Gen V Teaches A Masterclass In Creating A Modern TV Sex Scene
This article contains spoilers for "Gen V" episode 6.
Entertainment circles are constantly thrown into some cyclical discourse on any given day, but my absolute least favorite is the debate about sex scenes. No matter how much is written about the subject and no matter how many of the same arguments are shouted into the void, the debate surrounding sex scenes wages on. Disregarding scenes that cross ethical boundaries (as that's an entirely different discussion), while I am staunchly pro-sex scene, I'll be the first to admit that not all sex scenes are created equal. Sometimes sex scenes, quite frankly, kind of suck. Plowing in without foreplay or lubricant is a great way to cause unnecessary tears, the fact no one ever gets up to get a towel after the fact (or pee to prevent UTIs) is wholly unrealistic, and then there's the issue of consent. Fortunately, "Gen V" is here to save the day, and provide a masterclass in creating a modern TV sex scene.
Sam (Asa Germann) and Emma (Lizze Broadway) are two characters that fans have been shipping all season, but the two are unevenly matched when it comes to sex. The first episode of "Gen V" saw Emma shrinking down and essentially giving a guy a hand job with her entire body, which (even if you're really into that sort of thing, no kink shaming here) loses its appeal when we see how miserable she is constantly being fetishized.
Sam and Emma share a passionate kiss, and she asks him, "Should we?" Sam is immediately on board but confesses that he's never actually done it before, joking that his hand is competent but that he wants his first time to be with Emma. Backlit by claw machines in the concessions building of a closed-down drive-in theater, the two decide to have sex. Honestly? Goals.
Consent is key (and super hot)
She assures him that there's no pressure at all and that they don't have to have sex, but then Sam gives his consent with a phrase that will be kryptonite to service tops everywhere — "Show me how." This is Sam not only providing enthusiastic consent, he's also expressing the "role" he wants to take in their sexual encounter. Emma is more experienced, and rather than be an insecure pissbaby crying about "body counts" the way so many Andrew Tate-pilled losers of the current era tend to behave, he is elated at the idea that Emma will be a great teacher.
Rather than immediately go at it the way sex scenes are often depicted on screen due to time, "Gen V" allows the two to have foreplay. Emma starts easing Sam into sexual activity first with her hand, checking in with him every step of the way. "Can I touch you?" "Does that feel nice?" "What about this?" are all asked as a means of allowing Sam to consent every step of the way, and by formulating it as a question, allows him the chance to say no if needed.
Emma straddles Sam, riding on top so that his pleasure is the focus. She knows how to move her body to get herself off, this is a position that allows Sam to enjoy the sensation of sex without having to think about it all that much. She tells Sam she's going to move his hand, indicating that she's teaching him how to stimulate her clitoris while he's penetrating her. She's clearly enjoying herself, laughing with ecstasy throughout. We've seen Emma have lackluster sex where she's fetishized by her partner and it's clunky and awkward. But this consensual moment? SUPER HOT.
The puppets and aftercare
We know that when Sam is overwhelmed with emotions he disassociates and visualizes people as puppets, which happens in the middle of their sexual encounter. Considering last week Sam committed a puppet massacre, it's hard not to instinctively think that something seriously bad is about to happen between these two lovebirds. Fortunately, Emma continues to check in and asks Sam if he's okay, and he is able to shake it off. Although the sex scene cuts after this moment, we know that the two continued to have more, wonderful relations, because "Gen V" also shows the moment of aftercare. Emma confesses to "like 14" orgasams and while Sam doesn't regret having sex, the puppet visual has him concerned. "I'm messed up, Emma. You should be with someone who isn't," he says, echoing a sentiment my mentally ill self absolutely shared after I had sex with my now wife for the first time when we were dating. "Maybe I wanna be with you. I'm messed up too," she replies, before joking that she has really bad breath and that they both smell like sweaty popcorn.
There's a weird misconception that being mentally ill or having any type of disability means that suddenly you are not deserving of sexual pleasure, so to see Sam have consensual, pleasurable sex while also navigating his own mental illness is important. The aftercare is not just for Sam and Emma, it's also for the audience. We're not left wondering if Sam is okay after having lost his virginity or if Emma has just been puppet massacred because the show following up on post-coital bliss doubles as checking in with us viewers as well.
Buuuut because it's "Gen V," this might be the last bit of beauty we see between Sam and Emma. I won't be shocked if showrunner Eric Kripke and his writers' room of sickos [complementary] decide to break all of our hearts in the episodes that follow.