Why Cate Has Been The Most Dangerous Supe On Gen V All Along

This post contains spoilers for the season 1 finale of "Gen V."

The first season of "Gen V" ends with a bang — including a literal one in the form of a deflected explosion on the GodU campus — and the consequences of being a "hero" in a Vought-controlled world. The final episode of the season is packed with shocking twists that underline the rapidness with which political indoctrination occurs, leaving impressionable youngsters (in this case, superpowered teens) hungry for chaos at a terrible cost. Some are tragically deluded, like Sam (Asa Germann), who quickly buys into the "Supes Lives Matter" crap after attending one on-campus rally, while others, like Cate (Maddie Phillips) commit atrocities due to a trauma-fueled savior complex. The results are ugly, especially after Cate and Sam team up to release all the Supes trapped underground in The Woods.

The Supes who were experimented on in The Woods find themselves thirsty for violence after they are suddenly released, wherein they target non-Supes indiscriminately before turning on their own kind. Chaos ensues, leaving Marie (Jaz Sinclair) and Jordan (David Luh/London Thor) responsible for saving as many lives as possible, and they do, thanks to a last-minute appearance by Andre (Chance Perdomo). Several are left dead, and by the end, Vought completely alters the narrative by villainizing those who actually saved the day, while relegating Sam and Cate to a new "Guardians of Godolkin" status. This is not the first time Vought has done something like this, and it definitely won't be the last.

It is interesting to note that among all the Supes who can accomplish incredible feats, Cate emerges as the most unpredictable, dangerous one during the massacre at GodU. While she does not have super-strength or laser eyes, she has something better: the power to control other Supes.

"Gen V" introduces us to several young Supes with impressive abilities. Jordan can literally gender swap and one-punch between the transitions, Marie can bend blood to both attack and heal, while Andre has Magneto-like powers that have come in handy many times. Cate, however, harbored abilities that were left untapped for years, suppressed with medication to the point that she was unaware of the extent of her mind-influencing powers.

When Marie and the others are trapped inside Cate's mind, they get a glimpse of her painful past, and the reasons why she was Dean Shetty's (Shelly Conn) pawn in keeping The Woods under wraps. There are layers of accumulating guilt in her mind, as she was the one responsible for wiping Luke's memory time and again, which contributed to his breakdown, and his decision to end his own life. While Cate vows to do right by her friends after she is found out, she ends up oscillating to an extreme: she kills Shetty in cold blood and takes up a violent stance against all non-Supes for the crimes of a few. Sam agrees with her, as he perceives a totalitarian, all-Supe world as a "just" one after being subjugated and limited in The Woods for years.

The ease with which Cate is able to convince Sam even when he experiences inner turmoil is terrifying, as she is able to combine her abilities with skilled emotional manipulation. This pattern of behavior tragically mirrors that of Shetty's, who also put on an empathetic, morally righteous mask to control powerful Supes and take advantage of their emotional vulnerabilities. While Cate might believe that she's being heroic by championing a freer world for Supes, her actions are rooted in hypocritical insincerity, which makes her more dangerous. 

Cate's sudden moral deflection, however, should not be interpreted through the one-dimensional lens of staunch, objective morality. After all, the whole point of "Gen V" is that even the purest of hearts lose their way due to the broken systems they're born into, from the moment they're unwittingly injected with Compound V and expected to embrace conveniently corrupt paths. It is easy to be consumed by rage, or a sense of retribution that quickly turns into blind hatred, and Cate's past contributes to a skewed moral compass during the finale. However, it does not excuse her actions at all — rather, it allows us to examine how the unique nature of her powers grants her an upper hand that can easily become manipulative in nature.

Sure, Cate is just a young girl with the ability to "push" people into doing things, but what seemed like little innocent nudges at first — a little persuasion here and there — is later revealed to be horrific, considering what she did to Luke and Sam. Instead of making things right, she leans harder into her ability to make Supes do her bidding. In most cases, she does not even have to ask, like she did with Sam, but simply goad others to commit cruel acts, while she slinks away, unnoticed. This is a terrifying asset during a conflict, as even the strongest can switch sides with one gentle push. Or worse, Cate can use her powers to kill without good reason, and she has done so already.

Now that Cate has become a "hero" in everyone's eyes, it might fuel her false sense of moral superiority, and validate her reasoning behind her extreme measures. Whether she is completely consumed by bloodlust or not, she's the one we should watch out for.