If you haven’t watched this spinoff of The Boys, here’s a little recap. Gen V is a superhero story about kids with superpowers given to them by injections of a serum and approved by their parents. They’re college age now and encouraged to enroll in a university just for "Supes" like them.
It’s got all the young adult drama of college, plenty of sex and drug use, along with massive amounts of trauma. If profanity or gore bothers you, this isn’t for you. There are occasionally humorous bits sprinkled throughout.
The college has a history of being a research facility. Many adults are manipulative or downright evil. Superpowers have a way of dividing those with abilities and normal humans without. Additionally, there’s a mega corporation, Vought, with few reservations about using people and situations.
The first season introduced us to all of this, plus the major characters. Not every kid has a clear idea of their powers, and many struggle to control them. Unruly Sups are locked away in a concealed prison, so many react to threats of being sent there. No one is perfect, and character interactions get wild sometimes.
Often, the action is quick and flashy. The use of popular rock music fits right in with the genre. This show has no reservations about touching on sensitive subjects like suicide, self-harm, gender issues, eating disorders, and violence. Still, its entertaining and snarky comedy is fun.
Gen V season 2 just premiered on Amazon Prime Video with three episodes on Sept. 17. The remaining five episodes will release every Wednesday, with the finale on Oct. 22.
Let’s take a look at these first three episodes.
Episode 201: “For Chance”
This story begins in 1967. In a research facility called Vought, Dr. Godolkin (Ethan Slater) tries to stop a group of scientists from using the newly created blue serum, Compound V, on themselves. He gets there too late and they all die horribly.
Cut to the current day for an ad for Godolkin University, encouraging youths with powers to apply to the school. With the death of the dean last season, Cypher (Hamish Linklater) steps into that role. He’s anti-human, but his powers are unseen so far, and he has a role within the Elmira detention center.
Cate (Maddie Phillips) gets Emma (Lizzie Broadway) and Jordan (played by two actors: Derek Luh and London Thor) out of the detention center and back to the university. There, she learns of Andre’s death, and we find out Marie is missing.
We meet Stacey Ferrera, the new Head of Student Life. Part of her mutation includes a huge stinger. Later, we learn she barfs honey. She hands Emma and Jordan cell phones with prepared statements to give and coerces them into going along.
Cate confronts Cypher about Andre’s death. He’s rather flippant and, when she tries to touch him to use her powers, he turns the table on her, nearly shredding her hand in the process. The show openly gives us a nasty individual here.
On the run, Marie (Jaz Sinclair), looks for Annabeth Maureau, her sister. It takes her a while before she lands a clue. Shortly after, she runs across a group of humans confronting Sups at a bus stop. When Marie intervenes, it goes badly for them, and she’s recognized.
Emma goes to Polarity (Sean Patrick Thomas) to tell him about the death of his son. She tells him about seeing the dean at Elmira. He’s lost in grief and self-medicating.
Meanwhile, Dogknott (Zach McGowan) is hot on Marie’s trail. When he finds her, a violent fight ensues. It’s ended by someone special.
Campus life is returning to "normal" with excesses, bad decisions, and the stresses of college. Emma’s taking Andre’s death pretty hard. She no longer needs to purge to change her size; stress does that for her now.
Sam is also upset to learn Andre died. I’m curious as to why that was kept secret. Cate continues to keep him calm with her powers. I wonder for how long, though…it’s almost expected for this to become a problem later.
Starlight shows up and asks Marie to give up and return to the university. She asks for help regarding an Odessa research project, rumored to be restarting. Some believe it was the reason for the university’s creation in the first place.
Emma sees a video of Marie’s fight at the bus stop and shows it to Jordan. They argue over whether to go find her and whether she’s in danger. This episode ends when they find her, but Cate shows up. The ensuing confrontation ends in blood.
Episode 202: “Justice Never Forgets”
The second episode opens with Marie making a video, explaining why she is returning to God U (Godolkin University). Then cut to the dean’s office, where she’s discussing her return to school with Dean Cypher. He admits being at Elmira but dodges her question about what he did there.
He then produces Andre’s medical records to convince her that Andre suffered the same medical condition as his dad. A little too convenient and probably illegal to just pull the file out of a drawer and hand it to her. He tells her to keep the folder. Really?
Cate’s in the hospital after being assaulted. It’s being heralded as a hate crime against supernaturals. Even though unconscious, she’s still able to use her mental powers to influence people.
