Gen V Recap: Advanced Influencer Fluency

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This season feels surprisingly similar to *Harry Potter*. It has that back-to-school atmosphere, a fragile sense of calm masking hidden danger, and a lot of mysteries connected to the school’s history. We’ve got students working with supportive teachers to uncover the schemes of malicious ones, and the headmaster is putting the main character in risky, potentially deadly situations. It’s essentially *Harry Potter*, but with a sharper focus on money and power, and a troubling undercurrent of Nazi ideology.

Much of the latest episode focuses on the heroes trying to stay out of trouble after Cate’s attack. This would be difficult enough normally, but Vought News is exploiting the situation, framing it as a “hate crime” for their own political gain – a sadly familiar tactic. The young heroes disagree on how to proceed: Jordan wants to escape, as usual, and Emma shockingly suggests killing Cate if she recovers. Marie doesn’t agree with violence, but she sides with Emma in wanting to follow Starlight’s lead and investigate Project Odessa. Even though she’s back at God U and knows she should lay low – her forced social media posts won’t convince anyone she’s okay – she can’t ignore her urge to do the right thing.

Cipher suspects Harry, Ron, and Hermione were involved in the attack on Cate, but he’s more interested in manipulating them. His conversation with Marie is filled with subtle hostility until he directly confronts her about their past meeting in Elmira, bringing up her guilt over Andre’s death and even showing her Andre’s medical history. This is how Marie and Jordan learn that Andre suffered from the same illness as his father. He knew that trying to escape would likely cause fatal brain damage, essentially making his attempt a form of suicide.

This information gives Cipher a momentary advantage over Marie, but he quickly jeopardizes it by nearly causing her death later. During a training session – held in a repurposed diversity center, mirroring recent changes at universities – he emphasizes that superpowered individuals need to fully understand their abilities to maximize their potential. His goal is to turn these students into soldiers for an upcoming conflict with non-powered people, and the training will include dangerous drills.

The first challenge is simple: hit a button. However, it’s complicated by Vikor, a powerful super-human with a massive hammer, who gets enraged if anyone mentions the poor reviews of *Valhalla 3*. He’s primarily focused on Marie, and initially appears to be trying to kill her when he starts choking her. But it’s possible he’s just trying to push her limits and make her a stronger fighter. Jordan ends the training session by pressing the button, but it feels like this is only the beginning.

Besides the main case, “Justice Never Forgets” also revisits the relationship between Marie and Jordan. While I haven’t always been invested in this couple – it feels like the show hasn’t fully built a convincing connection – I appreciate that they’re moving beyond drama. It was good to see Marie confront Jordan about his reaction to the situation with Andre, and their shared memories of him were touching. London Thor really shines when showing Jordan’s more vulnerable and happy side, and hopefully we’ll see more of that now that he and Marie are back together.

Ultimately, neither Marie nor Jordan is at fault for what happened to Andre. However, Marie struggles to come to terms with her involvement as the episode concludes. She learns the innocent Black Starlighter she met was deliberately targeted to cover up Cate’s actions and was then fatally shot by Dogknott, who claimed self-defense. Almost immediately after, Emma gives Marie a file suggesting she’s a crucial figure in Project Odessa.

Emma’s been working hard to solve the mystery, and now she has a valuable new ally: Polarity. He decided to take a job as a professor and dean of marketing after considering Emma’s perspective. Their connection is surprisingly sweet, as shown in an early scene where she hugs him, relieved to have someone mature to rely on. These moments remind us that these characters are still very young and figuring things out, even after a chaotic first year of college. They’re not quite used to handling everything on their own, and it’s comforting for both them and the audience to have someone experienced and trustworthy on their side.

The archive visit felt a little over-the-top for comedic effect, and Emma’s drug use seemed unnecessary – it just felt like a forced joke. What *was* funny was how easily she befriended Kyle, the archive librarian (who everyone calls ‘the Rememberer’) – he can recall specific details about any event. Kyle holds a grudge against Polarity for something that happened at an audition, so he’s reluctant to grant him access, but Emma quickly wins him over with her charm.

The researchers have a room full of Thomas Godolkin’s belongings, but their investigation stalls until they discover a hidden back room. Inside, they find disturbing items – swastika flags and Ku Klux Klan artifacts – along with the Odessa files they’ve been searching for. The discovery is so thrilling for Emma that she unexpectedly grows to an enormous size, marking a new development in her abilities.

But that wasn’t Emma’s only bold moment in the episode. When Sam questions her about her involvement in the attack on Cate – he discovered she took an Uber to Weehauken that night – she’s brutally honest. She reminds him that Cate is ultimately responsible for Andre’s death. She doesn’t consider herself anyone’s friend, explaining that she manipulates everyone around her. Sam made a mistake siding with her, and he’ll eventually have to face the consequences of his actions. This show doesn’t let anyone escape accountability.

Extra Credit

Emma is taking a class called “Advanced Influencer Fluency” taught by Modesty Monarch (Kira Guloien), a well-known figure who combines traditional homemaking ideals with the world of superpowered individuals. It appears Modesty is using her connection to Emma to promote her opposition to the superhero Starlighter.

Just so you know, there’s a blond guy flirting with Emma in class. I hope he’s nice.

• Nitpick: Marie’s video is prerecorded but shows up as a livestream onscreen. Which is it?

“Do you like this?” she asked tentatively. “Everything you do is perfect,” he replied. It was a really sweet exchange.

• The Deep appears briefly for some pretty standard-issue “secret brotherhood” hazing rituals.

Okay, that scene with Cate was seriously intense! The way she seemingly spoke *through* a nurse, and then actually used her to attack someone – stabbing them in the eye, no less – was shocking. Honestly, the show doesn’t really explain *how* Cate can do all this stuff, but it definitely makes for some really cool and unpredictable moments. It’s wild to see what she’s capable of!

I have to say, Hamish Linklater is really delivering some fantastic performances with his lines. While everything he’s done is good, his deadpan, sarcastic delivery of “Terrible!” is a particular standout – it’s easily become a favorite moment for me so far.

I forgot to introduce Stacey, the head of student affairs. She’s a unique character – imagine someone with bee-like qualities, including a stinger, and a strange habit of occasionally vomiting honey into a jar.

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2025-09-17 17:00