Warning: spoilers ahead for The Boys season 4, episode 6, “Dirty Business.”
Summary
The Boysseason 4’s Joe Kessler twist is designed to take viewers by surprise, but episode 6’s very first scene gives the secret away long in advance of the climactic reveal.Jeffrey Dean Morgan joinedThe Boysas Joe Kessler, Billy Butcher’s former colleague and fellow supe skeptic, and the pair have been quietly conspiring to take down Homelander throughout season 4.The Boysseason 4, episode 6, “Dirty Business,” reveals the real Joe Kessler died long ago, and the character onscreen has really been another of Butcher’s hallucinations.
Karl Urban’s character was already seeing theghost of Becca whenThe Boysseason 4began, with Butcher’s late wife serving as his inner conscience, desperately imploring him not to go too far. Joe Kessler, it seems, represents the devil to Becca’s angel, driving Butcher toward his most violent and depraved tendencies. As shocking as the twist may be, eagle-eyed viewers would have figured out the truth during season 4, episode 6’s opening minutes.
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The Boys Season 4, Episode 6’s Opening Scene Subtly Reveals Kessler Isn’t Real
Sameer’s Reaction Gives Away The Boys' Big Twist
“Dirty Business” begins with Omid Abtahi’s Sameer still chained up after Butcher abducted him to brew another batch of supe-killing virus at the end of the previous episode. What follows is an exchange in whichSameer never once responds to Kessler, despite being addressed directly on several occasions. Kessler warns, “We could just bash your fking head in, jog your memory.” Sameer doesn’t reply. Kessler goes again, threatening, “We could just send you back to them in a fking bucket if you don’t do whatever the f**k we say.” Again, Sameer stays silent. By contrast, Sameer grovels for mercy whenever Butcher’s mouth opens.
Sameer acknowledging only one of the men threatening unspeakable acts against him marksThe Boys' first real clue that Joe Kessler isn’t physically present in the room.Kessler quietly lurked in the shadows when he and Butcher first visited SameerinThe Boysseason 4, episode 5’s ending, so even if Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s character was real, Sameer may not have noticed Kessler back then. Episode 6’s opening scene is the first time Kessler speaks directly to Sameer, and the fact his demands trigger zero reaction from a man who clearly isn’t above begging for his life proves something is clearly amiss.
Other Clues To The Boys Season 4’s Big Kessler Twist
The Clues Were There Long Before Episode 6
Sameer never responding to Kessler is by far the most overt clue thatThe Boysgives ahead of its big twist, but not the only clue. During one of their early meetings, Kessler raised the issue of Butcher’s brain tumor, explaining that his CIA clearance gave him access to medical files. That excuse sounded plausible at the time, but never truly added up.Kessler - if he were real - had no reason to seek out Butcher’s medical recordin the first place.
Even choice snippets of Kessler’s anti-supe rhetoric have sounded suspiciously close to quotes Butcher uttered.
In hindsight, it becomes clear that Kessler knew about Butcher’s tumor only because he was a creation of Butcher’s own mind. The knowledge of his impending demise has been haunting Butcher since theend ofThe Boysseason 3, and it makes complete sense that his hallucinatory devil would bring the matter up. Similarly,Kessler remarked inThe Boysseason 4, episode 5 about MM being on the verge of a breakdownand Frenchie being a “junkie.” For someone who is never spotted around other members of the Boys, Kessler knew a surprising amount about them.
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Beyond the strange commentary on Butcher’s health and the struggles of his various colleagues, Joe Kessler has only ever met Butcher alone since appearing inThe Boys, and never spoke to another character before Sameer at the start of episode 6. Even choice snippets of Kessler’s anti-supe rhetoric - his belief that a war between supes and non-supes is on the horizon, for example - have sounded suspiciously close to quotes Butcher uttered previously inThe Boys, meaning the breadcrumbs leading up to episode 6’s big twist were cleverly laid out in advance.
July 18
The Boys
The Boys is a gritty and subversive take on the superhero genre, focusing on a group of vigilantes who confront powerful superheroes abusing their abilities, exploring themes of corruption and moral ambiguity in a world where heroes are not always what they seem.
