The Boys Season 4 Theory Will Have You Looking Twice At Hughie's Mom
Contains possible spoilers for "The Boys" Season 4
"The Boys" Season 4 is set to blow us all away, and with only a few episodes out so far, it's clear not everything is how it seems. Sister Sage (Susan Heyward), as the smartest person on the planet, clearly has some machinations at play we can only begin to understand. Additionally, a popular fan theory has emerged suggesting Joe Kessler, played by the familiar face of Jeffrey Dean Morgan, is a hallucination due to the fact we've only seen Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) interact with him so far. However, a lesser-seen theory suggests Butcher may not be the only one seeing things.
TikToker @mattochatto points out how Butcher might be seeing visions of Kessler due to some side effects of the V24 he took during Season 3. Hughie (Jack Quaid) also took V24, so the theory is that he's also hallucinating his mother, Daphne (Rosemarie DeWitt), coming back into his life. Similar to Kessler, we've only seen Hughie physically interact with Rosemarie so far, as his father, Hugh (Simon Pegg), has fallen into a coma following a stroke. After three episodes, we haven't even seen her speak to a doctor, so there's a chance Hughie is dealing with some demons with this vision.
Xoop's review of "The Boys" Season 4 calls it the wildest superhero story around. But in addition to the carnage and prominent shots of people's private parts, the new season could see the characters work out some inner turmoil with these potential hallucinations.
There's some evidence Hughie's mom is real
Do both Butcher and Hughie have Tyler Durden syndrome? The fan theory about Hughie's mother may have some holes, as Episode 2 — "Life Among the Septics" — has a scene where Hughie tells his mom how he wants to be kept in the loop regarding his father's medical decisions. He leaves, but the camera lingers on Daphne's face for a few beats, with a tear running down her cheek. That would be an odd scene to include if she's a hallucination because she would've ceased to exist after Hughie left.
On top of that, Episode 3 — "We'll Keep the Red Flag Flying Here" — sees Hughie meet with an attorney, who says there's nothing he can do if his mother has power of attorney. The lawyer appears to look through some paperwork, which must've been provided by his mom or even the hospital. Hughie's busy with supes missions, so one would imagine that even if we haven't seen Daphne talk with a doctor, she must be holding down the fort.
It's important to remember that Butcher's dying in six months as a result of taking V24, while Hughie avoided contacting a terminal illness. Butcher took one more dose than Hughie during Season 3, which results in him knocking on death's door. That could also be the explanation used if Kessler is a hallucination but Daphne isn't. Butcher took more V24, so his body and mind pay a higher price.
There's decent evidence to suggest Daphne is real, which is probably for the best if Kessler is, in fact, a manifestation of Butcher's psyche. It might get repetitive to try to pull the same twist twice. Plus, Hughie's getting some good character development, which could be undone if his mom was fake.