Bill is the obvious central villain in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill saga. So it’s almost ironic—and kind of funny—that he’s just named Bill. The title isn’t Murder William; it’s Kill Bill. There’s something delightfully plain about that.

Interestingly, Bill was at his most compelling in Kill Bill: Volume 1, when we never actually saw him. David Carradine’s voice alone carried an air of mystique and menace, and the ambiguity of the character made him feel more dangerous than when he was finally revealed.

Eventually, we learn that Bill and Beatrix Kiddo were lovers. But when she left him to pursue a quiet, normal life in Texas, he tracked her down. He pretended to accept her choices—only to unleash brutal vengeance, leaving a trail of death and violence in his wake.

It turns out he didn’t kill their daughter, who was still in Beatrix’s womb at the time. Somehow, he managed to save the child and raise her in the years between. This twist gives the climactic confrontation a strange emotional weight—less like a standard revenge showdown, and more like a twisted family reunion.

That said, the final battle left me underwhelmed. It’s surprisingly short, and Bill doesn’t even rise from his chair.

Beatrix kills him using the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique taught to her by Pai Mei. It’s a poetic cause-and-effect moment, but for a duel between two legendary warriors, the lack of physical action feels a bit anticlimactic.

Still, Bill accepts his fate with grace. He makes peace with Beatrix, takes his five steps, and dies with dignity. It’s hard not to respect him for that.