
When Ryan comes back, he reconnects with Billy Butcher, who has a dangerous plan. Butcher wants to use Ryan as bait to draw out Homelander, hoping to infect him with a virus that kills Supes before Homelander can get his hands on a powerful compound called V1. The plan would cost both Butchers their lives, but Billy convinces Ryan to participate by appealing to their shared history – they both loved Becca and despise Victoria Neuman. Ryan reluctantly agrees, but everything falls apart when Dr. Sameer Shah destroys the virus. He discovers his daughter, Zoe, is still alive and learns that Butcher was responsible for the death of her mother, Victoria Neuman, at the end of Season 4.