Gen V

No joke, fam.

Things were tough for a minute.

After what happened, I needed to take some space.

for myself... and my trauma.

But now, my healing is complete,

which is why I'm so pumped to be back at God U.

Honestly, guys,

my journey, my mental journey...

my health mental...

-Fuck this. - Cut.

I can't do this.

You can! No, that was a good take!

You got through the whole thing without crying.

Only took an hour.

Get back to one.

You got this.

-Ready? Go. -

And then what?

We just gonna post this vapid mental health shit

on social, and I waltz onto campus

like we didn't just murder someone?

That school is the worst place for me right now.

That school is the safest place for you right now.

Fame's the only defense you've got.

The more public you are,

the less likely Vought can disappear you,

and the less you look like you Gypsy Rosed Cate...

Can you stop saying that?

...the less likely they'll connect you to her.

-Is it a genius plan? No. -No.

-Is it a medium plan? -Nope.

Also no. Is it the only plan we got?

Yes, and that's why it is gonna work.

Back to one, let's go.

No, we should run.

As far as we fucking can.

They will put our asses back in Elmira before sunset.

Oh, well, that's no problem for Marie.

She'd just bust out again.

Jordan, I-I didn't know Andre would...

Look, if I'd known, I-I never would've...

You wouldn't have what, Marie?

Left us to fucking rot?

Can we please get this done?

Please?

Look, I know this sucks,

but I need you to dig deep

like your life depends on it, because it absolutely fucking does.

Okay.

Finals.

-Yeah. -All right.

Give me more, but less.

-Okay, ready? -Mm-hmm.

Oh, the lighting is so bad.

You look great, though.

- Okay. -Ready?

Three,

two...

Hey, fam! My healing is complete,

which is why I'm so pumped to be back at God U.

My mental health journey has allowed me to grow

in ways I never thought possible...

- - Oh, shit.

As my girl Brené Brown says:

-strong back, soft front. -Soft front.

-Wild heart. -Wild heart.

Now that my name is cleared, I am so ready

to step back into my role as Guardian of Godolkin.

Oh, fuck.

One journey has ended,

another one begins, and I know

sophomore year is

gonna be lit.

Welcome back.

-Good to be back. -Yeah.

I guess sleeping in semen-stained motel rooms,

it loses its charm after a little while.

I just got really tired.

-Mm. -Um...

-Thanks for letting me re-enroll. -Of course.

I'm grateful.

That's such bullshit.

What?

Well,

you're an eye twitch away from leaping across this table

and ripping my throat out with your teeth.

I don't know what you're talking about.

Let's not.

I know you saw me at Elmira.

I certainly saw you plenty of you.

Mm-hmm.

And what did you do there?

Hey.

I get why you're upset.

Uh, after what happened to Andre,

you weren't here...

Wow.

Your guilt, it just must be at...

Catholic-masturbator levels.

But it's not your fault.

I don't even know why he was trying to escape, given his condition. The...

What condition?

Oh, and of course he didn't even tell you.

He had what his father has: it's neural micro-tears

whenever he used his powers.

The more he used them, the worse it got.

Uh, he-he had to have known what would happen

trying to move that big door.

Bullshit. You're lying.

These are Andre's medical records.

It's all in there.

Uh, when he was diagnosed,

notes on the tremors and the migraines.

I guess you never really know someone, do you?

Hey.

Why don't you hang on to that?

Okay? Seriously.

It might help you get some closure while you're settling back in.

Oh, you know what? There is one more thing.

You're friends with Emma Meyer and Jordan Li, right?

Yeah.

Yeah, uh, maybe you could keep an eye on them for a little while.

It's kind of hazardous these days

being a Guardian of Godolkin.

Well, what do you mean?

Cate Dunlap was attacked last night.

She's still alive, thank goodness, but...

she's in the hospital.

Cate's in the hospital?

She's been in surgery for six hours.

I mean, touch and go.

Thoughts and prayers, you know?

God, that's... terrible.

Terrible.

But I know you close you two are, so...

if she wakes up, you'll be the first to know.

Cate Dunlap, the angel

who saved countless Super-abled lives

during the Massacre at Godolkin,

was viciously attacked last night.

If a beautiful, righteous,

God-fearing hero like her was targeted,

then none of us are safe.

This was a hate crime

against the most persecuted minority group

in history.

Superheroes.

But they sure picked the wrong group to mess with.

You know, just yesterday,

I heard about a Super-abled mom of...

[Firecracker continues speaking indistinctly on TV]

Fuck. This was a mistake.

We should've run.

Paint a giant "we're guilty" sign on our backs?

-That's fucking genius. -Well, it's better than sitting around

and waiting for Cate to wake up.

If she wakes up.

Okay, guys, don't freak out when I say this, 'cause I know

you guys are gonna be like, "Oh, my God, Emma, how could you even suggest that,"

but in the spirit of nonjudgmental brainstorming...

...what if we...

-finished the job? - Emma?

We are not gonna track Cate down, so we can do murder on purpose this time.

Obviously. Murder is so bad.

Though it would save our collective asses, come on.

I'm, like, 99% sure Cipher knows already.

Then why aren't we dead or back at Elmira?

No fucking idea.

Even more reason to run.

Or even more of a reason to look into this Odessa thing.

Will you shut the fuck up about that?

We have way bigger shit to worry about than the vaguest

fucking mystery to ever mystery.

Starlight thinks it's important.

You're fucking crazy.

Please tell her she's fucking crazy.

Oh, you're both fucking crazy.

Huh.

Cate,

wherever you are,

Homelander, Jesus

and I

stand with you.

And we know you're gonna come out of this stronger,

purer,

and more righteous than ever.

Sorry, you can't be in here.

Dean Cipher says that I can.

Who could have done that to her?

She was like this when they found her.

-Where? -Someplace in Jersey.

Weehawken?

Weehawken.

Hey, Cate.

I'm here.

All right?

You're not alone.

They left me to die.

How could they?

What?