REVIEW: ‘Gen V’ Episode 6 — “Jumanji”

Gen V Episode 6 confirms an ongoing comparison to another science-fiction series about young adults exploring their magical powers in universities directly linked to their skillset: The Magicians. While only time will tell if this spinoff series is able to capture the heart and wit of the highest points of the SyFy series, its charisma and energy are similar, which should sell it to a few would-be watchers yet to be convinced.

Dealing with the fallout of Marie (Jaz Sinclair), Jordan (London Thor/Derek Luh), and Andre (Chance Perdomo) discovering Cate’s (Maddie Phillips) betrayal, Gen V Episode 6 follows them as they’re forcibly dragged into Cate’s mind. While technically her fault, it’s also a result of Cate having “pushed” too much recently, a term indicating how often she’s used her powers on those around her. Considering she’s become little more than a convenient tool to the Dean, it makes sense that her fatigue would be detrimental both to herself and to those around her.

Cate was never going to simply be an antagonist, set up with far too much baggage and being too much of a victim herself. Instead, we’re given a look into her tragic backstory with Andre, Marie, and Jordan as unwilling passengers dragged into the former’s memories. We knew from an earlier episode that Cate accidentally caused the disappearance of her younger brother when, in a fit of teenage frustration, she told him to leave and never return.

But now we see the fallout, where she was held captive behind granite by her own mother who had been the one to inject the drug into her daughter to instill the powers in the first place. Gen V is a genuinely addicting series once the plot starts moving or, to be blunt, once the first episode ends. While it deals with a lot of excess and silliness its strongest thematic point is the nature of abusive and parental expectations. Cate shunned her for her actions despite being the one to have made her, her son’s disappearance truly on her hands.

All of which is to say that when the Dean expresses a level of kindness and warmth, offering a mothering role that Cate has lacked, of course, she goes to her. We see that Cate is being used again, forced to take away Luke’s (Patrick Schwarzenegger) memories of Sam, but even still, she still has moments of hesitation. She knows it’s wrong but doesn’t know how to escape it.

Gen V Episode 6 makes sure to not just highlight Cate’s own shortcomings as their memories return and are subsequently shared in Cate’s dream state. Jordan, for example, knew that something was going on with Luke and refused to mention it due to their own insecurities and reliance on parental figures at the university. We see that Andre and Cate had been seeing each other in secret long before Luke’s death, and the others bear witness to the aftermath of the death of Marie’s parents, her sister the lone survivor who thinks she’s a monster. They’re all damaged and because of that, and the empathy that comes from it, they’re able to ultimately extend a hand to Cate by episode’s end. She messed up badly, so she just needs to do better.

The episode is the first time that the side plots with Emma (Lizze Broadway) aren’t as effective, mainly due to how engaging the main storyline is. She and Sam (Asa Germann) grow closer and more intimate but because of how he puts her on a pedestal, there’s a sensation of dread. That plus a raunchy scene involving puppets makes it seem as if their happy relationship isn’t meant for a similarly happy ending.

For all of the intrapersonal developments, it would be easy to gloss over the biggest reveal of the episode which finally explains just what has been going on in the Woods. Dean Sheety (Shelly Conn), along with Dr. Cardosa (Marco Pigossi), has been researching a potentially devastating virus. Sheety’s lack of powers now has more narrative strength as well as a connection with The Boys. If their plan succeeds the damange could be seen far beyond the story of Gen V. 

Gen V Episode 6 is one of the strongest of the series so far due to fully capturing its own tone that allows for playfulness even in its darker storylines. With the group united and the main mystery unveiled, the pressure has risen as we realize that once again these characters are going to have to play hero despite never having asked for their powers in the first place, within the walls of an infrastructure meant to protect them.

Gen V Season 1 is available now on Prime Video.