Cate in Elmira, the sister of Marie and Death Revival Power

Spoiler alert: This story contains spoilers for season 2, episode 5 of “Gen V”, now broadcast on Amazon Video Prime.

The episode of this week “Gen V”, entitled “Children are not doing well”, could just as well be called “Escape from Elmira”, because the intrigue is centered on the attempt of Marie (Jaz Sinclair) & Co. to save Cate (Maddie Phillips) from the depths of the Center for Confainment for Evil Supers.

Cate must assume the project to exhibit Cipher (Hamish Linklater) in episode 4, and Marie does not bear to know that Cate is stuck in Elmira. While Jordan (London Thor/Derek Luh) and Emma (Lizze Broadway) are ready to drop – noting all the horrible things that Cate caused them – Marie insists that they cannot let Cate Live what they have done in the place where Andre (Chance Perdomo) is dead, or that they are not better than their enemies in Vought.

They reach it and it is overwhelmed with gratitude for their efforts – but then they are all caught. Cate then shows up and facilitates their ultimate escape, Sam (Asa Germann) joining them even along the way.

Variety spoke with Phillips of the filming of the episode and the way in which the end – which presents not only reunion between Marie and her sister, Annabeth, but a scene in which Marie uses her extreme power to bring her sister back to life after Cipher killed her in Elmira – affects Cate and the derivative team of “The Boys” in the future.

How was it for you to film the scenes where Cate is sent to Elmira by Cipher as a punishment for what she did in episode 4? She must undress, undergo a excavation from the cavities and be physically manipulated aggressively by the guards.

I had never done anything on the screen that was so revealing. Fortunately, I am very grateful to the crew we have; Everyone is incredibly competent not only in what they do, but also in what they do, but also to make us really comfortable. I am always really blown away by the way the team is still there long before the actors arrive on the set, and it is always they who have impeccable energy. They set the tone in a very nice way. And it is important, when you make vulnerable scenes like this, to feel really safe in order to be able to abandon yourself fully. I felt so much taken care of and so respected, because I have never done anything like it. I mean, I had to have adhesive tape in places where I had never had any before! What is really interesting, however, is the speed with which you desensit yourself in these situations.

At first, my adrenals worked, my nervous system was really activated. And then I discovered that I was not looking for costumes or that the intimacy coordinator comes to bring me my dress when I was there. What is interesting is that I remember not feeling like a woman, nor as a person, which was quite shocking. In a way, you become something with the skin. It’s really interesting when you think of what Cate would have felt – not only in Elmira, but just now that she was torn off her arm, now that she has these staples in the head. Because I really found, even as an actor, how dehumanizing it made me feel. Which shows how incredibly privileged we are to be able to be valid and to be able to wake up with the feeling that you can give yourself a certain appearance in order to align yourself on the identity that you have decided to be the one with which you swing in your life.

It was really interesting to experience sensations not only of very raw vulnerability, but also rapid desensitization, and that helped me in my performance. Because you start on one side of the line, that is to say panic and the feeling of vulnerability in survival mode, then this mode of survival changes and you are on the other side. You are desensitized and numb, and that’s how you can compartmentalize. I really feel like I also used this desensitization numbed in my performance, and I really did not feel like having to act too much at the end.

In the last moments, Marie, Cate, Jordan and Emma will save Marie’s little sister, Annabeth, after Marie discovers that she is still alive and trapped in Elmira. But when they arrive, Annabeth died of her blood on the ground. Marie uses her powers to revive Annabeth’s body, while everyone looks at her with admiration. What did Cate felt during all this, after being rescued by the team?

I decided that day that there would be so much empathy and sympathy for Marie. I think Cate was flooded with gratitude that they came to get her. And she knows Mary’s heart, she knows that everyone has tried her way of doing good, and that no one is here to be a villain. Even if Marie got her arm out and everything, she knows better than anyone that things happen because of the orientation of our perspectives and so on. Whether it is her ability to hear thoughts or simply knowledge of Mary’s character, she knows that it was an incredibly enormous moment for Marie to find her sister. She knows the context of the situation. It’s been a long time since she doesn’t know where her sister is. And knowing what it does to see a brother or a sister disappear and whether it is your fault, I think it was just a huge moment of deep empathy and real feelings for her. Cate in a way lived a moment of secret connection with Marie, even if Marie did not even think of her at that time.

This interview was published and condensed.