Gen V Review: Season 1, Episode 2 – First Day

Gen Season 1 Episode 2 –
AKA – Everybody Hurts
“First Day”

In episode 1 we met our main cast of characters – Marie Moreau, her roommate Emma, Big Man on Campus Luke Riordan (Golden Boy), and Luke’s friends Andre, Jordan, and Cate. The episode ended with Luke inexplicably killing his mentor, Dr. Brink in a fiery embrace. After an extended fight with Jordan, Luke bids Andre a tearful goodbye with a hug and a whisper, then takes off into the air, where he explodes, raining down blood and viscera over everyoneunderneath him.

Recap

Episode 2 starts off just after the events of episode 1. Workers in hazmat suits clean the sidewalk area where Golden Boy exploded, spraying water and scooping up chunks while a haunting version of “Nothing Else Matters” plays over the scene. Jordan, Andre and Marie sit in different areas, each of them shell-shocked. A crowd gathers around the scene, and everyone has their cell phone out, recording. Marie pulls a drop of blood to herself. It hovers in front of her. She glances over to Andre, who is watching her. She sends it away. Tears are streaming down her face. There is no sound besides the music, but Cate comes through the crowd. Someone tries to hold her back, but she bursts through. She runs up while a worker shovels bits of gunk into a plastic bucket. She sinks to her knees. Andre approaches her. Music – “Nothing else matters.”

The somber scene gives way to a phone call between Ashley Barrett and Dean Shetty. Ashley is upset about Golden Boy merchandise that now can’t be sold. Shetty, Ashley, and Polarity discuss how Vought will spin this. Polarity is pushing Andre’s name forward. Shetty mentions Marie. Ashley’s assistant brings up Jordan, the one who actually fought Luke. Ashley dismisses this idea. “We lead with Andre and this Marie chick. Score some points with the NAACP, figure out the rest later.” (It’s so cold-blooded how someone just died and they are talking “spin.”)

Ashley finishes with a private word with Dean Shetty. She asks about “the Woods.”

Ashley: This is already a PR disaster. If the Woods is exposed, we all have a big, potentially fatal, problem.
Shetty: Vought hired me because I’m a problem solver. When 400 kids learned they weren’t gifts from God but their parents drugged them with CompoundV as infants, I barely had any suicides, did I?” (BARELY???)
Ashley: “Well, you had one tonight.”

When Marie finally goes back to her dorm room, Emma is there, ready to be supportive (with lots of drugs). Emma is open with herself, very giving, which also means she is easily hurt. Marie rejects Emma’s offer. “It’s the first day tomorrow. I’m gonna get some sleep.” Tears glisten in Emma’s eyes. (She had a hard night, too – remember Liam the jerk?)

The next morning, Marie walks across the campus to find out that she is famous. People walkup to her to take selfies with her. One guy shows her that she is now ranked number 8 at Godolkin. “The first freshman ever to be ranked in the top 10, yo.” Other reaction scenes show Andre is ranked number 1, and Jordan is ranked number 5. Jordan throws the phone down.

Jordan goes to visit the memorial for Brink. She pulls out a picture of her and Brink smiling together and kneels. Cate tries to talk to her, but Jordan walks away.

Marie’s life is still changing because of her new fame. A campus “social media director” gives her a phone and informs her that she will be receiving a ton of Vought swag. She’s also headed for a photo shoot. Marie asks why this is happening. “For fighting Golden Boy,” he answers. Marie: “Oh. No. Uh, I . . .But except I didn’t.”

Andre is already at the photo shoot. His father, Polarity, is quite proud of him. Andre tries to ask his father if Luke gave him anything. His father doesn’t understand the question. He assumes that Andre is feeling guilty because of his new position at number 1. Marie and Andre take some pictures together, then Marie has solo pictures. Marie also learns that there will be an interview. Afterwards, Marie and Andre walk outside. Andre probes Marie about anything Luke might have said, possibly about his dad. Marie just remembers Luke saying, “the Woods.” Andre: ‘Cause Luke, uh, whispered something to me before he died. He said, uh, ‘Your dad has it.’ Marie doesn’t know what that would mean, and Andre is trying to think aloud. Marie is ready to
leave. “Well, good luck with that.” Andre is angry that she’s not helping.

Marie : Look (huffs) I went out with you guys one night. I . . .don’t know you. Or Luke. Who tried to kill me, remember?”

She also tells Andre about Brink’s plan to expel her for the escapade at the club.

Marie: “I’m sorry your friend is dead. (inhales) And I’m sorry Brink is dead. But . . . leave me out of it.” (while she talks to Andre, she keeps glancing back and forth, not holding eye contact for long.

Emma is in acting class – with Adam Bourke, the director we have seen on The Boys. Someone whispers that he is teaching at Godolkin as a punishment for an indiscretion. Bourke instructs the students to pair up and prepare a scene. Emma goes up to Liam, who walks away from her. Another girl, Justine, calls Liam out and asks Emma if she wants to be partners. Emma smiles.

