Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Gen V.
The Big Picture
- On Gen V, Sam and Emma share a deep connection due to their dark humor and shared experiences of trauma and loneliness.
- Sam’s mental instability and violent tendencies make him a danger to others — including Emma, despite his genuine affection for her.
- Emma is focused on helping Sam but neglects her own self-care and hasn’t fully realized the extent of Sam’s issues, making their relationship unsafe for now.
Gen V introduces young supes in the messed-up world of The Boys, and like its predecessor, none of the characters are exactly healthy. At Godolkin University, where the spin-off series is set, these supes face personal traumas from their powers and the discovery of their school’s corruption. At the same time, they’re going through all the normal problems associated with that stage of life, from body image issues to relationships. The show has set up several romantic entanglements, including Marie (Jaz Sinclair) and Jordan (Derek Luh and London Thor), and Andre (Chance Perdomo) and Cate (Maddie Phillips), but, by far, the show’s most doomed couple is Emma (Lizze Broadway) and Sam (Asa Germann).
Sam and Emma’s relationship has been building since they first met in Episode 3. Like every character on the show, they have their problems, but these two have found a connection in their self-deprecation and dark humor. Yet Sam’s experiences have left him unstable as he struggles to tell what’s real versus what is only in his head and has violent outbursts where he loses control. Emma has her own problems with a power-related eating disorder and a tendency to put her value on how others perceive her. As their relationship progresses, Sam pulls back, claiming he is too dangerous, and he’s right. Though Emma has a calming effect on Sam, he is still unpredictable and sometimes violent. Emma doesn’t seem to mind the risk, but she has yet to see the full extent of Sam’s situation. She has too many issues of her own to deal with to be focused on Sam’s struggles, and Sam has a lot to figure out about himself before he can safely be with Emma.
‘Gen V’ Showed Emma and Sam Sharing an Instant Connection
Sam and Emma were drawn to each other the first time they met. Learning about the secret lab underneath the school, Andre needed a way in, and he asked Emma for help, as her shrinking abilities provided stealth. Sneaking into “The Woods,” Emma met Sam, who has limited contact with others, especially those who aren’t trying to hurt him. Sam is confined to the facility for mysterious reasons as Vought tortures and performs experiments on him. Emma’s sudden appearance is a surprise but a welcome one as she offers a link to the outside world and, later, an escape. Cut off from society, Sam is innately lonely, while Emma shares that feeling for different reasons, making them both slow to leave the other’s company.
As they get to know each other, Sam and Emma find themselves to be compatible in their dark humor from untold amounts of trauma and their loneliness. Sam is genuine and complimentary, saying things that Emma desperately needs to hear. They naturally fit together, but their relationship has many complications, from the mind-wipe that causes Emma to forget Sam to the dangerous mental state that Sam constantly lives in. Despite Sam’s awareness of that fact, they are not deterred, as Emma continues to visit him. They move forward in their relationship, disregarding the outside issues, but that doesn’t mean those issues have disappeared.
Sam and Emma Face Many Problems in ‘Gen V’
Even ignoring the obvious danger of Vought being out to get Emma and her allies while returning Sam to captivity, there is no end to the problems this pairing faces. The most significant being Sam’s mental state. After years of Vought-induced torture, Sam’s issues are amplified, making him unstable and dangerous. This is seen early on when he decides to kill Dr. Edison Cardosa (Marco Pigossi), who worked for the Woods. Attacking the psychologist at his home, Sam is willing to hurt the doctor’s family as well. The violent reactions are understandable because of what he endured in the Woods, but that doesn’t mean they’re safe.
Sam is also responsible for the Episode 5 puppet massacre. When attacked by the Woods’ security, he brutally kills each member of the team, tearing out organs and dismembering his attackers — but disassociates from reality by seeing each of them as puppets, showing that his struggles are beyond violence and verging into other mental health concerns. During this scene, Sam also hallucinates an Emma puppet, demonstrating another layer to his issues. Sam is an incredibly powerful supe and can cause terrifying damage when provoked. Unable to control himself during these outbursts, Sam is a danger to everyone around him, even those he cares about.
Sam Is Aware of His Issues in ‘Gen V,’ But Will He Tell Emma?
Sam, in particular, is concerned about the danger he poses to everyone else, expressing to Emma that he is messed up, but Emma brushes it off, saying they both are. That’s true enough as Emma struggles with self-image and an eating disorder. Yet her struggles don’t impact the people around her in the same way as Sam’s. Though dangerous, Emma’s eating disorder only hurts her. However, it is proof that she needs work as well. If she takes on the job of helping Sam constantly, she won’t have time for the self-care she needs.
The danger Sam presents is not going away any time soon on Gen V. The reality is that Emma has yet to experience the depths of Sam’s issues, which is why it’s so easy for her to brush them aside. She has a calming effect on him and manages to talk him off the ledge at Cardosa’s house, and when they have sex in the show’s most recent episode, her presence even helps Sam shake off the puppet vision. More notably, Sam’s hallucination of Emma after killing the puppets discourages violence, meaning she is the voice of reason inside his head. But that only inspires guilt and is not necessarily enough to stop the brutality. Though Sam is a victim of Vought, his torment has made it dangerous for him to be around anyone, and he would never forgive himself for hurting Emma. Even if they seem like a good match, it simply isn’t safe for them to be together right now.
New episodes of Gen V premiere Fridays on Prime Video.
