SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Season 2, Episode 7 of “Gen V,” currently available on Amazon Prime Video.
Marie (Jaz Sinclair) had a valid reason for believing Dean Cipher (Hamish Linklater) lacked powers: he truly doesn’t possess any.
In the latter part of this week’s episode of “Gen V,” Marie, along with her sister Annabeth (Keeya King), Cate (Maddie Phillips), and Emma (Lizze Broadway) watch in disbelief as they realize the elderly burn victim they believed to be Thomas Godolkin (Ethan Slater) has been controlling Cipher all along. The capability to manipulate others belonged to Thomas Godolkin, not Cipher. From his hyperbaric chamber, Godolkin manipulated the man known as Cipher, who lacks any powers, while he remained on life support and even shifted into the bodies of others.
That is, until Marie resurrected the century-old supe this week in “Gen V,” hoping that Thomas Godolkin would assist them in stopping Cipher. Unfortunately, he is Cipher! Now, both Marie and Annabeth are faced with Godolkin’s imminent plan for mass destruction while attempting to salvage their fractured sibling bond: Annabeth reveals that she had foreseen Marie’s accidental killing of their parents before it happened, and it has haunted her since.
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“She’s completely isolated from the supes, living with her Aunt Pam, and perceives them as monsters. She lacks a complete understanding of her powers and their implications,” King explained to Variety regarding her role as Marie’s precog sister.
Annabeth’s confusion regarding their family’s tragedy led to her pain and shame transforming into resentment towards Marie—placing blame on her sister for a tragedy Annabeth secretly knew wasn’t Marie’s fault.
This revelation in the sisters’ story raises the stakes not only for Marie and Annabeth but also for Cate, Emma, Jordan (Derek Luh/London Thor), Sam (Asa Germann), and Polarity (Sean Patrick Thomas) as they head into the Season 2 finale of “Gen V” next week. It alters the audience’s perspective from the opening scene of Season 1—the tragic events surrounding the deaths of Marie and Annabeth’s parents—clarifying that Marie isn’t solely accountable for their deaths. Annabeth could have intervened.
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“After watching the show, I understood Annabeth’s belief that Marie caused their parents’ deaths,” King revealed. “However, during discussions with our showrunner, Michelle, I learned about the trajectory planned for Annabeth, including her visions that she’s been grappling with for years.
“As an actor, it’s a challenge to incorporate elements of pain and regret into my performance, reflecting Annabeth’s struggle with her visions and her misplaced anger towards Marie. When individuals are upset with themselves, they often seek an outlet for that hurt, and for Annabeth, it sometimes gets directed at her sister.”