Gen V Review

I’ll get this out of the way upfront: If you’re a big fan of The Boys, you’re going to enjoy Gen V. The new spin-off from Prime Video’s biggest hit takes a similar approach to the world of superheroes as its mothership series – these aren’t heroes we can look to for hope and protection (even though that’s the PR spin the series’ central supe-regulating conglomerate Vought continues to push despite the chaos wrought at the end of season three of The Boys – which is obliquely referenced throughout the series, reminding us that Homelander is in trouble for killing a protestor on camera at the close of the season). Rather, these are deeply flawed, trauma-drenched individuals who have had their superpowers thrust upon them through exposure to Compound V as infants, something they are all fully aware of (as the first generation of supes who grew up with that knowledge and let it cloud their view of themselves and their parents who dosed them). And in Gen V, they are also college students, trying to fight for the right to join The Seven (the central superhero team on The Boys) while trying to come to terms with the lengths the adults around them will go to in order to keep the superhero dream alive.

As I’ve mentioned in previous reviews of The Boys, I’ve started to find that the series has been spinning its wheels a bit in recent seasons. While the central themes of the series continue to be clear, it often feels like the series is afraid to take the major steps it needs to further explore those themes – namely deal with the Homelander problem that continues to spin in circles after two seasons with very little forward momentum. And when it comes to Gen V, the series suffers from some of those same issues. As a spin-off, it’s ultimately not telling a much different story than The Boys. Here, we have a group of super-powered individuals (only, this time they are teens and young adults who haven’t had time to really come to terms with who they want to be in adulthood), who are coming to the realization that in order to be successful as supes, they will have to be willing to be seen as commodities and fall in line behind a group of powerful adults who care little about their own wants and needs. The only difference is that when the big-name superheroes on The Boys who want to break free and fight the man, they have the money and means to do so – along with the clear control of their powers and general knowledge of how to take down those in power. Here? Well, these kids are bumbling their way into super-secret information, trying to figure out how to go against those in authority (be it teachers, mentors, or their own parents), all while trying to figure out if they can trust each other or if their competitors in the classroom are willing to sell them out for a chance at fame and fortune. It’s a bit like the Starlight arc from season one of The Boys, only on a larger scale in terms of characters fitting that same mold.

Now, that being said, there’s a lot to like about Gen V, even if the story feels a touch derivative. First and foremost, the cast assembled for this series is sensational. Sure, they don’t really pass muster as college-aged kids for the most part, but everyone more than holds their own when asked to carry major elements of the story and you can’t help but root for them. Our central figure is Jaz Sinclair’s Marie Moreau, a freshman at Godolkin University with a tragic past and a deep desire to make The Seven and prove that she’s not the monster she believes herself to be. Her power, in true The Boys fashion, is pretty gruesome – she can manipulate blood and turn it into a weapon. Chance Perdomo is Andre, a popular senior who can manipulate metal much in the same way Marie can manipulate blood, who has a father who was a famous supe as well – he, of course, is under pressure to live up to his father’s lofty expectations for him. The most intriguing set of powers comes from the character of Jordan Li, played in a split performance from London Thor and Derek Luh, a character who has super strength and who can also shift genders at will – think Kerry and Cary on Legion, but without the split consciousness. And the most interesting performance of the lot comes from Lisse Broadway as Emma Meyer, a freshman who can shrink herself, but who has a host of interpersonal issues surrounding her power and how it reveals itself.

Honestly, there’s more than enough interesting character work for the series without saddling it with a complex mystery about how those in power are manipulating young supes in dark and potentially dangerous ways. This could have been a dark X-Men-type story about how college can be an absolutely insane time when you have the ability to do whatever you want (one of the other central characters, Cate – played by Maddie Phillips – has the power of suggestion, which opens up a host of interesting college-aged stories about consent). I found myself the most engaged with the storytelling when it was focused on the college crew and their interactions and often felt taken out of the story a bit when the larger world-building elements came into play. Sure, it’s fun to watch supes try to save the day (and screw up with gross and violent consequences along the way), but it’s also interesting to watch kids struggle to find their identity when they have had one thrust upon them thanks to their power set and the need for the world at large to see them a certain way. The push and pull between outward and inward perception is such a complicated intersection of identity and the show sings when that is put front and center in story arcs. Those are the most compelling bits of the series.

But, I know that this is a series meant to dovetail nicely into The Boys, so the story was destined to get tied into that central arc. When Gen V is forging its own path and developing its characters, it’s a truly strong series. If you’re highly invested in the overall Boys mythology, you’ll be thrilled at this latest installment in the series. If you’re like me and a bit tired of the mess around the characters in The Boys, you might find yourself frustrated at moments, but there’s enough good stuff here with the show’s new characters and the strong, relatively grounded performances (which isn’t easy to do when you’re, say climbing through a man’s brain to escape a dicey situation) to justify giving the series a look. And if you’ve never watched The Boys or were too put-off by its graphic storytelling, Gen V is definitely not the series for you.