Gen V Recap: You Are the Danger

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It feels like *Gen V* is venturing away from Godolkin University more and more lately. I’m still liking season two, but the show seems to be taking its time getting to the main story. The episode “Cooking Lessons” gives us a lot of important information, but we probably won’t find out the full truth about who’s really pulling the strings – or who *is* being controlled – until the last two episodes.

Last week hinted at a possible escape from Elmira prison, but this week it actually happens. Annabeth guides the group to the ideal spot – the wall Sam is about to break through. And just after discovering she can seemingly come back to life, Marie learns her sister also has superpowers. Annabeth explains, while hiding in an abandoned library, that she can sometimes see the future through visions and gut feelings.

The scene highlighting Marie’s resurrection is crucial, as it reveals a lot about Cipher’s plans. It’s now clear he’s been focused on maximizing her abilities from the start. It seems odd, though, that he let the team escape if he knew they were trying to free someone from prison. His reaction to their escape felt real – he lost control and violently attacked his own father, who has no powers. This was a more fragile and less composed side of Cipher than we’re used to seeing. He’s still incredibly powerful, easily taking over Polarity’s mind to find out where the group is. However, he appeared less confident, and Polarity eventually broke free from his control, even managing to knock Cipher out a window. It seems Cipher is starting to lose his grip.

Cipher tasks Vikor with capturing the young heroes, and he puts them through a tough time, though thankfully no one is seriously injured. It’s becoming clear that as Marie’s powers grow, it’s harder for the show to create balanced fights. This particular fight is well-choreographed, but it’s obvious she could easily defeat her opponent much more quickly and decisively if she weren’t holding back.

This time, it was former Vought CEO Stan Edgar and his granddaughter Zoe who unexpectedly saved the day. Zoe used her unique, tentacled abilities to quickly defeat Vikor. It felt a little out of the blue, similar to Starlight showing up in the Marie-Dogknott fight – a crossover moment between *The Boys* universes. While it’s smart to utilize the shared world, I generally prefer seeing characters resolve problems on their own, or with help from people they already know, like their friends and teachers.

Edgar leads the group to his underground bunker, and that’s where the rest of the episode unfolds. It gives Marie and Annabeth some much-needed time to talk and try to rebuild their relationship. Though their connection is strained throughout the episode – understandably so – it’s a bit frustrating to watch Annabeth immediately blame Marie for all her problems. While it’s clear their adoptive mother, Pam, filled Annabeth’s head with the idea that Marie was responsible for their parents’ death, it’s hard to understand why Annabeth isn’t at least a little happy to see her sister.

Annabeth slowly begins to warm up to Marie, first after Marie helps her calm down during a panic attack, and then during a conversation with Zoe about their shared wish to have saved their parents. While sharing a childhood memory with Zoe – about Marie generously splitting her Halloween candy when Annabeth was too shy to go trick-or-treating – Annabeth starts to recall the kindness and protectiveness Marie once showed her.

Being away from campus allows Emma and Sam to rebuild their connection. Sam apologizes to Emma at the bunker and tells her he wants to try dating again. While Emma isn’t ready to get back together, she seems to be thinking about it.

I’m conflicted about this pairing. While there’s definitely a connection between Emma and her ex, he was deeply involved in the terrible events of the last season and spent a long time working for Vought, even appearing in season four of *The Boys*. I think the only way he can truly make amends is through a heroic sacrifice. Meanwhile, Greg is a genuinely good person who’s always stood against Vought and has always treated Emma well. He deserves a chance at happiness with her.

Let’s explore Edgar’s involvement. He’s motivated by a straightforward goal: he wants to ensure Marie’s safety in exchange for her allegiance when he regains control of Vought. He also reveals some key information, starting with the fact that Cipher was the one who successfully completed Thomas Godolkin’s quest to create exceptionally powerful supes through Project Odessa – though only Homelander and Marie survived the process. Cipher achieved this by carefully rebuilding all of Godolkin’s research after he was believed to have died in a fire.

The biggest reveal is that Cipher’s supposed father is actually Godolkin in disguise. This raises the question of whether Cipher is even a separate person from Godolkin, but we’ll leave that for later. If it’s true, the heroes (along with Edgar) might be able to use this connection to defeat Cipher, and potentially even Homelander, who is the real villain of the story. Godolkin, after all, is the most knowledgeable person when it comes to controlling powerful superpowered individuals. Edgar shares old research with Marie, subtly reminding her that she now has the power to achieve her goals – and his, too.

Marie falls for the trap, leaving her sister – who she’s starting to rebuild a relationship with – and venturing out at night. She understands what needs to be done better than anyone else this season, and we now have even more insight thanks to the unsettling scene of Cipher forcing Polarity to harm himself. As Edgar explained, Cipher is a dangerous extremist who believes in the superiority of powered individuals, and he plans to drastically reduce the number of students at God U – by 75 percent, in fact. If the university hopes to avoid a catastrophe far greater than the Godolkin incident, Marie may be their only hope, even if she doesn’t want the responsibility.

Extra Credit

Marie and Jordan are still doing well together, although Jordan is a little uneasy about Marie’s beliefs regarding resurrection.

Cipher cruelly mocks Polarity’s increasingly severe seizures and hints that Marie might be able to heal him. This raises the question: is Cipher suggesting he might stay around, or is the show deliberately misleading viewers?

I also enjoyed the storyline where Marie repairs Cate’s abilities, but I didn’t care for the drawn-out cover of “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” at the end.

Emma is still practicing trying to change her size whenever she wants, but she hasn’t managed to do it yet. I think she’ll figure it out before the season ends.

I’m a little confused about how Edgar figured out where Marie was. He tracked Vikor using the chip, but how did he know Cipher was the one who sent Vikor after them? Edgar doesn’t work at Vought, and he was recently released from prison – he was even supposed to return before the driver Victoria Neuman had killed. So, what information does he actually have?

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2025-10-08 22:55