The Boys Season 4's Biggest Mistake

Contains spoilers for "The Boys" Season 4

Season 4 of "The Boys" feels like it has it all: sex dungeons, super-powered sheep, and The Deep (Chace Crawford) continuing his water-based romances by way of a hilarious MCU cameo. But while the show's sordid sense of humor is prominent throughout the season, there might've been a little too much going on in the latest chapter of The Boys' ongoing battle with corrupt Supes, particularly involving their former leader, Billy Butcher (Karl Urban).

Left to brood outside of the team, Butcher is battling himself as much as he is Homelander (Antony Starr) this season, leading to arguably one of the show's worst creative choices to date by having his new ally, Kessler (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), be an unhinged imaginary friend.

Throwing in a "Fight Club" maneuver with a dash of "The Sixth Sense," the jig was up on this piece of Butcher's story before the show even confirmed it. The clues continuously presenting themselves every week were obvious, to the point that when he finally shouts at Becca (Shantel VanSanten), it's nowhere as shocking as it should've been. In fact, by focusing on the new and unhealthy bromance, "The Boys" missed out on applying its drama in a better fashion with another on-again, off-again ally of Butcher who deserved better.

After the end of Season 3, it was abundantly clear that Butcher wasn't in a good place. With a countdown on his body's clock ticking faster than ever while losing allies left and right, it didn't take Sister Sage's powers to see just how poorly he was doing — and he didn't need to talk to himself for us to figure it out, either.

Simply having his late wife Becca haunting him would've been enough to demonstrate how much Butcher is struggling with his current situation. Both the character and his origin story are poorly executed, almost making Jeffrey Dean Morgan (a charismatic actor who could've been used more effectively elsewhere) feel like a wasted addition to the show. Ultimately, Kessler is an unnecessary crutch for Billy's story arc, one that hinders rather than helps him on his journey. Karl Urban could've done the job just as well going it alone.

Urban is a strong enough actor to carry a scene solo, just as his on-screen counterpart, Antony Starr, often does as Homelander. Becca could've dropped in and out to give a voice to Billy's inner turmoil, but instead, we get Morgan, whose presence feels more animated than Black Noir's imaginary outburst from last season. In hindsight, a better option might've been to feature another character playing on Butcher's conscience — one who had been there from the beginning.

As some fans of "The Boys" feared, the closing episodes of Season 4 feel like they're built to deliver more shock and visceral imagery than a story with substance. One character who unnecessarily suffers because of this tactic is Mallory (Laila Robins), Butcher's former boss, who banishes him from active duty leading The Boys. She comes through at the end for our hero and his stepson, only to be killed by Ryan (Cameron Crovetti) in a fit of rage. It is a pitiful death that lacks the impact Mallory deserved. What's worse, her ending could've been better if she'd taken Kessler's place.

For most of the show, Butcher has been treated like he is Mallory's last resort to get a job done, and that tactic could've been applied here. While the rest of The Boys are off doing their own thing, Mallory could have sent Billy on the jobs that only he was capable of doing, just like in the good old days. This choice would have fortified their often-strained relationship so that when Ryan kills her, Butcher's reasoning for switching to the pandemic plan feels warranted. Instead, we had a half-baked head trip for Billy that, while poorly applied this time, might still be used in a better fashion further down the line.

While Kessler might have been a ropey addition to the show, establishing that Billy is prone to these moments of mental imbalance opens the door for the same to happen in the future, but with different characters.

As fans of the original page-turner already know, "The Boys" comic ends with Billy finally defeating Homelander, brutally killing his enemy once and for all. The mission isn't over at that point, though, and Butcher goes completely off the rails with the objective of killing all Supes as a final course of action. Considering this crucial story beat, it's likely that Homelander won't survive "The Boys," and he'll probably be killed off some time before the final episode. What better way to keep him around, though, than to have him as the final nightmarish voice rolling around in Butcher's head?

After spending so much time and effort trying to bring the leader of The Seven down, it would be a cruel twist of fate to have Butcher battling his inner thoughts in the form of the man he's been desperately trying to kill. It could be as simple as Kessler transforming into Homelander, keeping the scene-stealing Starr around until the end. For now, we'll just have to wait and see how things turn out next season, when "The Boys" returns for the show's final ride.