I think I know who Cipher is, or at least who he’s a puppet of. The mysterious new dean of God U has been a consistently great part of Gen V Season 2 – played with an air of brilliantly smug menace by Hamish Linklater – and part of what’s intriguing about him is all the mystery surrounding his powers, backstory, and motivations. But there’s a theory floating around, and I’m convinced it’s correct.
This isn’t my theory, by the way, or at least not entirely. It’s actually a collection of different theories filtered through various real-life conversations I’ve had with other fans of the show. But I’ve collected all the evidence in one place to prove a point about just how well all of this fits together if you think about it. Honestly, I’m convinced this is true. And I’m going to try and prove it as best as I can.
So… here it goes.
Cipher Is A Puppet Being Controlled By Thomas Godolkin
Okay, so the gist of this theory is as follows: The crispy older dude that Cipher is keeping in a hyperbaric chamber in his home is none other than Thomas Godolkin, and it’s Godolkin, not Cipher, who has the power to control the minds of others. This would mean that Cipher is basically just a fleshy meat puppet that Godolkin is using to enact his own schemes (and there are some clues about what they may be, also).
Right off the bat, this explains a lot of lingering questions about Cipher, the big one being why Jordan couldn’t sense any Compound V in his blood. There’s also that scene when he plunges a knife through his hand to frighten Polarity, seemingly without feeling any pain. Why would he? His mind and body aren’t his own. Cate couldn’t read his mind either, implying he’s not really in possession of his own consciousness.
Also, remember when Jordan said that when Cipher was controlling her during the fight with Marie, she could feel Cipher’s intense pain? Could she be referring to the pain that Godolkin feels on account of his terrible injuries and his miserable existence in the chamber? Or the pain that Cipher himself is feeling, not being in control of his own body?
Godolkin Gained His Power During the Lab Accident in the Premiere
Gen V Season 2 kicked off with a flashback that showed Godolkin seemingly being killed in a lab fire during a Compound V trial that went terribly wrong. All the other scientists were messily killed by their own – or each other’s – rapidly developing powers, but it was implied that Godolkin died. The simplest theory would be that he injected himself with Compound V in order to save himself (or somehow inhaled the fumes during the fire – either way).
This would obviously explain why the dude in the hyperbaric chamber is deep fried. From there, we can assume that he has managed to keep himself alive all these years by controlling different human hosts and getting them to do his bidding. Or, perhaps he has just been controlling Cipher the whole time, which would explain why he was around at Marie’s birth – Doctor Gold, for goodness sake – not looking any younger. This is also probably ties into Cipher’s very weird and specific smoothie diet.
But what’s the endgame?
The burned guy, potentially Thomas Godolkin, in Gen V Season 2 | Image via Prime Video
Godolkin Is Trying To Heal Himself
The working theory is that Godolkin founded God U, and has been particularly focused on Marie’s powers in this season, because he’s looking for a Supe powerful enough to heal him – among other things. The true extent of Marie’s potential powers haven’t really been explored, but she can bring people back from the dead, presumably “heal” Supes and turn them into humans, and potentially even take out Homelander, which was discussed by Cipher and Sister Sage.
On the subject of Sister Sage – remember how she looked directly at Mr. Crispy when having sex with Cipher, and he seemed pretty happy about it? Yet more evidence that it’s Godolkin in control. Or maybe that was the show reiterating how Sister Sage is the smartest person alive by showing that she knew she wasn’t really sleeping with Cipher, but Godolkin, who was controlling him.
There’s also a chance that Godolkin has been using the school to groom a new host that could replace Cipher. If he could take complete control of Marie and use her powers as his own, Godolkin could technically become the most powerful Supe in the world. Worth thinking about.
The Clue’s In the Name
The dude is literally called Cipher. Think about it. The word has two commonly understood definitions, both applicable here:
1. A secret or disguised way of writing; a code.
2. A person of no importance, especially one who does the bidding of others and seems to have no will of their own.
I mean, come on. Cipher also has a pretty notable fascination with the idea of people just being “bags of blood”, a sentiment he used to push Marie, but also one that he probably believes, since that is the precise manner in which he is being used by Godolkin. Potentially.
It all makes sense, and I’m totally convinced. Hopefully, the remaining episodes will provide some more clarity and prove who’s right and wrong. In the meantime, feel free to chime in in the comments below if you’ve got any different ideas.
