Gen V, a spin-off of The Boys, centres around young superheroes learning how to hone their powers at Godolkin University and, most importantly, become marketable brands for powerful company Vought International. The show ties closely with the satirical series The Boys, both streaming on Amazon Prime Video. That synergy continues in the long awaited second season of Gen V, a journey that plays out like life imitating art. The show skewers the “us versus them” political mentality, the concept of twisted narratives and media spin, and how easy it is to incite violence by stoking a fire in deeply passionate and, in some cases, misinformed people.
This is the same thing The Boys does, particularly in its fourth season, as I wrote about in my review of The Boys season 4. But it hits harder, or at least differently, in Gen V because the lead character are teenagers or in their early 20s. They represent the next generation of heroes and citizens. It’s a frightening cautionary tale that, on the surface, is a thoroughly entertaining show. But on a deeper level, will make you think more about the world around you and the message the show is trying to send beneath all its blood, guts, and gore. And yes, there’s a lot more of that this season, too.
This review is based on episodes 1-3 of season 2 of Gen V.
Where We Left Off in Season 1
In Season 1 of Gen V, a group of students at Godolkin University were trying to comprehend the death of their friend Luke (Patrick Schwarzenegger) by suicide. He was being prepped to become the next member of the illustrious Seven, one of the most powerful superheroes on Earth. It didn’t make sense. Eventually, the teens come across a secret lab in the basement of the school where Supes are being experimented on. There’s a virus in development designed to kill Supes, arguably the only foolproof way to eliminate them from the population.
The revelation marks a divide between some of the students, and Cate (Maddie Phillips), who has the power of mind control through touch, decides to fight back. She releases all the students in captivity and leads them through the school to start a riot. They are searching for humans, any humans, and brutally killing them. The Supes need to protect themselves. When Marie (Jazz Sinclair), one of the most powerful Supes with the ability to manipulate blood and use it as a weapon, tries to stop Cate from mind controlling Jordan (London Thor, Derek Luh), she blasts off her hand in the process. Right then, Homelander (Antony Starr) shows up on campus and accuses Marie of attacking her own kind.
The episode ends with Marie and several of her friends locked away in a prison while Cate and Sam (Asa Germann), the ones who incited the riot in the first place, are deemed heroes, Guardians of Godolkin. Billy Butcher (Karl Urban), meanwhile, from The Boys appears in a post-credits scene arriving at the lab and finding the virus. At the end of Season 4 of The Boys when the new president has declared Martial Law and deputized Homelander, Cate and Sam are seen capturing Frenchie (Tomer Capone) and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) and dragging them away.
Gen V Season 2 Review
Gen V Season 2 had to be rewritten following the tragic death of Chance Perdomo, who played main character Andre in the series. His absence is dealt with immediately, but it also permeates throughout the season. It isn’t a short “let’s honor Chance/Andre and move on” storyline. The plot was clearly shifted to revolve in many ways around it. This justifies why it took so long for the second season to be a released and it’s a testament to the writers and their ability to pivot. While we’ll never know how the story was supposed to go with Andre in it, it’s not lacking in any way without him. But there’s no mistaking that the immensely talented actor and his character are sorely missed.
What’s most evident about this season is that it leans very heavily into the concept of “us versus them.” It’s impossible to watch and not draw parallels between the show and what’s going on in the real world. When The Boys first came out, fans loved the irreverent humor, the satirical storylines that poked fun at politics, corporate greed, and the way we handle social and economic issues. It’s as politically incorrect as you can get, masked by blood, gore, and entertainment. By the time the show got to its fourth season, however, it became more blatantly obvious what side of the political spectrum was being skewered (it had been obvious to many long before that, yet some hadn’t picked up on the more subtle satire). That shifted reception as viewers became just as divided on the show as the public itself. This is evidenced when looking at the show’s audience score on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, where there’s a noticeable dip in audience reception for season 4 despite the show being just as good in that season, if not better, than it was in the first three. With Gen V season 2, the narrative is like it’s pulled right from real-life headlines. It’s embellished, of course, involving superheroes and a different battle between sides. But it’s likely to result in similarly polarizing reception solely because of the political angling.
