Gen V Season 2 Episode 7, ‘Hell Week’, is one of the best in recent memory, delivering an almighty Godolkin twist. But despite the praise it’s receiving, The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke has one major regret.
Up until now, Gen V’s sophomore season has brought the Guardians of Godolkin back together again while slowly dropping clues about what new dean Cipher (Hamish Linklater) is up to (more on this shortly).
Kripke has been doing the rounds as the superhero series gears up for its Season 2 finale, revealing that The Boys Season 5 will take place around six months after these events, and that Gen V Season 3 will only go ahead if enough fans watch the second chapter.
Now, he’s opening up about what he would change if he could go back in time, and it has everything to do with Gen V fans being too smart. Warning: spoilers ahead!
The Boys creator reveals regret over Gen V Season 2 Episode 7 twist
In a conversation with the Radio Times, Kripke explained that if he were to go back in time, he would have “worked harder” to hide the clues that led to multiple fans guessing the Season 2 Episode 7 twist.
You see, in ‘Hell Week’, we find out that God U dean Cipher (Hamish Linklater) has actually been Dr. Thomas Godolkin (Ethan Slater) this whole time. Cipher doesn’t actually exist – he’s a man named Doug, whose body has been used as a puppet by Godolkin.
Marie (Jaz Sinclair) doesn’t find out the truth until after she heals Godolkin, meaning he’s now free to continue with his evil plan: “cull the herd,” involving eliminating supes with powers he deems unimpressive.
Even though Cipher’s true identity is meant to be a huge, unexpected surprise, many fans figured this out weeks ago and shared it on social media.
As said by one, “We’ve theorized that Cipher’s powers may have something to do with telepathy similar to Professor X. So what if he’s making everyone see what looks to be Linklater’s form but he’s really Thomas Godolkin?
“We never saw Godolkin die in the first episode and we discovered that Cipher’s last name is Gold from Emma meeting her Aunt Pam. The last names are too similar to not have a reason for it.”
Kripke explained to the Radio Times that he didn’t expect so many fans to figure this out so quickly, stating, “How do I feel about so many of the fans picking up the clues? Irritated, mostly!”
“A couple of episodes in, there were some very smart people online who were really picking up some very subtle clues that we were dropping, and putting the whole thing together,” he continued.
“And then other websites started picking it up, and obviously, you want to surprise the audience with a twist that you spent that much time building… But there’s a good lesson in there, which is the audience is so f**king smart.
“Were we to do it again, I definitely would have worked harder to hide those clues, but I think it’s still an enjoyable episode, and they’ll dig the twist.
“Part of what we do is we’re like carnies and magicians – cheap magicians – but you never want anyone to see your trick. And they saw our trick.”
Slater also commented on fans guessing the twist, telling the outlet, “I don’t think it ruins it to be right. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to see it coming because of the way Michele and all the writers handled it. It’s exciting how it happens, not just that it happens.”
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