Mt. 24:48 reads "if THAT slave".
To me the explanation given in 2013 has given a lot of pause for thought.
There is ZERO discussion as to whether or not the slave, the GB, has acted evilly, beating his fellow slaves. (Should we start the list and risk crashing this website and maybe even the internet with overload?)
Instead, it is argued that the slave has not stopped giving food.
Which then makes the slave "hypothetical."
The word hypothetical is used ONCE in the whole WT Library when talking about an illustration or parable.