Asa Germann (Sam) in 'Gen V.' Prime Video Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment Logo text [This story contains spoilers from the fifth episode of Gen V season two, "The Kids Are Not Alright."] When Asa Germann sat down with The Hollywood Reporter ahead of Gen V's latest episode to talk about the show's midseason developments, much of the conversation was focused on one thing: Sam and the truth about his powers. In the fifth episode of season two, "The Kids Are Not Alright," Sam opts out of using his abilities to help Marie (Jaz Sinclair), Jordan (Luh and London Thor) and Emma (Lizze Broadway) on their mission to rescue Cate (Maddie Phillips) after she's thrown into Elmira following the last episode's supe match-up. Related Stories TV 'Gen V' Star Derek Luh on That Cage Match, Jordan's Masculinity and Biggest Fear in Season 2 TV 'Gen V' Star Lizze Broadway on Her Darker Season 2 Turn and Honoring Chance Perdomo Through Her Character Instead, he makes a surprise return home to the family that he believed shot him up with V causing his hallucinations, before abandoning him to the torturous and deadly Vought machine. Despite a single moment of paranoia resulting in an unintentional outburst of violence, going home to his parents ultimately delivers a deluge of truths and some reconciliation. As Sam learns, his parents gave him V hoping it could address his psychosis - something he was born with, not something that manifested as a result of the serum. His family also never abandoned him to Vought or The Woods, but were told he was dead, and once the truth that he was alive emerged, they made multiple attempts to reach him, though they were stopped by Vought. Some of these revelations have implications not just for Germann's character, but in understanding the nature and mechanics of powers in The Boys YA spinoff, which has so far spent the first half of its second season repeatedly picking at what's actually fueling supe abilities, courtesy of Cipher (Hamish Linklater). It's also yet another episode that deftly delivers on Gen V's ongoing examination of coming of age, social politics and superheroes. Speaking to THR ahead of Wednesday's episode, Germann unpacks what Sam's trip home means for him going forward, the nature of Sam's violence, depicting those puppet hallucinations in season two, whether he could still show up for his friends, and how a scene between Sam and Jordan honors Andre and Chance Perdomo. *** Sam goes back home and discovers a number of truths. Some of that comes through a scene with his mother, which has a lot of conversations - macro discussions around male and gun violence, and society's focus on institutionalization and punishment versus support and treatment around mental health, and the more micro discussions about trying to understand one's diagnosis, including questioning if what's happening is me or the condition. Can you talk about that conversation Sam has with his mom and what it means for him in season two? You never know what you're going to get in the show, so I had no idea this was coming down the pipeline. But in the first season, I was getting to play this character who was clearly going through this version of socialized radicalization and embodying all of these elements of the world. He didn't really know how to even have a set of criteria to evaluate himself with. So much of Sam's journey up to that point in the show is one of being both told what has happened to him and following the lead of other people. What was so profound to me about that moment in the episode is that it becomes a story for Sam about responsibility. Taking responsibility for his actions, and also - one of the things that I personally relate to with Sam - understanding that existing in the world in the way that we do is not necessarily something we get to choose. But it's the hand that we're dealt, and we have to do what we can with it. So that's a point where we see it's really up to Sam to do the right thing or continue to do the wrong thing. Hopefully, by making the right choices, he can become a voice of reason and a positive role model for people like him in a similar situation, which is ironically the reason he's in that place. He has no one to look to; no role models. He has no one pointing him in the right direction. It's not talked about, really, in that scene, but in a way, that is what the role of a parent is, and some of us aren't fortunate enough to have great parents. We don't have role models, and we have no one to look to, so people become disaffected, and they can do awful things that hurt tons of people. It's up to those people if they can get a second chance to do the right thing for others. Many times on Gen V, characters talk about their parents with a sense of betrayal - this conversation over agency, respe