Content warning: The following piece contains spoilers for “Gen V” and mild descriptions of gore.
Expanding the universe of Amazon Prime Video’s “The Boys,” “Gen V” will make your head explode! Currently ranked number one on Prime’s top ten in the U.S. and scoring 97% on the Tomatometer, “Gen V” deserves all the hype it receives. The series follows the events from season three of “The Boys” and is a play on Gen Z and influencer culture, as well as the complexities and corruption in higher education while being a product of Compound V.
The show begins with a flashback to the main character Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair) at the age of 12 when she hit puberty and discovers her powers, blood manipulation (hemokinesis). Unfortunately, on the same day, by turning her floating menstrual blood into daggers, she kills both her parents out of shock. The bloody tragic scene sets the tone of the series laying out her drive to become a superhero. Both Marie and her sister Annabeth are placed into foster care, where Annabeth is later adopted while Marie remains in the system until she receives her acceptance letter for Godolkin University.
Godolkin University was founded by Vought International, the mega multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical, media and superhero entertainment corporation featured in “The Boys.” Training the next generation of heroes since 1965, at GOD U, accepted supes can major in either crime-fighting with the potential of joining the Seven or pursue the performing arts and learn how to build a celebrity following. The University takes a riff on Professor Xavier’s school for superhumans in X-Men, except with much more gore and exploding appendages. Yet, the school’s original purpose has always been to study and manipulate supes, to find the means to control and sell them to corporate America through an institutional pipeline.
The audience is introduced to Emma Meyer (Lizze Broadway), Marie’s roommate, recording a YouTube video for her show, “Fun Sized with Little Cricket” where she utilizes her ability to shrink to build an online following of one million followers. In addition, we soon meet the pre-established “friend” group with Cate Dunlap (Maddie Phillips), Andre Anderson (Chance Perdomo) and Luke Riordan (Patrick Schwarzenegger) otherwise known as “Golden Boy” with powers similar to Human Torch from “Fantastic Four.”
Luke has been under the care of the renowned professor of Crimefighting Richard “Brink” Brinkerhoff for what is portrayed as a few years, even being promised a spot on the Seven. On the outside, he seems grateful for the opportunity though based on the look during his hug with Brink and a voice calling to him, it all alludes to something more. Through his character, the audience learns of Sam Riordan (Asa Germann) who happens to be Luke’s forgotten brother with superhuman strength kept in “The Woods,” a secret bunker/lab of sorts under the University that contains tortured and studied supes.
Within the group is another character whose public interest isn’t met with the same reciprocation. Meet Jordan Li, Brink’s TA, who can switch between genders that each display their own specialized power; when in their male form, played by Derek Luh, Jordan “is indestructible and incredibly strong,” whereas their feminine form, as London Thor, “is agile and capable of firing off powerful energy pulses.” Their bigender ability is perceived as “controversial,” negatively affecting their overall ranking and chances of being in the Seven, as Vought focuses mainly on popularity votes.
The first season of “Gen V” tackles the hardships of wanting to be a superhero, idealizing and learning of a corrupt institution and heroes, all while “finding” yourself at University. At a nightclub, the friend group dabbles with drugs where Andre manipulates a piece of metal that accidentally cuts a stranger’s throat. Viewers then learn of Marie’s healing powers to stop bleeding and save people’s lives. Yet after going viral, Marie is tested to defend herself and her place at GOD U. Wherein she is expelled by Professor Brink as the sacrificial lamb for events occurring the night before. In confronting Brink, she arrives on time to witness Golden Boy flaming him. Luke targets Marie in fear she’s aware of “The Woods” but faces an epic battle against Jordan where he then exits the school’s building and sees Andre. Overwhelmed with guilt, Luke hugs him, whispers his final words and flies up to take his own life.
Best friend Andre teams up with whoever he can to understand Luke’s unusual behavior, opening the door for the Woods, meeting Sam and the overall bigger picture created by Dr. Cardosa (Margo Pigossi) in partnership with Dean Shetty, being a virus capable of killing supes. At the same time, Andre’s father and GOD U Alum, Polarity, places heavy pressure on him, also possessing the same ability: magnetic telepathy, to clean up his act and start focusing on his future, i.e. joining the Seven.
As the show progresses, we learn of Cate’s “gifts” being telepathy, persuasion and (when off of her medication given by Dean Shetty) the ability to read the minds of those in close proximity. After a mysterious blackout following a fight with Sam, the friend group finds out that Cate has been directed by Shetty to wipe their memories of “The Woods,” Sam and all the evil the school is behind.
Instead of a verbal explanation, Cate shows more of her background to Marie, Jordan and Andre through an Astral Projection: the result of her family relationship after sending her brother away and how long Shetty has been mentoring and “caring” for her. The memories begin to mix into Jordan’s, as we see them protect Brink from a scene similar to episode one. This ultimately led to Brinks’s death and Luke’s spiral; a divide and lack of trust is then cemented in the group.
Coming to campus is Congresswoman Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit), so Marie and Jordan break into Shetty’s office looking for evidence on “The Woods” to tell her. In the process, they find that Shetty’s family was on Flight 37, the failed rescue mission by “The Boys” Homelander (Antony Starr) and Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott), explaining her motive to eradicate all supes. With a cameo from Neuman, viewers and Marie learn their powers are alike, scoring herself an ally inside the institution.
Shetty’s truth is revealed under Cate’s control, going even further to regain her friends’ trust by making Shetty slice her own throat. Cate’s detachment from Shetty’s control creates a partnership with Sam over “justice,” in contrast to his original plan of revenge for making Luke forget him, where they believe in the protection and supremacy of all supes over regular people. The rest of the group disagrees so much so that they’re willing to fight against their now former friends during the season’s finale.
This battle of morality features once-studied supes from The Woods, including Sam, attacking non-supes due to Cate’s manipulation tactics while the four try to prevent this massacre from expanding. It ends with a special appearance from Homelander flying down from the sky after Marie blows off Cate’s arm, “saving the day” by placing the blame of this day on Marie and blasting her with his laser vision. Luckily, she survives though wakes up in a hospital gown alongside Andre, Emma and Jordan in a secret location.
The end of the series leaves fans of both “Gen V” and “The Boys” with predictions and questions, but more importantly, excited for more. With Dean Shetty dead and Vougtht CEO Ashley Barrett powerless to Homelander, there is potential for the company to take full control over Godolkin University. More important, is figuring out where Marie, Jordan, Emma and Andre are being held, whether that be in the Vought adult facility in Elmira, spoken about in the first episode, or a cell in Vought Tower, similarly seen in “The Boys,” that held Queen Maeve. Fans have also theorized that this end clip is yet another mind illusion created by Cate.
More fan theories include the possibility of Homelander taking Cate and Sam under his wing as both share a similar agenda of superhero superiority and are the new Guardians of Godolkin. This leads some to wonder whether they will become the new additions to the Seven (making it the Five). With Cates’s new-found hunger for justice, there’s also the possibility of her seeking revenge for her exploded arm against Marie.
With the virus in the hands of Neuman and the end credit scene with Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) learning about “The Woods” confirming he was listening to Mallory’s conversion with Shetty about the virus, “The Boys” season four has the perfect setup. This surprise cameo from Butcher has left some theorizing Marie, Jordan, Emma and Andre could be saved by the Boys and potentially team up. “The Boys” Season Four is set to release in 2024 and is confirmed to pick up after the events of “Gen V” Season 1. This means fans may have cameos of their favorite young supes, yet we won’t be seeing more of them until 2025.
