Warning! SPOILERS for Hocus Pocus 2.Billy Butcherson finally being freed of his curse in Hocus Pocus 2 creates a pothole for the first film. Winifred Sanderson's former "lover" Billy is one of the returning characters in Hocus Pocus 2, with his hatred for the witches still intact. After being made into a zombie hundreds of years ago, he finally gets freed, but the intricacies surrounding the event confuse how the magic works in the Hocus Pocus world.
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Though Hocus Pocus 2 takes place 30 years after the original, flashbacks in the film give more insight into the history of the Sanderson sisters and their magic. The movie introduces Hannah Waddingham as The Witch Mother, who is responsible for providing the girls with the iconic spellbook. The spellbook is responsible for most of the terror the sisters inflict on the town of Salem and its inhabitants, including Billy Butcherson. The added background changes the view of Hocus Pocus' Sanderson sisters, making them less villainous than in the original film.
In Hocus Pocus, when the witches are defeated, their curses are broken, which frees Thackery Binx from his curse of being a cat. However, this is not the case for Billy Butcherson, who instead returns to his grave to sleep. As Hocus Pocus 2 reveals, Billy was actually awake the whole time. When the Magicae Maxima curse is lifted at the end of the film and Winifred once again turns to dust with her sisters, this time Billy is also freed from their previous curse. This creates a plot hole between the two films as it fails to explain why Thackery was initially freed in the first movie, but not Billy.
Why Billy Butcherson Is Freed From His Curse In Hocus Pocus 2
Though Hocus Pocus 2 ends similarly to the first film, there are some key differences that may explain why Billy was freed this time around. Billy's mouth was sewn shut so that he couldn't speak the truth about what actually happened between him and Winifred, which turned out to be only a kiss. In the sequel film, he was finally able to spread his truth that he was the eldest Sanderson sister's lover, potentially allowing his soul to finally rest. Notably, Thackery was able to make up for not saving his sister by saving Dani allowing his soul to rest as well. Billy was also a key component in the Magicae Maxima spell, so when the spell was undone by Becca, it likely affected Billy as well.
Similar to the first movie, Hocus Pocus 2 ends with the Sanderson sisters seemingly gone forever. The end credits scene in Hocus Pocus 2 reveals another black flam candle, hinting at a potential third movie. With the Sanderson sisters being portrayed as less evil than before, they may return in the follow-up as supportive of the protagonists.