Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) is absolutelygoing through itin Season 4 ofThe Boys. Ousted from his group of vigilante pals (which was entirely of his own doing), the one-time leader is knocking on death’s door thanks to hisheavy use of Temporary V back in Season 3. To make matters worse,he keeps seeing his deceased wife, Becca(Shantel VanSanten), who implores him to take care of her son, Ryan (Cameron Crovetti), and get him away from his maniacal biological father, Homelander (Antony Starr). This week, things got even worse for Butcher as the number one fan theory of Season 4 was confirmed — his old work pal,Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Joe Kessler, is yet another figment of his imagination — albeita much more sinister one. While there were several signs pointing to this big reveal, it still knocked viewers off-guard and served as the cherry on top of Butcher’s going crazy sundae.
During a conversationwith Collider’sChristina Radish, series creator,Eric Kripkebroke down how the show’s writers wanted to handle the moment in a way that stayed true to their characters and the production’s overall tone.
“I seem to remember, in an early version in the writers’ room, we were gonna reveal it the way all of these movies reveal it, which is a character walks in the room and says, ‘Who are you talking to?’ I was like, ‘Well, let’s not do that. Everyone’s done that. Let’s have the two imaginary characters in the room start yelling at each other. And then, that will be the reveal that they’re both imaginary.’ It was just looking for a new angle on how to do one of those reveals.”
The Signs That Kessler Was Imaginary Were All There
The bigFight Club-like reveal surely got some gasps from audiences, but there wereplenty of signsstacking up over the first five episodes that pointed towards this conclusion. The major one was that Joe was never seen with the other characters aside from Sameer Shah (Omid Abtahi), who gave Butcher a few suspicious looks when he referred to himself in the plural form. Another hint was inthis season’s third episodewhen Joe and Butcher toss over drugging Ryan to kidnap him and get him away from Vought. Joe is seen devising the plan with Butcher but then disappears when Ryan comes over, only to pop back up later on.
If you missed them the first time, you can watch the signs add up as the first six episodes ofThe Boys’ fourth season are now streaming on Prime Video.
The Boys is a drama series that explores the darker aspects of superhero culture, portraying a world where superheroes abuse their powers rather than use them for good. Centered around a vigilante group aiming to control these corrupt heroes, the series delves into themes of power, corruption, and accountability. The show features a complex narrative with multifaceted characters, offering an unfiltered look at the consequences of unchecked power.
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