‘Gen V’ Star Maddie Phillips on Cate’s ‘Exposing,’ ‘Dehumanizing’ Episode and ‘Deep Empathy’ for Marie’s Big Reveal
SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for Season 2, Episode 5 of “Gen V,” now streaming on Amazon’s Prime Video.
This week’s episode of “Gen V,” titled “The Kids Are Not All Right,” might just as easily be named “Escape From Elmira,” as the plot centers around Marie (Jaz Sinclair) & co.’s attempt to save Cate (Maddie Phillips) from the depths of the evil supe containment center.
Cate is made to take the fall for the plan to expose Cipher (Hamish Linklater) in Episode 4, and Marie can’t handle knowing that Cate is stuck in Elmira. While Jordan (London Thor/Derek Luh) and Emma (Lizze Broadway) are willing to let it go — noting all the horrible things Cate has brought on them — Marie insists they cannot let Cate go through what they did in the place where Andre (Chance Perdomo) died, or they are no better than their enemies at Vought.
They do reach her and she’s overwhelmed with gratitude for their efforts — but then they are all caught. Cate then rises to the occasion and facilitates their ultimate escape, with Sam (Asa Germann) even joining them along the way.
Variety spoke with Phillips about filming the episode and how the ending — which features not only a 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 has her killed in Elmira — affects Cate and “The Boys” spinoff crew moving forward.
What was it like for you filming the scenes where Cate is sent to Elmira by Cipher as punishment for what she did in Episode 4? She’s required to strip down, go through a cavity search and be aggressively physically handled by the guards.
I had never done anything on screen that was so exposing in that way. Thankfully, I’m so grateful for the crew that we have; everybody is just so incredibly skilled at not only what they do, but also making us feel really comfortable. I’m always really blown away at how the crew is always there long before the actors get to set, and they always are the ones with impeccable energy. They set the tone in a really beautiful way. And it’s important when you’re doing vulnerable scenes like that to feel really safe so that you can fully surrender. I felt so looked after and so respected, because I’ve never done anything like that. I mean, I had to have tape in places I’ve never had tape before! What’s really interesting, though, is how quickly you desensitize in those situations.
At first, my adrenals were going, my nervous system was really activated. And then I found that I wasn’t looking for costumes or the intimacy coordinator to come over and bring me my robe when I was standing there. What’s so interesting about that is I do remember feeling not like a woman, not like a person, which was quite jarring. You just sort of become a thing with skin. That’s really interesting when you think about how Cate would have been feeling — not only in Elmira, but just now that she’s had her arm blasted off, now that she’s got these staples in her head. Because I really found, even as an actor, how dehumanizing it made me feel. Which just goes to show how incredibly privileged we are being able bodied and being able to wake up feeling like you can make yourself look a certain way in order to align yourself with whatever identity you’ve decided is the one you’re rocking with in your life.
It was really interesting to experience the sensations of, not only really raw vulnerability, but also a quick desensitization, and that helped me in my performance. Because you start on one side of the line, which is panic and feeling vulnerable in survival mode, and then that survival mode switches, and you’re on the other side. You’re desensitized and you’re numb, and that’s how you can compartmentalize. I definitely feel like I used that numb desensitization in my performance as well, and I really didn’t find like I had to act too much by the end of it.
In the final moments, Marie, Cate, Jordan and Emma go to save Marie’s little sister, Annabeth, after Marie discovers she’s still alive and trapped in Elmira. But when they arrive, Annabeth has bled out to death on the floor. Marie uses her powers to revive Annabeth’s body, while everyone else looks on in awe. What do you think Cate was feeling during all of that, after having been rescued by the team?
I decided on the day that there’s going to be just so much empathy and sympathy for Marie. I think Cate was flooded with gratitude that they came and got her. And she knows Marie’s heart, she knows that everybody has just been trying in their own ways to do the right thing, and nobody’s out here being a villain. Even though Marie blew her arm off and everything, she knows more than anybody that things happen because of where our perspectives are being directed and whatnot. Whether it was her ability to hear thoughts or just knowing Marie’s character, she just knows that this was an incredibly huge moment for Marie to find her sister. She knows the context of the situation. She hasn’t known where her sister has been for a very long time. And knowing how it feels to have a sibling disappear and have it be your fault, I think it was just a huge moment of deep empathy and just really feeling for her. Cate was having sort of like a secret bonding moment with Marie, even though Marie was not even thinking of her in that moment.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
