‘Gen V’: What Is Dr. Cardosa’s Virus & Why Is Marie Perfect Candidate For It?

Ever since Golden Boy committed suicide in the most gruesome way possible and we learned about his brother’s existence, we were aware that something shady was taking place at a faux-medical facility called “The Woods.” It’s clear that the place serves as a “contamination” zone for dangerous supes, and it’s really more like a maximum-security prison. It wasn’t until episode 5 that we got a clearer insight into the purpose of “The Woods” when Dr. Cardosa mentioned that he is close to a breakthrough regarding “The Virus.” So what’s this virus about & what does Marie have to do with it? 

The Woods is secret for a reason

Back in episode 1 of ‘Gen V,’ we learned about a special underground facility underneath Godolkin University. The only reason we learned about it in the first place was because of Golden Boy’s brother, Sam Riordan, who attempted to escape and then contacted his brother through some unknown means. 

At first, the show led us to believe that Sam was held there because he is dangerous due to his mental state, and he most likely is, but now that we’re more than halfway through the series, we know that there’s far more to it than simply Sam losing control over himself. 

Like most other supes committed to The Woods, he was most likely experimented upon due to his unusual properties. He was quite expendable because he was a liability in the first place, and Godolkin University benefited from Sam being “kept away.” An additional bonus was the fact that Cardosa could experiment on him. 

Dr. Cardosa spent most of his career experimenting on Supes

In episode 4, we meet Dr. Cardosa for the first time because Sam, after having one of his psychosis, went straight to his house and attacked him and his family. Apparently, Cardosa did something terrible to him physically and mentally, and Sam took an opportunity to get revenge before Emma stopped him in her giant form.

Now, in episode 5, we see Cardosa on the edge. He is arguing with Dean Indira Shetty, who tries to keep the situation under control. Cardosa wants nothing to do with Sam anymore and says he doesn’t want to “babysit” psychopaths anymore. 

And to be fair, that was my first theory, that the Woods was solely a mental facility where “dangerous” and unstable supes were kept to keep them out of sight and to keep the public away from knowing that Vought, with Compound V, also empowered psychologically unstable individuals and not just benevolent superheroes-to-be. 

But as it turns out, the facility has a much darker role. Cardosa mentioned that he is incredibly close to coming to a breakthrough regarding a virus he is working on that should allow them to control the supes. 

After that, after he’s made several threats, Indira told him that cutting up supes won’t look too good on his LinkedIn profile, which means that he had been doing it for a long time and that plenty of innocent youth had gone through his hands while he was doing god knows what to them.

Why would Indira want to control the supes?

It’s not about Dean Indira. It’s possible that Vought simply wants to have total control over supes to avoid anybody turning against them and creating another Homelander scenario where their public image is compromised, and the company starts losing money. 

You see when Vought was creating supes, they were so concerned with whether they could that they didn’t stop to ask whether they should (I know it’s a cliche, but it’s perfectly applicable to this situation). They also failed to take into account (or simply couldn’t do it) what happens when a supe goes rogue. 

It’s obviously not as hard to get all supes under control. Not all of them are equally dangerous with the exact same physical abilities. But think about Homelander, or Soldier Boy, or Golden Boy, for that matter. 

All three of these individuals can wipe out the entire Vought and, given enough time, the entire world without the possibility of being stopped. 

Vought thought they could keep supes under control by promising them fame, adoration, riches, women, etc., just about anything an average person is looking for. Still, they failed to consider that it eventually gets old, and you start asking questions as Homelander did, and when you figure out that Vought designed your whole life even before you were born, you start to get pissed, like Homelander. 

So, to summarize, Vought needs to control the supes because only a few generations have been raised so far, and they are becoming increasingly out of control and dangerous. It’s really a bad image for a company when their product becomes dangerous. 

Why does Cardosa want Marie to test his virus? 

Cardosa asked for one thing from Indira in exchange for him staying to “babysit” psychopaths, and it was Marie Moreau. As you know, Marie Moreau has unique blood control powers. She can utilize blood for various effects, both to save lives and take them. 

It’s also likely that her blood has special properties that might be useful when it comes to developing the virus. But in short, Cardosa wants Marie because her power can have a devastating influence on contaminating blood and disseminating his newly-created virus. Cardosa was true that Marie has no idea how powerful she is, especially now that we’ve seen that she can manipulate blood inside a human body.

Luckily, Indira tells him that she is off the limits because of the mysterious benefactor that got her into the Godolkin in the first place, which means that Cardosa won’t get his hands on her for some time. 

But things will certainly change now that Marie and the rest of the gang know that the school is targeting them and that they know too much about Sam, The Woods, and other plots. 

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