The Boys fans divided after viewers spot subtle sign character might not be real

The Boys is back for its fourth season but viewers are divided after noticing a little character detail.

Having already been stunned by a 'f**ked up' masturbating scene and feeling sorry for Homelander, it seems fans aren’t missing anything from the show’s penultimate season.

Oh, yep, sorry if that is news to you, but the creator of The Boys previously confirmed that the fifth load of episodes on Amazon will be the last.

So, as they grip on tight to each and every moment, it almost seems fitting that viewers are now debating the existence of the characters.

A fan page for the superhero TV series took to X with a bunch of photos from various moments from the show to really kick off a debate.

“Has anyone else noticed only Butcher has talked to this dude and no one else has,” it asked.

“Could this be just another imaginary person just like Becca?”

The stills depict Billy Butcher chatting to and sharing moments with Joe Kessler – a main character in this fourth season.

Supposedly, he’s a CIA Case Officer and a veteran of the War on Terror – where he became pals with Butcher.

Reckon Kessler is real? (Amazon Prime Video)

But as this post suggests, there’s a whole theory that he’s actually just some sort of hallucination or imaginary character, with threads on Reddit and comments on X discussing it. However, not everyone is so sure.

One user backs it, as they wrote: “He’s definitely a hallucination, it’s a dual with Becca and Kessler, Becca brings the best in Butcher, Kessler brings the worst.”

As another echoed: “Kessler is the devil in him and Becca is the angel.”

While others agreed: “It’s def Butcher’s old side just in a human imaginary form,” as some said: “Either way, Kessler is THE Devil! Absolutely devilish. Bringing the worst out of Butcher.”

Fans think Butcher has imagined him. (Amazon Prime Video)

However, others queried: “Then again how could he pass off the info about GOD U.” And another noted: “He got the virus though. An actual physical object from him so…”

With others speculating: “They’re considering a spin-off with him so he’s prolyl a real person and not imaginary.”

Many simply called it an ‘interesting theory’ as they admitted they hadn’t even considered Kessler might not be real.

“That’s a good theory and makes sense…” one wrote. “I wonder if butcher got this dude killed and now he has subconscious guilt about it.”

Well, I guess we’ll find out soon.

You can watch The Boys on Prime Video.