Setup and Isolation — Introduction to Butley's alcoholic lifestyle and shared living space.
Hangover Routine — Butley wakes hungover and drinks in the flat.
Shared Office Dynamics — Butley and Joey navigate their cramped workspace.
Mentor Control — Butley's manipulative hold over his former student.
Grooming Joey — Butley admits to grooming Joey as a past student.
Tenure Dependency — Joey's academic survival relies on Butley's approval.
Relationship Collapse — Simultaneous dissolution of Butley's personal ties.
Wife Departure — Butley's wife leaves him, ending their marriage.
Lover Loss — Butley's male lover Carol also abandons him.
Joey Romance — Joey finds a new partner in Reg, breaking free.
Academic Rivalry — Professional friction and student poaching.
Luring Student — Butley recruits an undergraduate from a colleague.
Edna Displacement — Edna loses her student and eventually her office.
Verbal and Physical Conflict — Escalation of Butley's toxic behavior into violence.
Homophobic Outburst — Butley unleashes a vulgar, homophobic rant.
Reg Retaliation — Reg physically punches Butley in response.
Final Severance — The complete breakdown of professional and personal bonds.
Joey Evacuation — Joey packs his belongings and leaves the office.
Tutorial Failure — Butley's new student session ends in disgust.
Cyclical Toxicity — Butley's inability to change, trapping him in isolation.
New Student Abuse — Butley immediately insults the fresh undergraduate.
Permanent Isolation — Butley remains alone, spiraling further into despair.
Butley is set in Queen Mary’s College, London and focuses on two English instructors, Ben Butley, a middle-aged former T. S. Eliot expert whose life is now in a shambles, and his protégé, Joey, a homosexual. With both Joey and his wife leaving, Butley faces a life alone, fighting back with wit, obscenity and booze.
