Note: This article contains spoilers from “Gen V” Season 2, Episode 7.
“Gen V” co-creator and executive producer Eric Kripke unpacked that wild Episode 7 twist that revealed Dr. Thomas Godolkin (Ethan Slater) has been masking himself as Godolkin University dean Cipher (Hamish Linklater) this entire time.
Yep, that burned, fleshy man Cipher has been caring for — and sometimes abusing — is Dr. Godolkin himself. And training Marie (Jaz Sinclair) to become strong enough to obtain the power of healing and/or resurrection has been his plan the whole season. After he tricks Marie into bringing him back to his original form, Dr. Godolkin removes himself from his host (Cipher), whose real name is Doug Brightbill.
As Cate (Maddie Phillips) and Jordan (Derek Luh, London Thor) carry a passed out Marie — who’s completely drained from restoring Dr. Godolkin — to safety, Dr. Godolkin starts walking the very campus that boasts his name. Even though he’s in a new body, his mission is still the same: Rid the world of weak supes.
In an interview with TheWrap, Kripke, who tells us that “The Boys” Season 5 will pick up “about six months after ‘Gen V’ Season 2 ends,” broke down that freaky Episode 7 twist, discussed the franchise’s future in the midst of leadership changes at Amazon and gave some updates on new shows.
TheWrap: Talk to me about the creative decision with Michele as it relates to that wild Cipher-Dr. Godolkin twist in Episode 7.
That primarily came from [showrunner] Michele [Fazekas] and Tom Schnauz, her executive producer. [It was] just a super cool twist [and] just a really fun notion that this whole time you think Hamish [Linklater] is the bad guy, and then it turns out that the bad guy is actually Thomas Godolkin (Ethan Slater), which is the first person you saw the whole season and just bringing it all back to just the guy who founded the place in the first place — that was really fun.
It was just a blast watching Hamish play seven episodes of the creepiest villain, and then one episode of like the biggest chucklehead you’ve ever seen. The switch is so incredible, and he’s such a good actor. It was so fun to watch. And Ethan does a great job as Godolkin.
I’m well aware that a lot of the fans online have been picking apart the clues and got on the right scent. They’re very, very smart, and I give them credit. In the same breath, I’m irritated, they figured it out.
You’ve got “The Boys” final season going and “Vought Rising” already greenlit, while “The Boys: Mexico” is in the works. Give us an update on “Mexico,” and will there be a Season 2 of “The Boys: Diabolical”?
“Mexico” is just being developed right now. The pilot script is being written. Gareth is a wonderful writer and I think it’s hilarious. I hope it gets made, but [it’s] just in that development phase.
I don’t think there’s going to be a Season 2 of “Diabolical.” It’s not for lack of us pushing. I think ultimately the viewer numbers weren’t there to justify a second season, sadly. Although, we love it and Simon [Racioppa], the showrunner, would be game to do it, but we haven’t gotten a go ahead on that.
How do you expect the leadership changes at Amazon will impact any plans for the franchise?
My guess is it’s the same. We’re fortunate in that we’ve always gotten a lot of support. We still have to deliver ratings. It’s a very classic, old-school TV thing, but we need viewers to show up to justify more of them.
We have a plan for “Gen V” Season 3, and we’re psyched about it, but we need enough viewers to watch Season 2 to justify Season 3. Now’s the time that they’re paying attention to the numbers. So don’t watch even a year from now. Turn on Prime [Video] and watch it now. If enough people watch then we’ll get a Season 3. Same applies to “Vought Rising” Season 1. We have plans for a Season 2, if we can. They’ve been nothing but supportive, and they’re giving us our opportunities. But it’s a business and we also have to deliver. So hopefully the audience shows up.
How much more of the “Gen V” story do you have to tell in terms of seasons?
As long as there’s an interesting story to tell and new facets to reveal, I’m in. Without spoiling anything, I think the universe post-“The Boys” Season 5 is such a fascinating universe, there’s a lot to explore. It’s so much more of the wild west in terms of, like, f–king anything goes — without giving anything away. And I think that would be a blast to put the “Gen V” kids in the middle of.
“Gen V” releases new episodes Wednesdays on Prime Video.
