Ultra-violent superhero series “The Boys” centers around insidious corporation Vought, the corrupt superheroes it fosters and controls, and the vigilantes determined to dismantle it all, one supe at a time. The new spinoff series “Gen V” showcases a different, though no less evil side of Vought by examining a different age group’s dealings with their evil machinations.
In this case, a handful of super-powered college students find themselves in the thick of a vicious conspiracy lurking beneath the hallowed halls of Godolkin University School of Crimefighting. It makes for a completely different type of series than the parent show, though no less engaging or bloody.
Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair) overcame a tragic past, where she discovered her powerful ability to manipulate her blood through a shocking, violent act and found her way to Godolkin through scholarships. It makes her stand out among the affluent, privileged student body. When Marie gets expelled, she’s spared by a frightening encounter involving the campus’s prodigal student, Luke (Patrick Schwarzenegger). It exposes cracks in the pristine college, one that signals to Marie and her fellow students that something deeply sinister is happening.
L to R: Lizze Broadway, Jaz Sinclair, Maddie Phillips
Showrunners Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters strike the perfect balance between the merciless world “The Boys” established and a familiar coming-of-age tone befitting of the young adult series. While nearly all the players come from damaged homes or traumatic pasts that affect their current superhero ambitions, there’s a purity to them, too. For the most part, these teens haven’t yet been corrupted by Vought. “Gen V” is a show driven by flawed adolescents trying to navigate an increasingly ruthless world.
Sinclair leads the cast as the winsome protagonist in over her head among Godolkin’s elite. Through the central mysteries, Marie finds friendships and alliances forming with Luke’s closest friends, Andre (Chance Perdomo), Jordan (London Thor and Derek Luh), Cate (Maddie Phillips), and Marie’s dormmate Emma (Lizze Broadway). Every single one brings magnetic vulnerability and complexity to their roles that offsets the cruel nature of Vought’s reach. The more the series progresses, the more entangled their relationships become to an infectious degree. Untainted yet by Vought and adulthood, “Gen V” refreshingly offers a winsome sense of camaraderie among the core group, even when affected by obstacles or pain. Though it does bide its time establishing those personalities, powers, and relationships.
Because it is nestled within “The Boys” universe, “Gen V” does dabble aplenty in violence and gore. Marie’s inspired superpower alone brings the splatter, but look for the showrunners to get very creative with deaths and playing around with form to do so. There are callbacks to the parent series with familiar faces popping in, but “Gen V” wisely opts to let this spinoff speak for itself. If you haven’t seen “The Boys” yet, it won’t present as a barrier to entry here.
Of the six episodes screened for critics, out of the eight-episode season, there’s a streamlined simplicity that makes it work. One overarching mystery set solely within and around Goldokin University means a digestible inaugural season that lets its characters shine. It gives room for the series to potentially expand if renewed. That it’s more young adult-oriented than the parent series might ward away those hoping for more of the same, but “Gen V” forges its own path while adhering to the same reverence for gore and characters you love to love or hate. How it further fleshes out the expansive world makes “Gen V” worth visiting.
The first three episodes of “Gen V” are available on Prime Video now, Friday, September 29, with subsequent episodes releasing weekly on Fridays. The season finale will land on the streamer November 3.
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