- Gen V season 2 just revealed some major details about Cipher
- This season's fourth chapter confirmed what powers he seems to possess
- It also teased a potentially huge connection to Godolkin University's founder
Gen V season 2 episode 4 is out now – and it just lifted the lid on some big details about Hamish Linklater's Cipher.
The recently installed Head of Godolkin University has been a hot topic of conversation among Prime Video viewers since The Boys' college spin-off returned to our screens. And, while I suspect there are many more big revelations concerning Cipher to come, the series' latest chapter has already answered one of our biggest questions about him and implied a big connection between the enigmatic Dean and another mysteryiousindividual.
Full spoilers immediately follow for season 2 episode 4, titled 'Bags'. Turn back now if you haven't watched it yet.
What are Cipher's powers in Gen V?
Admittedly, we were only introduced to Cipher in Gen V season 2's three-episode premiere. However, unlike every other person in a position of power at Godolkin University (God U), he didn't purposefully show off his powers in any of those entries.
Until now, then, it wasn't clear if Cipher even had superhuman abilities, which is something Marie Moreau becomes convinced of in 'Bags'. During a private lesson where Cipher helps Marie to improve her blood manipulation abilities, she seemingly learns that he isn't a Supe. Indeed, she later tells Jordan, Emma, and Cate, she couldn't sense any Compound V – the serum that gives people superpowers – in Cipher's blood.
So, that makes him 100% human, right? Yes and no.
Confused? Let me explain. Before Gen V season 2's latest episode ends, it's seemingly revealed that Cipher is a telepath. He can not only read people's thoughts like Cate, but also mind control them. The latter appears to be proven by his ability to possess Jordan during their televised showdown with Marie, which is set up by Vought's PR team as a damage limitation exercise following the revelations Jordan made about the Supe-manufacturing corporation at the end of episode 3.
Obvious as it is to say, but the possibility that Cipher is an incredibly powerful telepath could have major repercussions moving forward.
For starters, it shows why Cipher has always been two steps ahead of Marie and company in Gen V's second season. Indeed, it appears he can read their minds and see what they're thinking, and see what information they're hiding from him. For instance, how else would he know that the gang was covertly filming him during Jordan and Marie's fight in order to get a confession out of him that he might not have been a Supe?
It's Cipher's ability to physically enter a person's mind and control them, though, that spells danger for Marie and her allies. If Cipher doesn't like what they're saying or about to do, he can easily manipulate them into saying or doing the opposite. The prospect of him being able to possess any of them without physically touching them – that's the only way Cate has been able to brainwash someone into doing something, FYI – is sure to spread mistrust through the group, too. After all, how can they know that their friends' words or actions aren't actually coming from Cipher?
There are other questions that need answering, such as how Cipher hid his Compound V-infused blood from Marie. The key to answering that query may lie in the other big narrative development we learn about in the Amazon TV Original's latest episode, though. Speaking of which...
Who is the burned man in Cipher's secret room? And what's its connection to Thomas Godolkin?
While Cipher is conducting his one-on-one lesson with Marie, Cate and Jordan manage to infiltrate Cipher's home. They do so by stealing the keys from his bodyguard, who's forced to commit a lewd act on a nearby garden gnome by Cate.
Anyway, after gaining entry, they use the keys to access to the secret room in Cipher's abode. That's the one behind a giant steel door, which Cate spotted when she was leaving Cipher's home in episode 3.
Once inside, they find a heavily scarred man seemingly sleeping a hyperbaric chamber. These sealed chambers are regularly used in hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which sees patients breathe in 100% oxygen to accelerate the healing process. As Jordan snaps a quick photograph, though, the individual inside wakes up, which sends the pair fleeing for the exit. The identity of this mystery character, then, is unclear.
Or is it? During the staged Marie-Jordan duel, Cipher reveals to Cate that the man inside the hyperbaric chamber is none other than his father. That revelation would be surprising enough on its own, but I posit the theory that this individual isn't just anyone. Indeed, I think it's Thomas Godolkin himself.
During the 1967 flashback scene in one of the best Prime Video shows' season 2 premiere, we see Godolkin pass out due to carbon monoxide poisoning when a fire breaks out in a Vought laboratory. It does so after Godolkin's fellow scientists inject themselves with an early form of Compound V – a situation that quickly spirals out of control and seemingly leads to the deaths of everyone inside the facility, including Godolkin.
Considering we don't see Godolkin die on-camera, though, it was always possible that he survived. Sure, he'll have been badly burned but, given the life-saving treatment in Vought's possession – remember, we saw Stormfront survive a similarly fiery, skin-peeling event in The Boys season 2 finale – there's no reason to suspect Goldolkin perished during that otherwise fatal lab disaster.
Comment from r/GenV
Predictably, this raises questions about what Cipher is up to. Is he keeping his dad alive with the hope Godolkin can be fully healed and restart work on Gen V's Project Odessa? Is Cipher trying to improve Marie's power level because her blood manipulation abilities hold the key to fully curing Godolkin? And, as Cipher claims, was God U really just founded with the aim of creating Marie and turning her into the world's most powerful Supe? I wouldn't be shocked if the answer to those queries are a resounding "yes".
But wait, there's more. As the above Reddit post suggests, some fans believe Godolkin is actually puppeteering events from his hyperbaric chamber. Indeed, some viewers believe Cipher is not only Godolkin's son, but also a vessel through which he can manipulate the situation to his own end.
We know Godolkin was the right-hand man of Frederick Vought, the Supe corp's founder and former member of the Third Reich. As evidenced by his collection of Nazi and KKK memorabilia in a secret room in God U's library, Godolkin also subscribed to far-right ideology. It's not a stretch to say Godolkin is an extremely wicked individual, then.
But back to his links to Cipher. If Marie is right in saying she couldn't sense Compound V in Cipher's blood, it's likely that Godolkin is the individual with telepathic abilities. Using these powers, he can possess Cipher, make him do Godolkin's bidding, and engineer everything from the shadows for his, Homelander, and Vought's overarching plan for this new world order they're planning.
But, what do you think about all of this? Let me know your thoughts and theories in the comments below.
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