The Boys Season 4 has been extremely controversial. Showrunner Eric Kripke has clarified that the following season will be the show’s conclusion, giving these eight episodes an air of winding up before the big finale. Unfortunately, the show has made a few key missteps. Some aspects of the series still deliver stunning moments of quality. Butcher’s story seems to be one of the most consistent chunks of the show. A twist surrounding Joe Kessler, Butcher’s old war buddy, finally paid off with the answer everyone expected, but it still worked.
One of the big complaints about The Boys is that the show is unnecessarily elongating its story. If fans believe they’ve spotted a character doing something that doesn’t make sense, they assume that the writers chose that path to allow the plot to continue. The hard five-season limit guarantees that this problem won’t carry on much longer. As the fourth season reaches its conclusion, Butcher is on the precipice of a decision that could end the story prematurely, or at least very badly.
Who is Joe Kessler in The Boys?
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Name |
Joe Kessler |
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Played By |
Jeffrey Dean Morgan |
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First Appearance |
The Boys Season 4, Episode 1: “Department of Dirty Tricks” |
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First Appearance Date |
June 13, 2024 |
Joe Kessler is an old colleague of Billy Butcher’s. He first appears in an otherwise unoccupied break room at CIA headquarters. Butcher has been removed from his leadership position in The Boys. The organization views him as a liability, and he’s rapidly dying of Compound-V-induced cancer. Butcher is at his lowest when he sees Joe’s friendly face. Kessler and Butcher worked together in Afghanistan, where they seemingly handled particularly dirty tasks. They keep a lot of their shared past unspoken, but they do mention an incident in which they worked together to deprogram ISIL terrorists. Kessler encourages Butcher to continue his crusade against Homelander and other supes. He reminds Butcher of the dangers of leaving Homelander alive and the potential risk Ryan could pose in the future. Kessler pushes Butcher to drug young Ryan, then force him through some form of training to separate him from Homelander’s influence. To hear him tell it, Butcher will have to choose between killing and brainwashing Ryan before too long.
Kessler is helpful, but he also encourages Butcher’s worst impulses. Their conversation comes to a head after they kidnap Sameer Shah, a scientist who previously developed a virus to kill supes. It seems like a decent proposition. Homelander has only become more threatening over recent days, potentially endangering the world if someone doesn’t find a way to put him down. When Butcher demands a virus strong enough to kill Homelander, Sameer reveals that he could only do it with massive consequences. The only way to juice the disease enough to eliminate the world’s strongest supe is to make it all-powerful, airborne, and lethal. Every living being with a drop of Compound V in their veins would die. Butcher seems to draw the line at genocide. The voice of his deceased wife calls to him from beyond the grave, begging him to step away. Kessler is delighted, proclaiming this the silver bullet they desperately needed. The two voices clash, forcing Butcher to realize what most fans already knew. Kessler has been dead for over a decade. He’s the devil on Butcher’s shoulder, sitting opposite Becca as his angel.
What happened to Butcher in The Boys?
So, why is Butcher’s dead work friend pushing him to commit genocide? This is a moment in which The Boys threatens to return to the comic book source material. The Billy Butcher of the comic becomes the unquestioned villain by the end of the series. The series’ Butcher is prepared to make the decision that puts him on the same path. His hallucinations come from the superpowered tumor, but their specific identity comes from Butcher’s broken psyche. Becca represents his humanity. Everything good about Butcher died when he lost his wife, and finding out she was alive didn’t seem to fix much. His occasional flirtations with decency only come about when he’s reminded of his promises to Becca. Kessler is the other side of Butcher. He certainly says as much, practically taunting Butcher for dreaming him up. It’s a one-on-one debate for the fate of Butcher’s soul and the massive consequences that his decisions could cause. Butcher is now aware of who is speaking.
Why is Joe Kessler in The Boys?
One of the central narrative thrusts of The Boys season four is addressing sins from the past. Almost every character has something that they’re trying to make up for. Annie, Hughie, Frenchie, Marvin, A-Train, and several other fixtures of the show have things to atone for. Butcher and Homelander remain the standout characters, both in quality and circumstances. Homelander knows what he’s done wrong, and he’s actively choosing to become worse. Kessler enthusiastically supports Butcher’s making the same choice. The endgame is here, and Butcher knows that the only voices he listens to are in his head. Butcher has successfully grappled with the fact that his reality no longer exists. He knows the stakes, but the walls are closing in. The only question now is which of the voices in his head can claim victory.
A lot of people knew that Joe Kessler was a hallucination. The old Fight Club or Sixth Sense callback works every time. The moment in which Kessler interacts with Becca and Butcher puts the pieces together continues to be excellent. The stakes have never been higher, and both Butcher and Homelander are considering their version of genocide. Kessler is the voice of every terrible impulse Butcher has ever had, but he can’t take the blame anymore. Butcher knows who he’s talking to. Once again, he has the chance to take down Homelander, with some unfortunate side effects. Will he go through with it?
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