Genera+ion Season 1, Episode 2 recap: Naomi figures out Nathan’s secret

Generation Episode 2 jumps immediately into the crazy mall birth scene yet again. Naomi is frantic as she rushes to a nearby store to get everything her friend could possibly need, including extra big scissors to cut the umbilical cord. It’s a mess. When she finally returns, she’s hassled by a security guard who seems to think that the two girls are hogging the restroom to have sex or smoke weed (does this guy not hear the screaming behind the door?).

Naomi tries to brush him off by claiming her friend is having her period, but he’s not impressed. Regardless, she arrives laden with baby food and formula, entering the bathroom to help her friend through whatever she’s dealing with inside.

Then we skip back three months earlier. It’s club sign-up day at school, and all the teens we’ve met thus far are each struggling with their own specific crises. Greta accidentally fumbles while watching porn on her phone and sends Riley a stream of awkward, embarrassing messages on Instagram.

Nathan is nervous that Naomi will find out about his hook-up with Jake, especially as she’s stared long enough at the dick pic she took at church to notice a birthmark. You already know that’s going to come back later. Then there’s Chester, who is forced to meet with Sam after that “rooftopping” picture and encourages him to become the new lead counselor of the Gay-Straight-Alliance.

Generation Episode 2 recap: The school goes into lockdown

As the kids are trying to decide whether they want to save the animals or be feminist (Delilah’s own words), a lockdown causes everyone in the GSA meeting to get stuck together in one room. That includes Riley and Chester, who immediately bond (much to the annoyance of an envious Nathan); Arianna (Nathanya Alexander) continues to make relentlessly bigoted and homophobic jokes despite having two gay dads; Delilah, Greta, Sam and Chester. Naomi gets stranded in the school bathroom and decides now would be the perfect time to finally hook up with her boyfriend, Jack.

The lockdown scenario allows for us to learn a little more about these characters as they’re confined to a single space for the entirety of the episode. And if you were concerned that Generation Episode 2 would take a dark turn with a school shooter, don’t fret. The reason for the lockdown seemed to be a nearby robbery and nothing more.

While in the room, Sam starts to make a breakthrough with Chester and his intense fear of death. We find out that his mom died from cancer, and his grandmother is raising him. Greta and Riley share a nice moment as Riley starts to get anxious over being confined in a small space. Greta comforts her by reciting a rhyme her mother used to say to her. And we also find out that Greta’s mom was deported, although Greta doesn’t seem all that concerned about it.

Of course, the episode’s most significant reveal comes when Jack and Naomi are getting hot and heavy in the bathroom, only for Naomi to yank down his pants and immediately recognize the birthmark on his penis. Given her shocked reaction, it’s clear she now knows that something is going on between her boyfriend and her brother.

The first three episodes of Generation are now available to stream on HBO Max. New episodes drop Thursdays on the app.