In Review: Gen V (S2 – EP4) Bags

Synopsis: In Bags, tensions rise at Godolkin University as Marie Moreau faces Jordan in a high-stakes arena battle. Secrets about Project Odessa and Vought’s manipulations come to light, escalating the conflict between humans and supes.

The Story

Picking up from last week, Bags sees Jordan Li forced to fight Marie as punishment for speaking out against Vought and admitting their role in Cate’s beating. Neither wants to fight, but Jordan eventually agrees—on the condition that neither of them is sent back to the facility. To prepare Marie, Cipher trains her using her blood powers to move blood bags without bursting them. Meanwhile, Jordan and Cate break into Jordan’s home to investigate a secret room, only to be caught on camera—putting Cate in a difficult position when Cipher summons her during the fight. Marie reveals to Cate that Cipher isn’t a supe, prompting Cate to try to leverage this information to stop the fight, which forces Cipher to reveal the true nature of his powers.

Acting

Hamish Linklater is fantastic as Cipher, whose secret power is revealed at the episode’s climax in spectacular fashion. His scenes with Jaz Sinclair’s Marie are particularly memorable, channeling a kind of “evil Yoda” vibe—more like the Emperor trying to train a defiant Luke Skywalker. Maddie Phillips also shines toward the end, delivering a brilliant performance as she attempts to use Marie’s revelation about Cipher as leverage to stop the fight.

Overall

This was a strong episode that delved deeper into Cipher’s character. The training scenes with Marie were borderline creepy, especially given that she knows he was the doctor who brought her into the world. I also loved the side mission sequence where Emma and her new friends work together to film and record the conversation between Cate and Dean Cipher.