesome fashion, and even cutting off a scientist’s leg. More importantly, Butcher’s goal of wiping out supe-kind remains unchanged.

If Butcher’s current trajectory continues, there will come a time when, just like the glitching Hugh Sr., the Boys’ leader loses control of himself and poses a danger to innocent people. The death of Hugh Sr. signals that Hughie now possesses enough inner fortitude to end Butcher’s life when the time comes.

Hughie Killing Butcher Would Fulfill The Boys’ Original Comic Ending

Hughie Kills Butcher In The Comic Books Too

It is indeed Hughie who kills Butcher in Garth Ennis’ original The Boys comic story. Butcher stood on the verge of committing genocide against supes in the final chapters, and Hughie stepped in to kill him. Hughie was the last remaining member of the Boys by that point, meaning no one else could bring the rampaging Butcher down. It must be noted, however, that Hughie only took such drastic action because Butcher falsely claimed to have killed Hughie’s parents.

That same story will not work for The Boys season 5. Hughie’s parents have now both appeared in the TV show, leaving Karl Urban’s live-action Butcher with no obvious means of sending his surrogate brother into an angry, murderous rage. Instead, Hughie would need to find his own reason to kill Butcher, and The Boys season 4’s “Beware the Jabberwock, My Son” gives him precisely that. Hughie no longer needs to be manipulated into killing Butcher because Hugh Sr.’s death teaches him that when a loved one is too far gone – whether it be a cat, a parent, or a crowbar-wielding mentor with a bad British accent – death is the kindest course of action.

Being Killed By Hughie Is The Only Way Butcher’s The Boys Story Can End

Hughie Killing Butcher Has Always Felt LIke The Boys’ Endgame

In thematic terms, Hughie killing Butcher is the only logical way for The Boys to end. The duo’s relationship sits at the heart of Amazon’s adaptation, and a direct comparison has been drawn between Hughie in The Boys and Butcher’s beloved late brother, Lenny, on numerous occasions. After Becca’s disappearance and subsequent death, Hughie is Butcher’s moral compass – the one character who can pull him back from the edge of doing something diabolical. It feels only right that when Butcher inevitably reaches the point of no return, Hughie is the person who brings his misery to a permanent end.

The alternative would be Hughie talking Butcher down and diplomatically convincing him to stop crusading for the death of every supe. While such a conclusion would certainly pay off Butcher and Hughie’s dynamic in The Boys, it wouldn’t fit anywhere near as well with the show’s overall tone.

Violent, bloody, and visceral, The Boys is destined to end, one way or another, in a spectacular splattering of blood and guts. Hughie talking Butcher into submission wouldn’t quite cut the mustard in that respect, leaving Butcher meeting his maker via Hughie’s hand as the only appropriate ending. By finding the courage to end his dad’s life in season 4, Hughie has taken his first step toward that exact destination.