The plot centres around a societal divide: it’s the HomeTeamers, those who are on the side of the megalomaniacal Homelander, and StarLighters, those who believe that Starlight/Annie (Erin Moriarty) is not the evil person she is being made out to be. With the power of Vought International behind Homelander, and now even the presidency, he’s seemingly untouchable, and his follower base keeps getting bigger. In Gen V, this translates to the school where anyone who dares support Starlight must do so in secret. Meanwhile, the new Dean Cipher (Hamish Linklater) is hellbent on training an army of soldiers to fight in a war, not teach these kids how to be good heroes. In fact, he blatantly declares as much in one scene.
The plot takes the core teenagers on a wild ride as they reunite after their time in captivity and try to fight back against the oppression from their own kind, and the twisted narratives that are making the heroes look like villains and vice versa. Linklater is fantastic as Dean Cipher, a cool, calm, and collected leader. He’s mysterious, feared, and ruthless in his pursuit to turn these kids into the most powerful Supes in history so they can fight back against a non-existent threat of Homelander’s own making.
Like The Boys, it’s all about power, influence, and greed. But what’s interesting about Gen V is that unlike on The Boys where the most powerful Supe – Homelander – is a tyrant, the seemingly most powerful Supe in Gen V – Marie – is someone looking to end the lies and violence. And she might just be able to do it. Is she more powerful than Homelander? That’s the question being explored this season.
The season dives further into character development and the divide among students who are still trying to find themselves much less figure out who’s the “bad guys” in society. Remember, these kids didn’t ask to be who and what they are. They had no choice in the matter. Now, they’re being trained as weapons and must decide if this is their true purpose or they’re meant for something greater. Some are beginning to question their loyalties, and the most determined Starlight supporters are adamant about exposing the truth. But they need to fully understand what the truth is before they can even begin to convince others. To get there, you’ll see some unlikely pairings throughout.
Gen V Will Be Polarizing But it Makes its Statement Loud and Clear
In many ways, Gen V is a love letter to Perdomo, whose character was a key member of the cast in season one. Sean Patrick Thomas does a good job filling in some gaps, reprising his role as Polarity, Andre’s father. Sinclair, meanwhile, is fantastic leading the cast as the antithesis of Homelander, someone with arguably as much strength and power as him, but a completely different mindset. She doesn’t understand how powerful she is.
The season might seem slow at times as it kicks off, understandable given the need to work Andre’s absence into the plot. It recycles some old storylines from season one, but it introduces interesting new characters and a direction that suggests a revolt is to come. The series also leans deeper into the traditional teenage coming-of-age angles. These are, after all, kids dealing with the same challenges anyone else of that age would. They just happen to have superpowers, too.
Of course, you’ll get epic Supe fights scenes, the gender-shifting Jordan a highlight as they prove just how powerful they can be with double the unique powers and the ability to switch back and forth between them. You almost feel at times that you’re watching a video game not a show during these thrilling moments, a testament to the acting and special effects.
If you have a weak stomach, however, you’ll want to stay away. The show features gruesome, gross scenes, including one introduced right out of the gate to set the tone. (Hint: it includes everything from disembowelment to projectile vomit).
But what makes Gen V so great, as is the case with The Boys, is that there’s deep meaning, social commentary beneath the cringy surface. You might not like the message, maybe even deny it has any similarities to the real world. But whether you’re team Homelander or team Starlight, you will recognize that the show is trying to send a message. It’s a powerful one about what fuels a societal divide and the power of people coming together. But it also highlights the dangerous implications when the line between “your side and mine” becomes so defined, we lose sight of the reason behind it in the first place.