Season 2, episode 6 of Gen V begins with the group escaping Elmira thanks to Annabeth’s precognitive powers and Sam busting through the wall. They hide in a library, with Emma reaching out to her allies at school. Cipher finds out where they are and sends his henchman, Vikor, to kill them. They narrowly escape thanks to Zoe Neuman and Stan Edgar killing Vikor, as they had been following Marie. Edgar takes the group back to his lavish bunker. Edgar reveals that Marie and Homelander were the only successful results of the Odessa project, which Edgar shut down. Sam tries to reconnect with Emma, but she backs away. The group also pieces together that the burned man is Thomas Godolkin, and is seemingly being used by Cipher to attain Supe Supremacy. Cipher reveals some of his plans to Polarity, who uses his powers to launch Cipher out of a window. Cate asks Marie to heal her, but Marie refuses. Still, the two leave the bunker to confront Cipher, abandoning the group. 

“Cooking Lessons” very clearly highlights some of the weakest elements of Gen V: the uncovering of backstory, the emotional character dynamics, and its reliance on The Boys. Firstly, the intrigue of the Godolkin and Odessa backstory varies subjectively, but the specific plot points uncovered in this episode are thin and basic, mostly just being more examples of the show telling the audience how powerful Marie is. The Odessa plot line’s basic quality does not necessarily detract too much from the episode, but it results in varying lulls of engagement whenever characters discuss the universe’s thin lore. Additionally, this episode puts significant weight on intimate character moments. While many of these scenes are functional, the dialogue and character development are basic and largely uninteresting. 

The most irritating element of this episode, though, was how significantly it relates to The Boys. Stan Edgar and Zoe Neuman’s appearances work decently within the episode, but the main concern arises from centering this episode, and the show at large, on Marie’s ultimate purpose being to kill Homelander. It is difficult to engage with Gen V as it becomes increasingly clear that this show is entirely supplemental to The Boys. While the characters have never been amazing, this season could have benefited from a more impactful standalone plotline, rather than being, in many respects, an extra subplot for The Boys. Not only are the relationships between the main characters very thin and predictable, but they’re made especially worse when considering that the only purpose said thin characterization serves is to give a character that will show up in The Boys some sort of backstory. As for positives, the relationship between Cipher and Polarity remains compelling, mostly due to Polarity’s characterization and Cipher’s performance, which miraculously makes up for what would have been a very generic villain. Finally, Marie and Cate’s relationship ends at a compelling place, especially given how powerful Marie has become in terms of healing people. Even if Marie herself is caught in an uninteresting cycle of being a brooding lone wolf, her friendship and rivalry with Cate has been one of the most dynamic elements of the show at large. 

Rating 4/10