Gen V is back for Season 2, and the Guardians of Godolkin are forcefully returning for their sophomore year at Godolkin University after being imprisoned and experimented on at Elmira—a situation they are pulled out of for mysterious reasons. When they return to school, they also find Hamish Linklater's Cipher there as its new Dean, a supe who they saw plenty of while locked up.
The cast of The Boys spinoff show sat down with The Direct to discuss Season 2, how their characters have evolved, the chances of redemption, and so much more.
Jaz Sinclair, who plays Marie Moreau, explained why her character hates the idea of being The Chosen One, a title that is assigned to her many times this season. The actress explained that "the more that people are telling [Marie she's] different... it makes her feel othered, and that kind of freaks her out."
On redemption, Maddie Phillips, who plays the mind-controlled (and reading) Cate, noted that both Cate and Sam "both know what it's like to be imprisoned," and that when they betrayed their friends in Season 1, "they both were feeling the betrayal of not being cared for or loved by the people who were supposed to look after them." She added that the two "they don't really know the world in the way that a lot of people do."
Hamish Linklater teased his new villain, Dean Cipher, explaining that while "superheroes are the new Übermensch" in Homelander's America, "for Cipher, that's not good enough," and he "wants the superior of the superior to ascene."
The entire list of cast that The Direct's Russ Milheim spoke with include Jaz Sinclair (Marie Moreau), Derek Luh (Jordan Li), London Thor (Jordan Li), Lizze Broadway (Emma Meyer), Asa Germann (Sam Riordan), Maddie Phillips (Cate Dunlap), Hamish Linklater (Cipher), and Sean Patrick Thomas (Polarity).
The full conversation with everyone can be read below.
Jaz Sinclair on Marie Moreau's Hatred of Being the Chosen One
"The More People Are Telling Her You're Different... It Makes Her Feel Othered..."
- The Direct: "Marie is kind of positioned in this season as the chosen one, a notion that she despises. Can you talk about why she hates that idea and how her being in that position kind of changes her character as the season progresses?"
Jaz Sinclair: Marie has spent so much time alone and has had such an othered experience growing up in Red River and everything, and I think coming to Godolkin and falling in love with Jordan and becoming friends with Emma, it makes her feel like a normal person and a normal kid for the first time ever, and that's really important to her. So the more that people are telling her you're different, you're different, you're different, it makes her feel othered, and that kind of freaks her out.
Season 2 of Gen V dives deeper into the toxic mindsets that some characters have about using their powers, such as Marie Moreau thinking that it's absolutely okay to be casually cutting herself to use her blood abilities.
Sinclair admitted that she's a big fan of how these new episodes explore that even more so than Season 1 did:
Jaz Sinclair: And I thought the way that they did that was really cool, because, you know, like the scene in Season 1 with Marie and Emma, where I'm like, I don't have a problem, you have a problem. Right?
So there's an element of real self-denial in all of our fucked up bits in Season 1, to the point where you could watch the whole Season 1 and think, Well, maybe it's not an eating disorder or whatever. And I think that having us all be a little bit more honest about those things about us that are hurting beyond our superpower was a really cool thing that we did in Season 2.
Another big part of Marie's character is her romance with Jordan Li (played by both Derek Luh and London Thor). When it comes to how Season 2 evolves that entire situation, Jaz Sinclair revealed that "[they're] building a whole relationship:"
Sinclair: I think we kind of explore all the aspects. I mean, there's a lot of it. We're in a really, we're fully like—we're building a whole relationship.
While Marie and Jordan Li might be growing closer, they are also pitted against each other in a dangerous fight in the ring for Season 2, a scene that Sinclair reveals "was like the coolest thing ever:"
Sinclair: It was like the coolest thing ever. That's one of the things from Season 2 that really pokes out in my brain. It was just so gratifying. The whole thing felt so big in scale. There were so many people in the room, and everybody was yelling, and the circumstances and the story were so high, like we're there against our will, and we love each other.
And then London [Thor] and Derek [Luh] are both so great, and both brought so much to it... like all of that was just such a joy for me.
Derek Luh and London Thor on Keeping Jordan Li Consistent and Unique
"I Think Not Overcomplicating It Is the Key..."
- The Direct: "London and Derek... I was wondering between the two of you, how do you balance keeping everything consistent while also making sure to add your own unique quirks when Jordan is in your respective genders?"
London Thor: I think not overcomplicating it is the key to it. We are very lucky that we have a similar mentality and also are just good friends. So it was easy to [see] that part's already there, and then I think just not trying hard to change who we are is what makes the character so interesting.
