Prime VideoThe new season of Gen V has long established its importance to The Boys universe, but its latest episode sets up this franchise’s endgame in a major way. The college-set spinoff is doing much more to accelerate the plot of The Boys than The Boys itself. With the original series headed toward its final season, the downfall of its biggest villain, Homelander (Antony Starr), is imminent. But it may not be Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) or Annie January (Erin Moriarty) leading the charge against him: instead, Gen V is rolling out the red carpet for a very different, much more powerful supe.As Gen V Season 2 progressed, it positioned a handful of characters into the upper echelon. For a moment, it seemed like Cipher (Hamish Linklater), the mysterious new dean of students at Godolkin University, could be the one to defeat Homelander once and for all. His puppetmaster powers are unlike any supe we’ve seen in the Boys-verse — but his reluctant protege, Marie Moreau, has also been coming into her own this season. Under Cipher’s training, Marie has surpassed all expectations and learned to control her blood-manipulating abilities. But it’s not enough to achieve equilibrium: Cipher wants Marie to “ascend.” He wants to position her as the savior of all supe-kind... and he resorts to some dark means to push her to greatness.In Gen V Episode 5, Cipher abducts and murders Marie’s long-lost sister, Annabeth (Keeya King) — but that’s just the motivation she needs to unlock a new aspect of her powers, bringing someone back to life. His methods are devious, but he’s been right about Marie every time. She’s much more powerful than she thinks; in fact, Cipher’s latest trick sneakily confirms her status as the most powerful supe in the world.Spoilers ahead for Gen V Season 2 Episode 7.Cipher is way more than he seems, but so is his protege, Marie. | Prime VideoGen V Episode 7 sees Marie and Cate (Maddie Phillips) return to God U to stop Cipher once and for all. Though they try to leave their friends behind at Stan Edgar’s (Giancarlo Esposito) safehouse, the rest of the team catches up with them anyway. Annabeth, a clairvoyant, has been plagued with visions of Marie covered in blood... and not in a girlboss way. The crew tries to warn her against confronting Cipher directly, but Marie refuses to abandon her plan.Marie and Cate have surmised that the old, burned man under Cipher’s care is actually Thomas Godolkin, the founder of God U and a seemingly helpless prisoner. There’s a slim chance that Godolkin will work with them to take down Cipher if they set him free, and it’s a chance Marie is willing to take. She calls on her powers to heal the burn scars covering his body. Unfortunately, it turns out that Godolkin was actually Cipher all along. It’s Godolkin who has the power to puppeteer other bodies; he’s been possessing the body of “Doug,” a mild-mannered scientist, to trick Marie into doing his bidding and to further his supremacist agenda at God U. Now that his own body has been restored, he’s one step closer to wiping “weaker” supes, the ones with silly or useless powers, off the face of the Earth. The issue of Godolkin will likely be hashed out in Gen V’s upcoming season finale, but the solution to that problem — and, honestly, to every problem in the Boys universe — lies with Marie. Hesitant as she’s been to train under Cipher, he did succeed in unlocking her full potential. Aside from his bodysnatching powers, there’s really nothing that can stop Marie now; if she’s able to shut Godolkin out of her mind completely, she’s definitely capable of taking on someone like Homelander. Marie’s impending showdown with Godolkin is shaping up to be her final test. In his efforts to cut his own strings, Godolkin might have also set up his own downfall — but at least he’s given the resistance its most effective weapon against tyranny.Gen V Season 2 is now streaming on Prime Video.