Gen V Season 2: Dean Cipher Launches a Ruthless Bid to Dethrone Homelander
Hamish Linklater lifts the curtain on Dean Cipher’s endgame in Gen V Season 2—why he’s molding Marie Moreau, what he really wants at Godolkin University, and how it all fuels a bold bid to gain supremacy over Homelander while outflanking Polarity.
Gen V season 2 has been quietly setting up Dean Cipher as the kind of villain who smiles while pitching a nightmare. Hamish Linklater just laid out what Cipher is actually doing this year, and, yeah, it is as wild as it sounds: grooming Marie Moreau into his signature weapon so he can leapfrog Homelander.
Where Cipher stands when season 2 kicks off
After Indira Shetty dies at the end of season 1, Cipher steps in and takes over Godolkin University. In the first three episodes of season 2, he zeroes in on Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair), tightens his grip on Cate Dunlap, and starts pushing a hardline platform that is blatantly pro-supe and anti-human. It is not subtle.
"He’s trying to make a master race out of a master race. That’s his idea, and his tool is going to be Marie. He thinks she’s the one who’s going to give him supremacy over the other supremacist, Homelander."
That is Linklater, in a recent interview, saying the quiet part out loud. Cipher is not just training Marie; he wants to weaponize her as the key to beating Homelander at his own supremacy game.
The Homelander rule... and the blind spot named Polarity
Linklater also spelled out Cipher’s priority list: always be wary of Homelander, keep the Gen V kids contained, and, crucially, he has not clocked the real threat yet. Cipher underestimates Polarity (Sean Patrick Thomas), who turns into a major obstacle after the death of his son, Andre. Inside baseball note: Cipher is busy building a power base while ignoring the grieving, furious supe dad who is not going to let that fly.
Marie as solution and sword
Cipher’s philosophy is basically: if there are limits or ugly side effects that come with superpowers, build Marie up so high that she can swat those problems away. Linklater explained that Cipher believes he can find a workaround to the downsides of power by molding Marie into something unstoppable. In his head, that unlocks a durable, obedient army.
What that means for the rest of the season
- Cipher takes control of Godolkin after Shetty’s death and immediately courts Marie while isolating Cate.
- He pushes a fiercely pro-supe, anti-human worldview, with Marie as the centerpiece of his plan.
- Homelander remains the top existential threat in Cipher’s mind, but he is sleeping on Polarity.
- Polarity becomes the unexpected roadblock, especially following Andre’s death.
- All of this sets up a showdown between Cipher’s engineered supremacy and Homelander’s established dominance.
Bottom line: Cipher is trying to out-supremacist the supremacist, and he thinks Marie is the cheat code. The messy part is everything he is ignoring to get there.