Because people have different sides of themselves, and you want to see those different facets. And if we just decided to be exactly the same, it wouldn't be as interesting.
Derek Luh: Yeah, and then I just think I'm a different person. London's a different person. So naturally, whatever we bring to the scene, to the character, to the circumstances, is going to be slightly different. And that's what adds that, like nuance and dynamic to Jordan.
When the topic of toxic mentalities on Gen V came up, specifically in relation to the characters using their power sets, Derek Luh noted that for Jordan Li, the switching of genders often comes from "a place of insecurity," particularly regarding the specific moment they choose to do so:
Derek Luh: I was kind of thinking, is there like an actual, you know, physical harm, or something, and I think it's more of a place of insecurity, and choosing when to switch, yeah, as a crutch, like I feel more comfortable in in this form, in this certain situation around these people, because this gives me this sort of comfort. Or I feel more comfortable in my male form because I feel like there's a threat somewhere, so I need to be physically imposing.
But I think this season there's like a nice cross of that. There's a beautiful scene with Jaz and London, where she, female Jordan, asks, like, 'Me, like this?' You know, and that's a vulnerable moment where, in the first season, that was male, we switched to male Jordan for that, yeah.
The two also teased the evolution of Jordan Li's relationship with Marie Moreau, with Luh describing it as "a full cycle of the relationship: and London Thor pointing to there being more "commitment" this time around:
Derek Luh: Yeah, there's a full cycle of the relationship.
London Thor: There's the dynamics—They're much more, It's much less, like the flirty love, and more the commitment and like, partnering with someone which is exciting and scary, especially with young love, it's all very interesting. It's always clumsy, kind of.
The Direct's full conversation with Jaz Sinclair, Derek Luh, and London Thor can be seen here:
Gen V Star Lizze Broadway on How Emma Manages to Keep It Together
"We Meet [Emma] In a Very Different Place."
- The Direct: "Emma is both heavily driven, but also, you know, trying to keep it together at every moment throughout the season, as she's trying to find purposes to stay afloat. Can you talk about balancing those things through your performance throughout the season?"
Lizze Broadway: It was really interesting this season, because Emma, we meet [her] in a very different place. She's not the like, happy-go-lucky girl we meet, and she has a lot of grief, a lot of anger. So I kind of wanted to play this idea that she slowly, her sparkle slowly starts to come back throughout the season, and her softness is her strength. So playing it, I was like, every time she has a win that she becomes a little bit more old Emma.
So, even in Episode 3, her wardrobe even changes, like she goes back to her like little bit more curls and like more of vibrant clothing, rather than, like the punk rock so, yeah, integration is messy, and I kind of wanted to play with this idea that she is mature, but also still has this lovable energy that we that she has underneath all the grief.
Broadway further talked about the complexities of this season, and how Andre was "the first person to ever believe in [Emma]," while teasing how this season "really dive[s] deep into each of the characters' psyche:"
Lizze Broadway: I mean, at least for Emma, Andre really was the first person to ever believe in her, right? So with Andre's passing, she wants to prove that to herself and to show that he was right. And I think all that pressure and trying to be a hero and also dealing with an [Eating Disorder] and all these things, it's just like—it's a really complex season.
And for all the characters, I don't want to spoil too much, but like, I think this season, you really dive deep into each of the characters' psyche, but [it] also incorporates an amazing mystery...
Asa Germann and Maddie Phillips on Sam and Cate's Redemption In Gen V Season 2
"Our Characters Both Know What It's Like to Be Imprisoned In A Way..."
- The Direct: "Cate and Sam are in need of some heavy redemption after everything that went down in Season 1. Can you tease how Season Two might offer that, and also just why you guys think both of your characters deserve that?'
Asa Germann: Going off of what Lizzie said, where you meet these characters this time around is at such a different point in their journey, as you're skipping through time to find them really in the middle of having dealt with the decisions that they made.
So you know, as you watch their journeys unfold, I think that you see them have to confront what they've done and how that's impacted the people that they care about.
Maddie Phillips: But I think this is what we have to do as actors. We have to sort of not judge our characters and be able to justify why they do the things that they do. And I think it's really interesting that our characters both know what it's like to be imprisoned in a way.
And, Sam was in the woods, and Kate was locked in a room, not able to socialize, meet people, and be a person. And they both were feeling the betrayal of not being cared for or loved by the people who were supposed to look after them. And I think that it plays a huge role in the decisions that they make.
