The College Spinoff Has Unveiled a Antagonist On Par of The Boys

Amazon’s hit series boasts plenty of TV’s most memorable antagonists. From the actor’s twisted version on a superhero icon named Soldier Boy or the supremacist supe known as Stormfront, these characters became so popular that they are even getting their own origin series. At the same time, Anthony Starr’s portrayal of Homelander remains consistently a highlight of the show. So when Gen V arrived focusing on The Boys’ college-focused spinoff, the big question was: would it be able to introduce a villain on par with the flagship show?

Season 1 Cleverly Avoided the Issue

Godolkin University Dean Shetty (played by the actress) with her mission to eradicate all superpowered individuals—inspired due to a past event caused by the notorious supe—made her seem more like a member of The Boys’ namesake antiheroes rather than a truly depraved antagonist. But for season 2, the series producer the showrunner brought in an actor with a lot of experience portraying unsettling characters: Hamish Linklater, star of the horror miniseries as well as Legion, who plays Shetty’s replacement, Dean Cipher.

“We felt thrilled with his casting. We knew we needed a character who felt different than Dean Shetty,” the showrunner stated. “Our goal was somebody that kept the students on edge and always uncertain. Hamish is so good in this. You get the sense, It’s obvious that he’s villainous. I don’t know what drives him. His agenda what your agenda is. He’s simply eerie.”

Linklater’s Role Fully Embodying the Moniker Cipher

No one understands what Dean Cipher’s powers are and where he comes from. In one especially bizarre scene in the show season 2, he prepares a disgusting-looking protein smoothie as he talks with Godolkin student Cate Dunlap (the actress) before comes close to putting Cate’s hand into the appliance when she tries to employ her mind-reading powers on him.

The dean pitss the young supes against each other, convincing them that their value is tied to their powers, offering incentives for compliance with his schemes, and menacing them with humiliation or confinement if they defy him. He does it all with constant smugness, quickly cutting through every effort to deceive him even as he expertly manipulates the would-be heroes to advance his secret goals.

As Godolkin’s the dean, Cipher Focuses On Pushing the Top Talent

He aims to fully unlock their abilities and release their true capabilities. In the first session of his “Supe Enhancement Class,” he has the class battle Vikor, a brutal hammer-wielding superpowered individual reminiscent of Skurge, a role the original series actor Karl Urban portrayed for the Marvel film. Just as Homelander pushed his child from a height to test whether his abilities would activate, Cipher’s philosophy is that the students will either rise to the challenge or they were never unworthy to begin with.

Similar to Homelander, Cipher Believes Superpowered Beings Are Naturally Above Normal People

He makes it clear about his beliefs when he gives his inaugural address to the Godolkin students in the new season, telling a cheering crowd they can’t trust and “those who betray their kind” like Starlight, now serving as the face of opposition to Homelander’s regime. This exploration of identity politics is a core part of Gen V season 2, and Linklater is optimistic that fans will receive it to heart.

“My wish is it’s received as relevant,” he stated. “The notion that one group are better than others belongs in comic books and the past. It should not be in modern discourse.”

Villainous Monologues Have Become One of Linklater’s Signatures

Ever since he interrogated mutants in the showrunner’s 2017 edgy comic adaptation Legion, these speeches have defined his work. Gen V is no exception. He dominates each appearance he’s in as he lectures students on their shortcomings and dodges their questions about his own background.

“I believe casting directors choose me since they assume that I’m good at memorizing dialogue and I’m really not. It’s a challenge and my profession feels like torture,” he admitted. “Why don’t they assign me the strong, silent type rather than a talkative, elusive character?”

The Actor Got Plenty of Experience Delivering Speeches in his role as a priest for the creator’s 2021 scary limited series Midnight Mass

While he complains about the memorization, the actor would love to work with Flanagan again.

“I collaborated on one project. It’s weird that he made an exception of typically hiring the same people over and over again only for my sake,” Linklater said. “His writing is fantastic. The ensemble cast is outstanding. Why won’t he reach out again?”

Linklater jokes that his recurring type as the villain is due to “the hero parts had been taken,” but he adds he loves the opportunity to be the voice for a series’ message.

“You want to be in shows that utilize storytelling to address important issues,” he says. “In my view Midnight Mass did that by exploring themes like faith and dependency along with various human flaws. [Gen V] is just grabbing current events by the throat and saying ‘This is relevant of this story too, especially for the youth’ and in my opinion that is thrilling.”

The series can be watched on the streaming platform, with new episodes premiering each week through Oct. 25.