Polarity pulls himself together and shows back up at the university to be a faculty member. He partners with Emma to investigate the dean. They go to the library, where Emma shmoozes the librarian into letting them into the archives to research Dr. Godolkin.
In the archives, they discover a secret door which reveals a room of varying malign historical elements: KKK garments, Nazi paraphernalia, Native American garb, and files on deceased infants.
Marie and Jordan argue over the medical records and whether Andre’s death could’ve been a suicide. They each blame themselves for actions and inactions they took back in the detention center. Still, there’s room for them to express happy memories of Andre and have some intimate time.
Dean Cypher transformed the Diversity and Equity Center into Hero Optimization. Cypher wants to prepare some of his students for any possible war against humans. He pushes their powers hard and asks them to learn why their powers work the way they do. He’s relentless and uncompassionate.
The students’ first obstacle is a Supe named Valhallen. He’s an armored strongman with a giant hammer. He focuses a lot on Marie, though he injures some of the others. Afterward, Cypher tells them all they are no longer students but soldiers in his cause.
We see an induction ceremony of a brotherhood Fraternity, supposedly formed in 1861 to protect their way of life. Dr. Godolkin was a member. While at the fraternity, and no longer influenced by Cate, Sam begins to lose control.
Dognott kills a young man who encountered Marie when she was on the run. He blames the boy for the attack on Cate, which is echoed by news reports.
This episode concludes with Cate waking and seeing murdered medical personnel on the floor of her room. Just then, Cypher comes in and asks what she was into.
Episode 203: “H is for Human”
Humans enter through a security gate set aside just for them. We see one young girl who was previously harassed for being human. She works at the food court coffee shop. She repeatedly tears down resistance posters only for them to instantly reappear.
Marie meets with Polarity, Emma, and Jordan, where they look through the folder of dead babies, only to find pages on Marie. They believe these were part of the Odessa project. Questions arise about whether Odessa is a person. Marie reaches out to her mom’s old friend in hopes of finding some answers and hopefully more information on her missing sister.
Cate is released from the hospital. She’s disoriented, and it could be that her powers are dampened. When she faces Marie, Jordan, and Emma, she reveals nothing about her attack.
The next of Cypher’s classes takes place. This time, Marie faces the attacker alone. After the class, Cypher questions her on why she must cut herself to access her powers. He believes she can be “Angelina Jolie in Salt” if she focuses on her power.
Sam’s decline is growing worse with violent flashbacks and seeing people as puppets. Inanimate objects taunt and insult him. He reaches out to Cate for help with his mental issues, but she can’t help him. His rage takes over.
Cate insists Cypher reveal who her attackers really are. Of course, he declines and intimidates her with a pretend conversation with Homelander. He reminds her that, without her powers, she is just a human, so she needs to focus on healing.
Marie meets with Pam, her mom’s friend. She learns she was conceived at the Godolkin clinic. Pam gives her a collection of photos from when she was born. Among them are pictures of her parents and of Cypher holding her.
Pam reveals that he was the doctor who delivered Marie and that Compound V is what allowed them to have her. I wondered if the sister was also conceived as a result of the compound, but then Pam said she was “the true miracle.” I’m intrigued about what that means.
Occasionally on campus, the Supes are rated, so it’s a big deal to be number one. Jordan takes that spot for the first time. He and his parents are given fancy new cars. In lieu of a celebration, Stacey gives Jordan a pre-written speech in which she incorrectly calls him transgender. He’s to read it during the Thomas Godolkin Day celebration.
Emma learns about the reappearing posters and decides to figure out who is doing it. She ends up seeing a hooded figure spray painting on the wall and gives chase…right into a men’s locker room. Eventually, she finds out who it is and confronts them.
Sam and Jordan spend time together, which calms him somewhat. They watch children’s programs. It’s interesting that when he sees puppets and animated objects, they very much resemble those on this show.
Everyone gathers for the celebration, which marks 60 years since the university's founding. Jordan gives his speech. Partway through, he switches to his female visage and reveals to the crowd that Andre died and confessed she’s the one who attacked Cate.
So far, some of the plot of this season is barely concealed. I can’t say if that’s intentional. We have enough reveals with the hidden room contents and other small tidbits to promise some discovery as the season progresses. I like how a few of the characters are making connections and look forward to learning how they weave in or break with the plot.
Stream new episodes of Gen V season 2 on Prime Video every Wednesday.