After That Explosive Finale, Marie and Cate Are the Future of Gen V

Gen V, The Boys’ college-set spinoff series, just solidified itself as not only an important arm of this universe, but as a series that could even eclipse its predecessor in terms of quality. The finale, Episode 8 titled “Guardians of Godolkin,” allowed the simmering storylines and dramatics to finally boil over, resulting in a bloody, gory, and emotional end-cap to a glorious first season. But in all the fighting, in all the guts and viscera, one dynamic stands out as what should be the center of the series for the rest of its run: Marie (Jaz Sinclair) and Cate (Maddie Phillips). 

From Episode 3, it became clear that Marie and Cate have very similar backstories, each falling victim to their own powers that led to each of them tearing their families apart. For Marie, she accidentally killed her own parents after her blood-bending powers were awakened during her first period; for Cate, she accidentally sent her little brother away, unaware that she possessed a compelling power that would result in him never being found. In that way, Marie and Cate are each other’s mirrors, understanding the struggles they share between them on a molecular level. When Cate tells Marie that it wasn’t her fault for killing her parents during their heart-to-heart in Episode 3, it’s clear that Cate was saying that to convince herself as well. The two of them carry a guilt that not many people share even on their supe-filled campus, and the tentative connection that blossomed between them was satisfying to watch in the moment, offering some hope that these two deeply traumatized individuals could better themselves together. 

However, as the season progresses, Gen V establishes that, despite their similarities, Marie and Cate were never truly on the same path. In Episode 6, we get our first real glimpse at Cate’s tragic past, discovering that her parents locked her away in her room for nine years before Dean Shetty (Shelley Conn) freed her from their prison. Desperate for the love and admiration of a mother figure after hers became disgusted by her very presence, Cate turned to Shetty for guidance and love, ultimately doing her bidding by manipulating Luke (Patrick Schwarzenegger) and Sam (Asa Germann), and eventually Jordan (Derek Luh / London Thor), Emma (Lizze Broadway), Andre (Chance Perdomo), and Marie. Despite also being under Shetty’s thumb at the beginning of the season, Marie refuses to compromise her morals, ultimately breaking away from any kind of outside influence to do what she believes is right at every turn. Both Cate and Marie have seen the worst of human pain and suffering, both at their own hands and at the hands of others, but while Cate takes that pain and turns it into anger at the world and those that have wronged her, Marie takes that pain and turns it into motivation to end all suffering, no matter the side. 

The fracturing of Cate and Marie’s dynamic is emblematic of different trauma responses, and establishes what separates heroes from antiheroes and ultimately villains. In the finale, as Cate and her friends are standing over Shetty’s dead body, Cate reassures Marie that she did all of this for her. She did this for Marie, for her friends, for all supes everywhere—”I’m being a hero,” she insists. And in the moment, Marie understands her. She is reluctant when Jordan wants to call campus security, and ultimately shows a kind of hesitancy when it comes to Cate that reveals her true thoughts on the matter—she believes in Cate’s mission, just not her methods. But as the episode continues, the bloodshed drives a further wedge between Marie and Cate’s diverging sides. 

Cate watches as the supes she freed from The Woods rip the campus to shreds, not caring whether or not the humans they destroy were aware or complicit in their torture and abuse. She pushes them to do her bidding, eventually even compelling Sam to stop feeling pain and empathy so he can continue on his path of destruction unburdened. When the two finally come face to face once again towards the end of the episode, Cate still insists that she’s “trying to save [Marie],” pointedly being close enough to compel Marie and yet never actually doing so. Marie attempts to convince her to stop the bloodshed, still believing that Cate can be swayed back to the side of good. It’s clear that, as they stare each other down multiple times, both Cate and Marie are desperate to have the other choose them in this sudden war. 

But in her unsuccessful attempt to change the warpath her (former) friend is on, Marie realizes that being a hero will never be as important as being a good person, and that’s all she’s ever wanted to be, truly. It’s a revelation that ultimately establishes Marie as a true hero, despite her not caring about claiming the title anymore. She sees that revenge doesn’t bring people back, bloodshed doesn’t make up for any wrongdoings, and vengeance in the name of all supes only leads to more pain and suffering. However, Cate is too far gone, only believing in the betterment of supe lives and punishing those who sought to hurt an entire race of people. But in stark contrast to Homelander, who blatantly represents American nationalism and white supremacy, Cate’s motivation to save supes from a torture she feels guilty for being complicit in rings more similar to more sympathetic villains with understandable motives behind their oftentimes deplorable actions. 

In fact, both Cate and Marie represent separate halves of a dynamic that’s been seen before time and time again. There are echoes of X-Men’s Magneto and Professor X and hints of Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Buffy and Faith, where two people who are intrinsically connected by a similar suffering become split in the methods they employ to further their shared agenda. When Marie explodes Cate’s hand in the final showdown during Episode 8, visions of Buffy stabbing Faith in the finale of Season 3 come to mind—recreating an image of a true hero forced to do whatever it takes to save a woman she once believed to be her friend from her self-made destruction. And this striking connection is all grounded in the heartfelt and moving performances by Sinclair and Phillips, two undeniable standouts from this incredibly stacked cast. 

Following in the footsteps of those classic dynamics, Gen V has an extremely compelling duo that should serve as the center of the series for the remainder of its run. Marie and Cate, whose paths have now clearly split (with Cate now in Vought’s good graces and Marie trapped in a prison cell), were friends once, but most importantly, they understand each other more than any other supe or human within the series. And a dynamic like that, one built on shared understanding and shared hatred, is rich and can help ground the sometimes outlandish world of The Boys, anchoring the complex politics of supes, humans, and heroes to two young women who have each suffered greatly but are now forever connected by the choices they had to make to better the world in their own eyes. Even as Gen V becomes more and more intertwined with its flagship series, the simple connection between two former friends should remain the heart of the series for seasons to come, tied firmly to the push and pull of their rocky relationship. 

Anna Govert is the TV Editor of Paste Magazine. For any and all thoughts about TV, film, and her unshakable love of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you can follow her @annagovert.

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