Gen V: What Is The Woods & Why Is It So Important To The Boys Series?

Contains spoilers for "Gen V" Season 1, Episode 3 — "#ThinkBrink"

"Gen V" might have just introduced the most terrifying location in "The Boys"-verse. The series premiere of the new spin-off series, which begins to explore the quietly malevolent Godolkin University while teasing an even deadlier locale somewhere near the premises, is almost as full of mystery as it is blood. At first, it's difficult to discern even the most basic facts about this area, referred to as "the Woods," since our early glimpses come from eerie visions experienced by Luke Riordan, aka Golden Boy (Patrick Schwarzenegger).

However, as we discover by the end of Episode 3, the Woods is actually a scientific compound wherein Supes are held captive and experimented on against their will. One of these test subjects is Luke's brother, Sam (Asa Germann), who has seemingly unmatched strength and symptoms of schizophrenia. The cruel and inhumane activities that take place within the forested walls of this facility are conducted with the full knowledge and consent of Vought International.

The Woods is clearly positioned as the central problem to be solved within "Gen V," though the mystery of exactly what this problem is still unfolding. Though we can't determine for certain what these scientists hope to accomplish through their tortuous experiments, it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that the end goal is creating more powerful Supes. 

While we don't yet know what a Supe has to do to get sent to the Woods, it seems to be a detainment center for powerful individuals (though whether or not their power alone warrants detention remains to be seen). What's more, Vought has a track record for running experiments on Supes with the aim of creating controllable human weapons — though the "controllable" part rarely pans out the way they hope.

In "The Boys" Season 2, Butcher (Karl Urban) and his team infiltrate the Sage Grove Center, a horrifying supposed "psychiatric facility" where civilians are injected with experimental off-shoots of Compound V. One "patient," Season 2's Cindy (Ess Hödlmoser), who could have ties to Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit), boasts powerful telekinetic abilities. With one look, she is able to cause a person's entire body to explode or send heavy objects flying through the air. She even survives a direct and prolonged electrocution from Aya Cash's Stormfront.

The Woods looks very similar to Sage Grove. It wouldn't be surprising to learn that its inhabitants rival the most privileged students of Godolkin University in terms of raw power — and possibly its morally dubious faculty as well.