Gen V’s first season gave us the gift of some seriously wild yet loveable college supes. The journey through discovering the dark secrets of Godolkin University was quite the ride full of blood and gore. From the heartbreaking lives of Sam Riordan and Emma Meyer to the mystery of Luke Riordan a.k.a. Golden Boy, there was a lot to explore. We caught up with actors Asa Germann, Patrick Schwarzenegger, and Lizze Broadway to dive into the Sam/Emma romance and Golden Boy’s unexpected role in Gen V.
Nerdist: The final fight scene at God U was wild. Asa, can you tell me what it was like filming those fights?
Asa Germann: Filming that sequence was insane! I think we shot there for 10 days on the lawn of the campus and just witnessing the entire sequence, especially when I wasn’t even in a shot, was incredible. We had tons and tons and tons of people just running around. We had a helicopter. It was amazing. And getting to be a part of that was very special.
Let’s talk about Golden Boy. I think a lot of people assumed that he was going to present himself in a Homelander-ish way, but he ended up completely subverting those expectations. Why do you think it was important for him to occupy that specific role?
Patrick Schwarzenegger: I think what you’re referencing is that he ended up being this really kind person towards Marie [and others]… he was really this humanizing character that cared for the new person and cared for other people. I think that that was a better writing decision because it made you feel for him and buy way more into the story when he ended up dying. Spoiler.
Indeed. And with you, Lizze, there were some wild scenes for Emma. There’s that one scene where you had to film with a very, very large phallic object.
Lizze Broadway: Can we say the word?
I don’t know! I didn’t want to say it…
Broadway: …What should we say? What words can I use?
A…rod?
Interviewer’s Note: Reader, this is where things get chaotic and everyone continuously spirals into laughter. We are not mature people.
Broadway: A rod, a big rod. So how was it being on the big rod?… Because when I saw that big rod… Honestly, I know it’s crazy, but our show, nothing is done for shock value. It’s really character based. So it was really good for Emma’s storyline to ride that rod.
**insert laughter here**
But honestly, the first time I saw it I was like, this is my chance to add physical comedy. So I could start at the head and slide down. It’s a rod, right? Start at the top of the thing and then slide down. This is not making it any better… [laughs] and then pull out…
Schwarzenegger: Jeez.
Broadway: …[Head of Makeup] Colin Penman… I can’t, I’m trying so hard. [laughs again] Colin Penman gave me such a wonderland to play in… I wanted to do that justice. This is painful, I’m sorry… It was a fun day.
I created chaos and I’m sorry! Moving on… Sam and Emma’s relationship is probably one of my favorite elements of this first season of Gen V. Sadly, they end up on the opposite sides of a major moral debate. Do you think they’ll be able to restore their bond in the future?
Broadway: Absolutely not.
Germann: Whoa! It’s so funny because Lizze and I actually talk about this a lot, and I think that we come at things from a different perspective. We were so ingrained in these characters and getting to explore this relationship dynamic that we will see what happens.
Broadway: I think that relationship is so beautiful. But I think they both need therapy. I love working with [Asa] as an actor. I think [he brings] the best out of me. So in that context, I would love to have Sam and Emma come back together, but I don’t know if it would be healthy for Emma. I think she needs a lot of therapy.
Germann: …I think in general what I love about this show for both Sam and Emma is that they both have so much struggle internally and they have so much struggle in terms of the environment around them and how they’re responding to it… I feel the same way, in terms of getting to work with Lizze, it was just so much fun to get to explore that relationship and those dynamics and see how we adapted in those environments within ourselves. So I think there’s a lot of room there, but we’ll see what happens.
Broadway: I mean, they’re two misfits that came together and I feel like everyone has suffered from not feeling good enough or fitting in. And then you had these two people coming together that completed them [like] a perfect puzzle piece. And I think that’s every love story that we want.