We still don’t know what exactly goes down in The Woods, but we do know Supes are being experimented on to such extreme lengths that it drives them to suicide. Sam is being tormented by his puppet visions, screaming out “You’re not real! You’re all f***ing puppets!” during his confrontation at Dr. Edison Cardosa’s house. During this scene, we view Sam through the POV of Cardosa’s family, as well as Supes Marie, Emma, Andre, Jordan, and Cate. Sam is frequently talking to the puppets, sparking Andre to ask, “What the f*** is his problem?” but Emma holds up a dismissive finger to him, knowing that what’s happening to Sam is beyond his control. He begins fighting the Supes with reckless abandon, almost as if he’s unaware of the carnage he’s bringing.
Well, if the obliteration of episode 5 is any indicator, that’s exactly what’s happening. He’s visited by a vision of puppet Emma, who he dismisses as being “not real.” But then she gestures to a SWAT-like team arriving to take Sam out, and he suddenly views the real situation as nothing but puppets, himself included. What follows is an incredibly violent confrontation, wherein Sam proves to be not only bulletproof, but capable of tearing off limbs, gutting from the inside out, ripping people in half, and popping out brains from a skull like he’s pushing out an allergy pill from the foil. The puppets all explode red glitter instead of blood, only for the perspective to shift and reveal that this bloodbath is real. Sam disassociated and saw puppets, but he dismembered and destroyed a whole squad … including the single father who begged for mercy before having his head torn off.
