Spoilers are ahead for The Boys season 4, episode 6.
Summary
Despite the show’s best efforts at throwing viewers off its scent,The Boysseason 4’s Kessler twist was obvious thanks to the casting of actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan. For better or worse,Morgan’s other TV show roles primed viewers to guess that Joe Kessler was a mere manifestationof Billy Butcher’s (Karl Urban) Temp V-riddled mind. A former soldier and CIA case officer, Kessler worked with Butcher prior to the events chronicled inThe Boys. It’s revealed that Butcher left Kessler for dead during a mission, leaving Butcher to hallucinate the long-dead Kessler inThe Boysseason 4.
In the superhero satire’s fourth season, Butcher grapples with the side effects of overusing Temp V. In addition to hallucinating his dead wife, Becca (Shantel VanSanten), and Kessler, Butcher deals with bouts of pain. At one point, he even blacks out mid-fight, only to realize his opponent somehow burst into pieces while he was incapacitated. Clearly, Butcher isn’t well. This comes to a head (literally) inThe Boysseason 4, episode 6: Becca urges Butcher to choose his morals, while Kessler presses him to resort to cruelty and violence — butthe plot point is nothing new for Morgan.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s The Boys Reveal Echoes His Iconic Grey’s Anatomy Character
Denny Duquette Returns As A Manifestation Of Izzie Stevens' Mind
The reveal that Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Kessler in season 4 ofThe Boysis a manifestation of Butcher’s mind totally echoes aniconicGrey’s Anatomystoryline. Long before Morgan played Neegan onThe Walking Dead, he was perhaps most well known for his time on the long-running Shonda Rhimes-created medical drama. Introduced in season 2,Morgan’s Denny Duquette is diagnosed with viral cardiomyopathy, which is when he meets Dr. Izzie Stevens(Katherine Heigl). Ultimately, Denny is hospitalized long-term and put on an LVAD while waiting for a new donor, leading to an iconicGrey’s Anatomymoment.
Izzie is later diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic melanoma [with metastases to the brain]… thus causing the hallucinations of Denny.
Engaged to Denny, Izzie cuts his LVAD wire, making him appear like the most in-need patient awaiting a heart. In addition to being one of the manytimesGrey’s Anatomy’s Izzie Stevens should’ve been fired, Denny dies anyway. From then on, the character haunts Izzie. At first, the Denny ghost seems to be a manifestation of her guilt and grief. However, Izzie is later diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic melanoma, which metastasizes to her temporal lobe, thus causing the hallucinations of Denny. In a similar twist,Butcher’s hallucinations of Becca and Kessler are manifestations of his sentient brain tumor.
Why Butcher’s “Devil” In The Boys Season 4 Looks Like Joe Kessler
Kessler represents the darker parts of Butcher in The Boys season 4, while Becca symbolizes his humanity — but why does he see Kessler specifically?
Supernatural Also Featured Jeffrey Dean Morgan As A Ghost
The Actor Might Have Been A Little Typecast For The Boys Season 4’s Kessler
Although Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s pattern of playing dead characters who visit the still-living began withGrey’s Anatomy, that andThe Boysare not the only prominent instances of this casting choice. InSupernatural, Morgan plays John Winchester, the father of demon-hunting brothers Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Sam (Jared Padalecki), who seeks revenge on the demon Azazel (Fredric Lehne) for killing his wife. Ultimately, John offers up his soul to Azazel in exchange for Dean’s life. When Dean finally kills Azazel,Morgan plays John’s spirit. FromGrey’s AnatomytoThe BoystoSupernatural, Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s unique typecasting continues.
New episodes ofThe Boysseason 4 premiere Thursdays on Amazon Prime Video through August 18, 2025.
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.
