Butcher meets Kessler on the CIA Headquarters after Grace Mallory (Laila Robins) prevents him from interacting with President-elect Robert Singer (Jim Beaver), prompting MM (Laz Alonso) to take over. That is additionally the second when MM assumes management of The Boys, as he deems Butcher too unpredictable, particularly after the latter comes clear about his terminal sickness. Simply when Butcher is loitering alone within the halls whereas feeling robbed of function, Kessler crops up, like a deus-ex-machina within the type of a long-lost buddy who has returned to workforce up with the now-disenfranchised Butcher. The 2 chat about how they go far again, expressing fondness for one another whereas establishing an emotional baseline for near-future cooperation.
Proper off the bat, there are some obvious inconsistencies to look out for. Though The Boys have been collaborating with the CIA for fairly a while, no different operative ever mentions Kessler, not even Mallory, who’s near Butcher regardless of the 2 sharing a considerably contentious relationship. In the course of the reunion scene, nobody else bumps into Kessler or acknowledges him — if we’re to take Kessler’s credentials at face worth, his return to the CIA could be thought-about a giant deal of their plans to thwart Vought and by extension, Homelander. This sample continues at any time when Kessler shares a scene with Butcher, as the 2 solely converse with each other with out being perceived by a 3rd occasion.
After final episode’s horrifying ordeal at Stan Edgar’s (Giancarlo Esposito) farmhouse, Butcher and Kessler kidnap Sameer (Omid Abtahi) after amputating him and converse within the prisoner’s presence. This exception solely heightens our doubts, as Sameer doesn’t acknowledge Kessler in any respect, however solutions to Butcher alone, as if he’s the one different individual within the room.