With Cate (Maddie Phillips) awake, it is only a matter of time until there’s tension between her and the other “Guardians of Godolkin” on campus. That is sure to send sparks flying, but at the same time, Marie (Jaz Sinclair) needs to process the picture of her as part of the Odessa Project. “H is for Human” gives us a peek behind the struggle and gives us more insight into Cate’s issues without the rest of the Guardians supporting her.
Gen V — “H is for Human” — Plot
Tess (Julia Knope) shows up to her job at the Godolkin campus coffee shop. She’s forced to wear a Human ID and is gawked at by a super using X-ray vision. She continually tears down the “Resist” poster that keeps reappearing at her stand, which constantly draws the attention of Super Supremacists.
At Polarity’s house, Marie, Jordan(London Thor & Derek Luh), and Emma (Lizzie Broadway) try to understand the folder. Marie is the only baby to survive, and Polarity (Sean Patrick Thomas) wonders if Vought made Marie as a weapon. Jordan does not think it is a coincidence that Starlight asked her to return to God U to find Odessa if Marie is actually Odessa. Marie reaches out to her Aunt Pam because she might have answers.
Before they leave, Polarity asks Emma to hold back. He wants to make sure she’s okay after she had to purge again. Emma assures him she’s made progress. Outside, Marie confirms she has not spoken to Pam in years. She tries to talk to Jordan about the other night, but Jordan brushes it off.
Cate returns to God U, and Stacey (Stacey McGunnigle) leads her through a crowd of influencers. Cate realizes she can no longer hear voices but is distracted by asking about a stage being built. Stacey confirms that the school is bringing back a jubilee celebrating Thomas Godolkin. Cate runs into Marie, Jordan, and Emma, calling her attackers animals. Stacey forces Marie and Jordan to join them on their way to the dean’s seminar.
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Marie defeats one of her classmates in a duel, and Cipher (Hamish Linklater) ends the class. He asks Marie to stay back and questions why she uses self-harm to access her powers. Cate eavesdrops from the corner.
Sam (Asa Germann) struggles with his mental health and begins seeing puppets again. Justine (Maia Jae Bastidas) breaks up with him because he is not mentally well, and his hallucinations worsen. He starts seeing a p uppet that reminds him of his “summer internship” kidnapping and disappearing people for Vought. Soon, the world around him turns into felt puppets.
Marie finally talks to Jordan and admits their night together was her first time having sex. Jordan says that she was unfair to drop the L word, and Marie grows angry. As they fight, they see new posters have gone up around campus featuring Jordan. Stacey tells them that Jordan is the new number 1, and the publicist drags them away. Pam texts Marie that she is willing to meet.
Cate demands Cipher tell Vought the truth about Emma, Jordan, and Marie. Cipher tells her no, because they will have to tell Homelander her powers are not working. Homelander will consider her no better than a human. Cipher promises to help her find her powers. On her way out, Cate notices a new safe.
Stacey shows Jordan all the perks of being number 1, including a new car and endorsements. However, Jordan needs to give a speech about how God U has helped them. If Jordan says no, Vought will take it all away and ship them back to Elmira.
Emma walks into the student union and sees that a massive new sign to “resist” has been added to a wall. Cate confronts Emma about the other night, but Cate walks away after Emma deflects. Emma goes to the coffee bar and asks the barista, Tess, to get her 17 muffins. While she’s there, one of the resistance posters returns. Tess breaks down because of the constant threats. Emma promises to help.
While she’s there, the coffee girl sees a speedster spray-paint a wall, and Emma chases after them. She follows a hooded figure and discovers the speedster can touch others to take on their powers. They suddenly throw a fireball into Emma’s chest, and while she’s down, the vandal escapes the locker room.
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Emma sits in front of a mirror, looking at her new scar under her hair and her prosthetic arm. Sam shows up at her door, begging her to use her powers to give him balance. He’s starting to see things that they did over the summer together. Without her powers, she cannot help him and lies that the doctors say she cannot use them.
A defeated Sam leaves and returns to his room. He trashes his room until Jordan intervenes. Sam throws Jordan through a wall, and the two fight onto the quad. Jordan finally calms him down, but Sam admits he’s feeling suicidal. Jordan sits next to him and tells Sam his brother loved him.
Marie arrives at Aunt Pam’s front door and contemplates cutting herself. She decides against it and rings the doorbell. They make awkward small talk until Marie shows Pam (Judith Scott) the picture. She does not know anything about Odessa but confirms the photo was taken at the Godolkin Clinic, where Marie was conceived. Vought paid for the entire process. She hands over pictures of the day, and Marie finds a picture of “Doctor Gould,” who delivered her. It is Cipher.
While sitting in Polarity’s class, Emma spots yellow spray paint on a classmate’s fingers. She moves up and kicks the girl, revealing it is Harper (Jessica Clement). Emma accuses her of doing the spray painting, and the two meet outside of class. Harper admits what she did and confirms her chameleon powers. She can mimic any power for 60 seconds. She also lets slip she’s working with someone else.
Pam and Marie continue to look through pictures. Marie admits she thought her parents shot her up with Compound V because they got paid. Pam tells her that her parents loved her more than anything. After using the bathroom, Marie discovers a bedroom belonging to Annabeth. Pam tells Marie to leave, kicking off a fight about her sister. Pam will not let her speak to Annabeth. Marie reminds Pam that she had no choice in getting powers.
Jordan and Sam smoke weed while watching the “Avenue V” puppet show. Sam tells her it reminds him of his brother and admits he sees hallucinations of Luke. They talk about Andre and whether Sam should visit his home.
Harper brings Emma to her dorm room, where she meets Ally (Georgie Murphy). Emma asks about their plan, only to discover their only plan is to vandalize more Vought. She thinks they can do a lot more, including sabotage. Ally and Harper do not think they’re heroes, but Emma tells them she believes in them.
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Marie attends the Godolkin event and finds Jordan before they take the stage. Jordan tells Marie they love her, and they do not want to leave any regrets. Cipher brings Jordan on stage for their speech, which they quickly realize is shockingly against their morals. She breaks from the script and tells the crowd that Andre Anderson died in prison. Finally, Jordan accuses Vought of killing Starlighters to cover up a crime. She is the one who attacked Cate.
Is “H is for Human” worth watching?
Yes, the end of the three-episode premiere gives us some great moments for our heroes to show their bravery. While Jordan will take center stage for her admission of violence in “H is for Human,” the actions that Emma is taking behind the scenes show just how far she’s come. For an episode that cannot have Andre as a character, his moments with each of the heroes in Season 1 are reverberating throughout Gen V.
“H is for Human” also sees the return of the puppet world that haunts Sam. The sequences in Season 1 were shocking, and here, they’re used as a unique way to give us more details about the time our protagonists were in prison. Sam’s struggles would be interesting enough, but hearing them confirmed by Cate also gives us insight into her mental state. “H is for Human” shines as an episode because we see the empathy and pain within each of these characters, even as others try to beat that out of them.
Marie also gets a huge breakthrough in her journey. The picture of her with Cipher, or Doctor Gould, or whoever that might be, is going to matter in the long term for this show. While it seems like Cipher is a really bad dude, this proves he was genetically testing babies for Vought. His closeness to the situation and his time at Elmira all but prove he’s a eugenicist for superheroes. Vought does some evil stuff, and somehow this might take the cake. We can’t wait for next week, and Gen V is off to the races.
Gen V releases on Prime Video every Wednesday. “H is for Human” was released on September 17, 2025. The first three episodes premiere on September 17, and then the series releases one new episode every week from there.