Maddie Phillips (Cate Dunlap) 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 Gen V episode seven, season two, "Hell Week."] In Gen V's latest episode, supes emerge and converge to set the stage for a major finale showdown. Episode seven, "Hell Week," sees Marie (Jaz Sinclair) venturing back to God U with Cate (Maddie Phillips) in tow to face Cipher (Hamish Linklater) and find Godolkin (Ethan Slater). There, she discovers that Polarity, now armed with the ability to kick Cipher out of his own and potentially others' heads, has also come looking for Dr. Good, too. As the trio makes moves to take him down- the God U dean is still disoriented from his swatting by Polarity - Marie restores Polarity's powers in the same breath she denies Cate the same treatment. Related Stories TV 'Gen V' Showrunner Explains the Shifting Powers -- and Power Players -- of Season 2 TV 'Gen V' Star Asa Germann on Sam's V Revelations, Homecoming and Real Super Power Meanwhile, Cipher has discovered that Marie, Cate and Polarity are in the dean's mansion, and calls upon Marie to come to him as the rest of the crew - Jordan (Derek Luh and London Thor), Annabeth (Keeya King), Emma (Lizze Broadway) and Sam (Asa Germann) - use various modes of transportation (super- and gas-powered) to find Marie and Cate at the school. They arrive just as Marie heads to face off with Cipher and, in an unsettling confrontation that sees Annabeth and Jordan trying to swear Marie off from going in alone, she turns her powers on the group. Polarity and Cate successfully stop Marie before venturing into the school, where Polarity heads towards Cipher as Marie heads to the burned body that Dr. Gold has been dragging around with him. As Marie works her healing powers on the body - with some moral support from Annabeth, Cate and Emma, who have since caught up to her - Polarity, Jordan, Sam and Emma's maybe beau Greg (Stephen Kalyn) have joined Polarity in a head-to-head that gets messy as Cipher begins to take control of everyone's bodies. Soon, Marie successfully heals the burned body, producing Goldokin in the flesh and a diaper. But to Cate's quick realization, the man wasn't being controlled by Cipher; he is Cipher, and she works to help get Marie and the others away from him. Meanwhile, Polarity - on the verge of taking out Cipher - is surprised to discover that the man on the ground in front of him is just a regular human whose body was being puppeteered this whole time. The episode's final moments are of Godolkin walking the campus, draped in a blanket, murdering a student and ready to enact his ultimate plan for the future of supes. "Hell Week" delivers the answer to an episode-long twist, around which theories have flown all season. But it's also a key moment for several of Gen V's leading supes, with the climax of Cate's season two journey playing a particularly significant role in the episode's events. The Hollywood Reporter spoke to Phillips about that season-long journey, including navigating Cate's trauma, redemption arc, disabilities and, as a performer, balancing the portrayal of real life and on-screen grief. *** One of the first things viewers see in season two is that reunion between Jordan, Emma and Cate, with Cate being the first person, alongside the audience, to learn Andre has died. This is not the first time Cate has lost a partner at Godolkin with her powers involved. Where is her head in that moment? Her brain and soul probably glitched out. She has had to be so certain about where she stands. She's made this huge decision - she is not on the same side as the rest of the gang - and all of a sudden, this tragedy has inevitably planted a seed of "Have I made the right decision? Is it wrong?" Something so jarring could only result in a glitch. I played it a few different ways when we were filming. I was really shocked and didn't have a lot of emotion; our director, Steve Boyum, wanted to bring up more emotionality and that's what they ended up using. I've experienced grief myself; it's something that paralyzes you. Your brain stops. And because she has to be this robot minion for Vought and keep up appearances, all of these things probably caused a real, a real glitch. Cate's response, along with the other characters, all come across as representing a different facet of the emotional spectrum of the grief process. It's an arc that had real-life origins because of Chance Perdomo's passing. Where was the line between real-life grief and on-screen grief? I found it really hard to talk about Chance when it came to how we were going to perform. What the producers and writers did was absolutely the right decision. I'm so happy we honor him throughout the season. He's a part of the story, but it did feel wrong doin