Gen V Season 2 was dealt a major blow when Chance Perdomo died in a single motor vehicle accident before the show went into production.
Perdomo was heading to Canada for the first table read when his motorbike was involved in the accident that claimed his life.
In the subsequent weeks, Gen V‘s producers revealed that they would not be recasting the role, instead opting to kill off the character.
However, they promised that Andre would remain a part of the season, even with Perdomo gone.
“In order to honor the person that Chance was, we have to treat this like what it is, which is grieving someone who is gone,” Michele Fazekas, the showrunner, said in an interview. She added:
“But how do you fit that very real emotion into the world of this show? You do it the way people fit grief into their lives. Sometimes people are inappropriate, sometimes people are cracking jokes, and sometimes people are angry.”
Gen V finally returned for Season 2 on Wednesday, September 17, and the show revealed how it plans to keep Andre’s memory alive.
‘Gen V’ Kills Off Andre After Chance Perdomo’s Passing
The Season 2 premiere features a card with the phrase “FOR CHANCE.” It reveals that Andre died while he and his friends were being held in a secret place called Elmira.
When the episode starts, Emma (Lizzie Broadway) and Jordan (Derek Luh) are being returned to school, but they are furious and sad. When they see Cate (Maddie Phillips), who was the reason they were being held captive, she reads Emma’s mind and hears the circumstances behind Andre’s demise.
Episode 3 reveals that after the gang was locked up in Elmira, Marie (Jaz Sinclair) managed to escape. Andre also got the opportunity to escape, but did not want to leave the others behind like Marie had done.
However, he pushes his powers too far, which leads to his demise. Like his father, Polarity (Sean Patrick Thomas), Andre had been developing micro-tears in his brain whenever he used his powers to control metal. Trying to bend and break a massive door proved too much for his brain to handle.
How Andre’s Death Affects Everyone
Andre was outgoing and easily became friends with almost everyone he met.
When they leave Elmira, his friends are blanketed with sadness because of his death and are bent on bringing justice to whoever put them there.
Emma teams up with Polarity to investigate Dean Cipher’s (Hamish Linklater) role in Elmira, hoping to bring down God U and Vought’s weird experiments once and for all.
Other characters are left dealing with complicated feelings regarding Andre’s death, feelings they voice throughout the season.
Whether it was his kindness or wisdom, everyone feels the gap left by his death.
Gen V could have addressed Andre’s death in passing and moved on, but instead it leans into it fully and makes him part of the season.
The gap left by his demise will never be filled, especially because he was one of the few Black bisexual male characters to ever appear on television.
Andre will forever be missed, and so will Chance Perdomo.