Note: This story contains spoilers from “Gen V” Season 2.
Just when you thought Cate Dunlap had turned around for the good, “Gen V” star Maddie Phillips, who plays the mind-controlling supe, said don’t get your hopes up — Cate could be pushed to break bad again at any point.
“Even though there’s a really big change when it comes to her loyalties at the end of the season, I think there’s, unfortunately, always room for it to flip again,” Phillips told TheWrap. “I don’t know where she’s going to end up landing, and I don’t know how long she’s going to be landed there.”
That’s right, even though Season 2 of “Gen V” wrapped up with Marie (Jaz Sinclair), Jordan (London Thor, Derek Luh), Emma (Lizze Broadway) and Cate all on one accord, and even though Marie healed Cate’s powers, Phillips said the abuse and harm Cate has endured since she was a child leaves her always questioning which route is the best to take.
“I think that our actions really depict our identity, and whatever we believe at the time is reflected in our actions,”Phillips said. “When our beliefs change and when our perspective changes, so do our actions. There’s a lot of shifting when it comes to Cate’s beliefs and what she thinks is the right thing to do. I think that that comes from being manipulated from a pretty young age.”
It’s true; life hasn’t been easy for Cate. As viewers saw in Season 1, Cate’s parents abused her with inhumane serial experiments, isolation and drugs. She then went on to be manipulated by former Godolkin University Dean Indira Shetty (Shelley Conn), who forced her wipe to Luke Riordan’s (Patrick Schwarzenegger) memories. Things only worsened for Cate by Season 2 when Dean Cipher/Dr. Thomas Godolkin came along. She was then tasked with using her powers to subdue Luke’s younger brother Sam’s (Asa Germann) depression while never being able to heal her own mental and emotional wounds. With the horror of knowing that accidentally told her little brother to never return and being passed around from one abuser to the next, it’s not hard believe that Cate’s future as an ally or an enemy is up in the air.
“She has this desperate need for love and and I think there definitely is room for her to to flip back and forth because anybody can be manipulated at any time,” Phillips explained. “If someone knows somebody’s weaknesses and what’s going to really hurt them — unless we do a whole lot of healing — it’s easy for anybody to be to be used, if someone has that intention to use you.”
She added: “The question of who Cate is I think is is one that she doesn’t even know. I don’t think that she even fully gets there at the end. I think this is going to be kind of a developing journey for her for a while.”
“Gen V” Seasons 1-2 are now streaming on Prime Video.