Marie has now been invited to the Intro to Crimefighting class, which has been taken over by Dean Shetty. Shetty welcomes her to class, but Jordan gives her side-eye. After class, Jordan confronts Marie outside. “You didn’t do sh*&. You ran. I fought Luke to protect you and you’re just taking all the credit?” Marie doesn’t take it lying down, though, she has her own points to make. “Look, I get that this sucks for you, but, Jesus Christ, you rejected me from this school. Remember? And then, I almost got expelled covering for your coked-up ass. I don’t owe you, or anyone, anything.”

Personally, I am proud of Marie for standing up for herself here. It’s more than I would have done.

Jordan makes one more plea to Marie. Brink didn’t care about the gender-switching, as long as they were the best. They ask Marie to tell the truth about who fought Luke. Marie protests that she’s already received a script. “They’ll be pissed if I go off it.” Jordan points out that she will be live on camera, and the powers that be will have to run with whatever happens at that point. Marie gives a slight nod and walks away.

Andre runs into Cate. They talk about Luke and decide to try to figure out what happened. They go to Luke’s room, to find that it has been stripped clean. They go for a walk outside. Andre notices a melted security camera. He looks at the statues in the plaza. “Your dad has it” he murmurs. He goes over to his father’s statue. Andre uses his power to open a hole in the statue, right in the crotch. He pulls out a phone. On the phone, they play a video of Luke. “If you’re watching this, I guess things got f^%$ked. Okay, I know this sounds crazy, but they have my brother. He’s not dead. He’s underneath the school. They call it the Woods.”

Cate and Andre’s conversation provides some more information. Luke’s brother Sam had schizophrenia, and had supposedly killed himself in Sage Grove. Cate questions, “Why wouldn’t he tell us?” Andre is not sure, but he looks at his watch and remembers that he has an interview. Cate tells him to go ahead and go to the interview. She says that she needs to rest. In her dorm room, Emma and her scene partner Justine are sharing a bong and talking about scenes. Emma has been suggesting ones from Termite movies, because they would include someone tiny and someone regular sized. Justine says that she didn’t pick Emma because she gets small, she picked her because she’s great. Emma gives an embarrassed smile. As they talk, Emma admits to Justine that she purges to get small. “I kind of hate myself for it.” Justine proclaims that Emma won’t be getting small. She asks Emma who she wants to play. Emma gives a slow smile, “Queen Maeve.”

This segues into Marie going past a bust of Maeve and knocking on a door. She’s visiting Dean Shetty. Shetty offers some observations about what she thinks about Marie. “I think you’re scared you might hurt somebody again, and so you . . .You clamp up and you push everyone away. You go back to looking out for yourself. How am I doing? Am I warm?” Marie tells her that she is ice-cold. “I’m not here to do keg stands or get high or get in touch with my feelings about my past. I’m here to be a hero.” Shetty continues to press her, and Marie admits that she wants to be a hero for her sister. Annabeth got adopted and Marie does not know where she is. She hopes that with enough money, she can find Annabeth. “Uh, she’ll see that I’m . . .(breathes out) We could be . . .a family, again.” Their conversation closes with Shetty telling Marie that she won’t force her, but she hopes that Marie will come back.

We next see Shetty coming out of an elevator. She walks into a room. The walls are covered with pictures of a forest. Someone is panting. A man in a lab coat is upset. Shetty goes over to the gurney, where someone is strapped down. She puts her hand on his head. Sam. Every time you try to leave, you hurt yourself.” Sam starts crying. “Shhh. Easy.” The man in the lab coat has picked up a mallet. He puts a needle in Sam’s back. The mallett comes down. Sam screams.

A new scene shows Emma walking to the Performing Arts building. As she walks, people are looking at her. Some boys pantomime retching. She walks over to a group and asks to see someone’s phone. Justine has posted a video telling about how Emma has to throw up to gettiny. Emma puts the phone on the table and backs away. While it had seemed that Justine was encouraging Emma, she was just using their conversation to get “dirt” on Emma to use for building herself up. Emma marches into Justine’s room, where Justine is pushing yet another girl to make a suggestive video. Emma confronts Justine, “Why would you do that?” Justine acts innocent, “I just thought you had an experience that could help other girls.” Emma retorts, “Yeah, and get a s$%^t ton of new followers, huh?”

Marie is in a makeup chair getting ready for the interview. She’s practicing her part. Then she “Actually, Hailey, someone else was there too, Jordan Li.” She’s going to try to help practices, out Jordan.

