Gen V debuted with its first three videos on Prime Video. Fans of The Boys will be glad to know that this superhero drama spin-off does not disappoint! The series follows super-powered students at Vought’s Godolkin University, as fans are taken for another wild ride in this dark and gory universe ruled by the evil monopoly.
Think X-Men Academy but more human and realistic with none of the boundaries. If adolescent superheroes existed in the real world, they would be as complicated, emotional, and troubled as the characters of Gen V. What happens when humans are given powers beyond their wildest dreams? Some will use it for good, while others will use it for their twisted fantasies. And several questionable fantasies in Gen V give fans a glimpse of how heroes like The Seven could get away with the weird things they do. For fans who miss The Boys and can’t wait for the next season, this series will keep you comfortable and sated until then. Here is a review of the first three episodes of The Boys spinioff, Gen V!
Gen V Episode 1 Review:
While The Boy’s first episode goes down in history as the most epic, jaw-dropping, and unhinged pilot episode of any superhero show, Gen V’s Episode 1 comes quite close. It has the blood, gore, and profanity that will leave fans shocked and wondering if what they saw was real. It serves as an introduction to the show’s main characters, but audiences won’t be able to look away by the end of the episode. Thankfully, Prime Video released the first three episodes simultaneously because episode one ends on a cliffhanger.
The first episode starts with Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair) as a twelve-year-old girl playing with her little sister at home. On their TV, A-Train ( Jessie T. Usher), the first African American, has just been recruited into the seven. Moreau then gets her first period, which triggers her supernatural powers of blood-bending. Because she’s unaware that her parents gave her compound V as an infant, she doesn’t know what’s happening and accidentally kills them.
Fast forward years later, to her surprise, Moreau gets accepted into Vought’s Godolkin University for superheroes. And she isn’t planning on looking back. At the university, she meets her roommate, Emma (Lizze Broadway), a size-shrinking girl whose sweet, over-excited personality hides a dark secret she doesn’t want anyone to know. Moreau is invited by the “cool kids,” including Golden Boy (Patrick Schwarzenegger) – who can set himself on fire, his mind-controlling girlfriend – Cate (Maddie Phillips), the metal-bending Andre (Chance Perdomo), and the gender-shifting student – Jordan Li (Derek Luh & London Thor), The group finds themselves getting high at a club but things go left pretty quick. A woman is on the floor bleeding, and Moreau, though high on drugs, tries to help her. While the fame she gets from this moment should have cemented her place at Godolkin, it has the opposite effect. Moreau is almost expelled from the university, but Golden Boy’s psychotic break changes everything.
Gen V Episode 2 Review:
In light of Golden Boy’s death, Moreau is now famous as the hero who killed him in retaliation for Professor Brink’s (Clancy Brown) death. She’s currently the first freshman to rank in the top ten at Godolkin. Andre is still shaken after losing his best friend and wants to understand what happened to him. With Jordan Li losing the only person in their corner, their ranking drops. They try to convince Moreau to tell the truth about the fight during her upcoming interview, but considering Jordan had no problem rejecting her from Brink’s crime-fighting intro class, Moreau isn’t so eager to help.
It’s clear the university has many secrets, and Professor Brink has a role in messing up some of the students, including Golden Boy, who constantly had nightmares about “The Woods.” With a video, Golden boy left behind, Cate and Andre discover a facility beneath the school where they experiment on students. Episode 2 delivers a more intense and emotional ride, with the characters facing life changes after Golden Boy’s death. It has a more investigative tone as Andre tries to figure out what secrets their school is hiding.
Gen V Episode 3 Review:
In Episode 3, fans finally see how the kids with compound V feel when they realize what their parents did. And from Golden Boy’s brother, Sam, it doesn’t seem like they were happy to get these powers against their will. This episode also highlights the mental toll having powers has on these adolescent kids. They are consumed by what their friends think, what they think about themselves and their place in society, and it’s eating them up inside.
Emma struggles with the mental and physical cost of her shrinking power while the Dean, Indira Shetty (Shelley Conn), plays the role of mother to Moreau. But she has other sinister plans for the new Guardian of Godolkin. Audiences also get to see what the supes’ parents are like, and it’s super-complicated. Most of their parents are self-obsessed and hardly show their children any love, which isn’t surprising since they willingly gave their kids an unstable chemical that altered their lives forever. All this family drama unravels during a fundraising event at the school, where the Dean is showing off Marie in hopes of getting more funding.
Is Gen V as Good as The Boys?
While it may be a little early, Gen V is as wickedly enjoyable, violent, and captivating as its predecessor. It has the blood-soaked, action, and raunchy scenes you would expect from a series set in this universe. It also has mystery, fascinating superhero lore, and excellent writing, which will keep fans wanting more. While there aren’t any human protagonists that fans can relate to like in The Boys, Gen V’s main characters, although unlikable, showcase their imperfections, desire for power, and what they’re willing to do to stay at the top.
Fans also get to see the real power of Vought International. From media influence to controlling different aspects of their world, Vought’s manipulation runs deep, and it all starts at Godolkin University. The fresh perspective of the superhero story, a talented cast, and realistic social commentary make this show a must-watch.
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