Episode 4 of Gen V marked the first on-screen appearance of Tek Knight—the Supe with the power to analyze a person’s behavior on a granular level and then judge if they’ve committed a crime or not—and he entered the premises of Godolkin University to investigate the death of Golden Boy. Actually, he knew that none of the students, especially those who were in Golden Boy’s close circle, were responsible for the deaths. But he needed someone to take the fall for the incident, as per Vought’s instructions, and Tek Knight chose Indira, the dean of the institution. Tek Knight underestimated Indira because she didn’t have any superpowers. However, when Indira presented some evidence of Knight’s peculiar habits, he was forced to back off. Meanwhile, Marie, Andre, Cate, and Jordan located Sam with the help of Emma. They managed to subdue him and prevent him from killing his tormentor, Dr. Cardosa. Soon after his capture, Marie blacked out and found herself in a bed with Jordan.
Spoiler Alert
The Young Supes Figure Out That Rufus Is Behind The Blackout
In episode 5 of Gen V, Marie, Jordan, Cate, Andre, and Emma are under the assumption that they were at the craziest party imaginable and that they had partied so hard that they don’t remember where they are or why they are in such a haze. So, they do the most obvious thing: they surf through social media. Given how there’s a lot of footage of the young Supes enjoying themselves in normal and bizarre ways, it clears up the fact that the party was real. But when Sam shows up, nobody remembers him, even though they took it upon themselves to catch him before he killed Dr. Cardosa in the previous episode. Sam tries to jog their memories, but to no avail. That’s when he states that “they” have erased everything related to Sam.
Sam is obviously talking about Indira, The Woods, and Vought, but for some reason, he doesn’t spell it out for them. He keeps it very vague, as if that’s what the young Supes need on top of all the confusion they are experiencing. Then Sam just runs away after telling Emma that he’s going to fix everything and help everyone remember who he is, thereby making them remember their quest to expose the conspiracy surrounding Golden Boy. Marie reunites with Jordan, Cate, and Andre, and they all realize that there are severe lapses in their memory. Coincidentally, that’s when they came across footage of Rufus at the party. They put two and two together and come to the conclusion that Rufus has wiped off their memories and made them do things that they’ll regret so as to get back at Marie for exploding his phallus.
Marie Extracts the Trackers Inside Her Body
Dr. Cardosa seems to be fine after nearly getting killed by Sam. He is back at The Woods and is complaining to Indira about being attacked. Indira assures Cardosa that neither Sam nor the kids will be a problem, thereby hinting at the fact that she’s the one who has probably used Rufus to erase the memories of the young Supes. Cardosa says that he is afraid the kids are going to find out what they’re really doing at The Woods, i.e., making a virus that’ll allow them to control the Supes. Cardosa also says that if Indira wants him to complete making the virus before anyone else walks in on them doing illegal activities, she needs to get Marie into his labs. Indira says something rather surprising. She says that Marie has a secret benefactor, and hence, she is off-limits. I think this statement isn’t as complicated as it seems. It’s possible that Indira is referring to herself as the secret benefactor, and she is the one who is preventing Marie from any serious harm. It’s the stuff about the mind-controlling virus that Cardosa is talking about that is complicated. Why is the school that is mentoring superheroes making an anti-superhero virus? Aren’t they supposed to make superheroes more capable and powerful? Well, my running theory is that Indira’s child was killed by a superhero. Hence, she hates superheroes. As an employee at Vought, working at the Tower, she couldn’t have secretly made an anti-Supe serum. However, at a school with no such strict restrictions, she can access multiple Supes and experiment with them. If the process breaks them, she can make up an elaborate excuse to hide their true intentions.
Anyway, coming back to the plot, Cate reveals to the rest of the group that Rufus is a molester, and he has used his powers in the past to make Cate do things that she didn’t technically consent to. Marie and Jordan go after Rufus, but it turns out to be a doppelganger. Andre successfully corners Rufus, but he obviously uses his powers to get away from Andre. By the way, amidst all this, Gen V tries to turn Jordan and Marie’s whole dynamic into a teen romance, which is corny and okay, but it doesn’t really gel with the gravity of the central plot. Thankfully, the show doesn’t spend too much time on that subplot, as Emma brings things back on track after finding a t-shirt from the drive-in theater that she was in with Sam, thereby proving that Sam was speaking the truth. Talking about Sam, he massacres a bunch of soldiers from The Woods who are trying to capture him and then walks away into the distance. Marie stumbles upon further proof that a lot has happened between the time they found Sam and the moment they woke up after the party because she finds trackers embedded in the bodies of the young Supes.
Did Cate erase Andre’s memories multiple times?
Marie goes to Cate to tell her about the trackers, and Cate uses her powers on Marie, thereby revealing that Rufus isn’t the one behind the mind-wiping thing; it is actually Cate. This was a little obvious, given how Cate used to go to meet Sam along with Luke. So, she knew about The Woods, and she knew about Sam’s existence. Her surprised expression after learning that Sam was being held captive was a big indicator that she was working for Indira. Now, she has shown her hand explicitly. But here’s the thing: Due to the exposed wound from where Marie had extracted her tracker and the erasure of recent memories, it becomes clear to both Marie and Jordan that something is wrong, thereby negating Cate’s mind-wipe. When we see Cate confessing to Indira about mind-wiping for a long time, it becomes apparent that she isn’t a very smart mind-wiper. She only thinks about the immediate results and leaves everything else up to chance. Indira calms Cate down and tells her that if she wants to keep her friends safe, then she has to keep using her powers every time they get too close to The Woods. Emma returns to the drive-in theater, and Sam is there too. Emma says that even though she doesn’t remember the time the two spent together, she believes everything that Sam is talking about. Sam shocks Emma by stating that Cate is the one behind Luke’s decaying state of mind because she kept erasing his memories. Marie and Jordan locate Rufus and force him to talk about what he has been doing at Indira’s behest. Rufus says that he hasn’t done anything, and Emma confirms that by telling Marie that Cate is the real culprit here.
At the end of Gen V episode 5, Andre interrupts the conversation between Marie, Rufus, and Jordan, and he almost kills him. Unable to keep up the charade anymore, Cate restores Andre’s memories. That overwhelms him, and he walks away from Cate. This revelation puts a big question mark on everything that we have seen. We don’t know how many times Cate has used her powers on Andre, Luke, and the rest of the group. Everything that they think they know about themselves and the world has been tarnished. Even if Cate’s mind-wiping isn’t that extensive, the mere thought that Cate could’ve manipulated their memories will haunt Andre and the rest of the group. More importantly, why has Cate done this? What is she gaining from this whole endeavor? We know that every time Cate uses her powers, it takes a toll on her mind. Yet, why is she risking her physical and mental health for Indira? Well, we have to wait until next week to find out.