They don't really know the world in the way that a lot of people do. And they want to be accepted, and people do whatever they can to be accepted. As human beings, we are supposed to be in our little like, you know, tribes and stuff. That's like how it all began, and it's really hard to be isolated. And people do whatever they can do to be accepted. And that often results in decisions that are not the best.
- The Direct: "This season really dives into some of the messed-up mindsets and patterns that your characters kind of get into when they use other various power sets. For each of you, can you just talk about how that relates to your character in season two, and just getting to dive deeper into that with this sophomore season
Asa Germann: I think one thing that's really in line with what this season is kind of really all about, which is meeting these characters a little further along in their journey is, is that I think we each have a lot more autonomy over what it is that we're we're doing, and over our powers, in a way, and how that kind of is mirrored, and the message of the story is so I think there's a lot more.
There's a lot more intentionality behind what it means. For Sam to have a manic puppet episode, or for Emma to grow or shrink, or for Kate to use her powers to make people do what she wants. There feels to be a lot more reverence behind those things, which is interesting, because the show really is just about it's about growth. And that's interesting to watch.
Maddie Phillips: It really is about growth. I feel like I had a little bit of a different experience with this. My powers get a little affected in this, in this season, and having to adjust to a huge physical change and internal change was something new for me as an actor and for Cate as a character.
And yeah, that was really interesting to get to experience and how that affects just truly everything, and the way she thinks about herself and the way she carries herself in the world.
The Direct's entire conversation with Gen V stars Maddie Phillips, Asa Germann, and Lizze Broadway.
Gen V Star Hamish Linklater on Bringing His New Season 2 Villain Cipher to Life
"Superheroes Are the New Uber Mensch
- The Direct: "Hamish... You absolutely knocked it out of the park with your villain performance as Cipher. Cipher has some grand ideas for the future of Godolkin and the superhero community as a whole. Can you tease how he plans on utilizing Homelander's new status quo from The Boys to change the Supe landscape as it were, and why he feels it's necessary?"
Hamish Linklater: Well, coming into Season 2, yeah, the superheroes are the new Übermensch. I mean, they are the superior race, and they've said that. But for Cipher, that's not good enough. He wants the superior of the superior to ascend, and sees that as the only way, really, to guarantee security against humans.
- The Direct: "Polarity and Cipher do not get along. They are not friends, to say the least, but oftentimes that feud goes unsaid and exists behind metaphorical masks that you guys wear during your conversations. How fun was it to have that back and forth throughout the season?
Hamish Linklater: It's nice where every line basically [has] the subtext [of], I call BS. I call BS.
When asked about how Cipher is a mentor in his own way in the story of Gen V Season 2, Linklater brought up how he, as an actor, was being mentored at the same time by the returning Season 1 cast:
Hamish Linklater: I mean, it was interesting, because while I was playing a mentor, I was sort of being—I was more of a mentee, like I was being mentored through the show by the cast from the first season. They're sort of like showing these are the parameters. This is how you make this good. So it was really—that was a fun give and take.
Sean Patrick Thomas on Creating New Dynamics With Polarity
"Polarity Has Been Kind of Stuck In the Muck of Grief or Greed..."
- The Direct: "Sean, one of the most interesting aspects of the season for Polarity was, I thought your dynamic with Emma was really unique, and just [how] that invites audiences to see a whole new side of your character. Can you talk about bringing that to life and working with Lizzie to develop that dynamic?"
Sean Patrick Thomas: Working with Lizze was fantastic. I mean, she has such a sense of humor that, like, you can't help but kind of get sucked into her energy, which is exactly what Polarity needs. Polarity has been kind of stuck in the muck of grief or greed or whatever it is, for so long that she's really a breath of fresh air. And she was actually a breath of fresh air for me, Sean.
On the rocky relationship between Polarity and Hamish Linklater's Cipher, which includes mostly conversations veiled in false niceness, Sean Patrick Thomas called the experience "incredibly enjoyable:"
Sean Patrick Thomas: It was incredibly enjoyable, because when you have all this stuff going on under the surface, but you're not really saying it like that's the most fun stuff to play. And so obviously that can go anywhere.
The actor went on to call Polarity "an unwilling mentor" in Season 2, explaining that the role is something "that's thrust upon him:"
Sean Patrick Thomas: I would think of Polarity as an unwilling mentor, if anything, at least at first. That's not something that he's signing up for. It's something that's thrust upon him, and it's interesting to see what happens out of that.
The full conversation between Gen V stars Hamish Linklater and Sean Patrick Thomas and The Direct can be watched here:
Sadly, original Gen V star Chance Perdomo tragically passed away last year in an accident. However, fans can see his last onscreen performance in Bad Man, which was just released.