Polarity is also backstage, visibly tense. He’s waiting for Andre, calling him over and over. Andre is walking past Brink’s memorial. He looks down at a crack in the sidewalk and sees a gooey bit of bloody flesh that wasn’t cleaned up. He looks at the TV trucks outside the building and takes a deep breath. He turns around to go into the school of crimefighting, heading over to Brink’s office. He breaks in and starts up Brink’s computer. His power enables him to circumvent the password protection, and he starts looking at some files. One is labeled ‘Sam Riordan.’ Andre clicks on the file and sees Sam in a cell in the Woods. There is a note on the screen – ‘Patient is currently in unstable condition and under 24 hour surveillance. Awaiting requested scans.’ He remembers the boy he had seen earlier, running. “That’s his brother?” Andre snaps a picture of the screen with his phone. Men in black outfits come in to search the office. Andre hides under the desk. At the same time, Polarity is reassuring the TV producers that his son is on the way. Polarity calls his son again. Under the desk, Andre frantically tries to turn off his phone. The security guys take Brink’s computer and hard drive. After a moment, Andre follows them.

Marie is still practicing telling the version of the fight with Luke that includes Jordan. A blond lady comes over to her and introduces herself as Hailey Miller, the interviewer. Hailey mentions the teleprompter, and says, “Don’t worry. There’s not gonna be any ‘gotchas.’ We won’t mention your sister. ” Marie is flummoxed. Hailey goes on to say that the show invited her to comment, but they only have an email. Marie asks for the email. Hailey seems to be reluctant, “She said she didn’t want anything to do with you. I’m sorry. ” Marie zones out. The voices around her turn to buzzing. The interview has started. Marie is staring at the words on the teleprompter. Shetty is behind the cameras, observing. Marie finally regains her ability to speak. She says, “I knew I had to stop Golden Boy, before he killed more innocent people. It was down to me.” Hailey asks, “Where did you find that kind of courage?” Marie, “I’m superhuman, right? We’re made of steel.” (which is a callback to her earlier conversation with Shetty) Jordan is watching the interview with tears in her eyes. Shetty gives a small chuckle. Polarity is seething.

After the interview, Marie goes back to her dorm. She walks in saying, “Emma?” She sends some texts. “Can we talk? With vodka? I think I fu** up.” But she’s not there. Emma is in the bathroom, throwing up. Marie takes out her knife. Blood runs down her palm while tears run down her face. Next, Marie is knocking on Dean Shetty’s door. Marie asks, “Did you know? About my sister?” “Of course not,” Shetty says, and pulls Marie into a hug. Marie is reluctant, but she eventually brings her arms up too. The music, however, is jarring, and Shetty looks calculating.

Andre is still following the security guys. They are marching down some stairs. A man in a jumpsuit (possibly a janitor?) questions them. One of the security men slit his throat. Andre falls back in horror. Andre starts toward the body. More boots are coming down behind him. Flashlights shine in his face. Andre uses his power to push a gun away from aiming at him, but one of the men takes out a device which starts to make a noise. Andre staggers. The noise causes pain to Supes. One of the security personnel is a female. She tells her partner to turn it off. He finally complies, and the female officer tells him they will be doing obscene things with his flashlight. The man is puzzled, and then Cate appears over his shoulder, grabbing his neck. “Do it, you know you want to,” she says. The two security personnel start going at each other. Cate comes down the stairs to check on Andre, but she’s not okay. Her eye is red, then she collapses to the floor, convulsing. The music playing over the scene is “Venus.”

Reaction

Things are moving along, story-wise. Woods, and whatever is going on is not good. Shetty is deeply involved in whatever is going on in the Jordan’s gender-swapping makes it hard to include pronouns. I’m not going to comment every time there is a switch.

There’s a parallel with the way that Justine manipulated Emma and Shetty manipulated Marie. I don’t believe for one second that Shetty didn’t know about Annabeth. The scene where Marie goes back to the dorm after the interview, full of regret, was affecting. Marie looks at a photo of her family, then sinks down to the floor. And when she cuts her hand, crying at the same time, I was struck with the parallel of the tears falling along with the blood.

At the same time, Emma is in the bathroom purging. Even though Emma had stood up to Justine, she still feels small, so she makes herself small. I guess it’s a little bit of an anvil there, but I feel sorry for Emma. She needs a true friend.

Luke’s brother’s name is Sam. Another tug on my Supernatural heartstrings. Cate has an impressive (?) repertoire of sexual punishments to inflict. Also in this episode, we see Alexander Calvert again, and Cate retaliates against his character by instructing him to go out and buy a baseball bat, then hit himself in the nuts with it every hour. He’s in the background in one scene, yelling “Jumanji!”

Speaking of Cate – I get that she had controlled the female security officer, but how did she manage to impart that very specific scenario into her brain? It would have required some time. And there was a break in between the time the guards approached Andre and Cate grabbed the second one.

I have another question/comment about Cate, but it would be very spoilery. I hope that I remember it later.

I like the character development with Marie and Emma, and even Jordan. Not so fond of Cate. Still want to see what will happen with the Woods.

There was a psychological experiment that was run on a college campus in the past. It was like a jail scenario, with some students being guards and some prisoners. Castle had an episode referencing that study.