Note: This is a spoiler-free review of Gen V Season 2. The first three episodes will premiere on Prime Video on September 17.
With Gen V Season 1, Prime Video proved there’s plenty of room to expand The Boys universe beyond the central conflict between Billy Butcher’s team and The Seven. Vought International has its multinational fingers in a great many pies, and that includes running a college for hedonistic young supes coming to terms with their powers. And with Season 2, we have confirmation that the concept has real staying power. There’s no sophomore slump for these super-powered students, just a series that continues to build effectively and meaningfully on the foundation of The Boys.
Granted, Season 2 does take a bit of time to find its footing. Season 1 promised a drastically different status quo in the aftermath of the violent massacre on the Godolkin University campus. Cate (Maddie Phillips) and Sam (Asa Germann) have conned their way into becoming the heroes of that little incident, while Marie (Jaz Sinclair), Emma (Lizzie Broadway), and Jordan (London Thor and Derek Luh) now rot inside a mysterious Vought facility.
Despite the way things were left, though, Season 2 doesn’t quite mark the profound change in formula fans might be expecting. The early episodes contrive a way to mostly return to the sexed-up, raunchy superhero college formula. Despite the dire straits our heroes find themselves in, class must go on. Granted, it’s a formula that still works, but some of the novelty has definitely worn off since Season 1. The series takes some time to rebuild its narrative momentum in the early episodes. Fortunately, the focus on classroom drama and school rankings gradually fades over the course of Season 2, with the stakes steadily building in the back half of this eight-episode season.
Particularly during Season 4, The Boys itself has often been guilty of biting off more than it can realistically chew. Gen V, by comparison, is more purposeful and efficient with its structure. While it would have been nice to see a little more focus on Sam and Cate in the early episodes, each main character does ultimately undergo a satisfying, cohesive arc in Season 2. This is a show about damaged, traumatized youth rebelling against a rotten system and discovering who they’re really meant to be. Each of the leads is allowed to appreciably grow and develop over the course of the season.
It doesn’t hurt that the series continues to bank on strong performances from each of the leads. Lizze Broadway’s Emma is the standout here, as she brings both an infectious, good-natured charm and a deep-seated sense of pathos to a character who can only shrink and grow based on her emotional state. But everyone gets their chance to shine. Jaz Sinclair has plenty to work with as the series explores Marie’s journey to truly understand her blood-based abilities and rise to the occasion. London Thor and Derek Luh are also great in their twin roles as Jordan, a character who feels entirely consistent regardless of which actor is playing them in any given scene.
Then there’s the elephant in the room in the form of Chance Perdomo, who tragically died while travelling to Toronto to film Season 2. Executive producer Eric Kripke already confirmed that the Andre role would not be recast, but that Andre would be written out of the series in a respectful manner. Perdomo’s absence is certainly felt, but the way in which his death is handled is about as elegant and respectful as could be hoped, given the situation. It forces the series to pivot to focusing on Sean Patrick Thomas’ Polarity, now a man grieving for his lost son as well as facing a terminal disease. Thomas makes the most of his material, delivering an emotionally rich portrayal of a man trying to find himself every bit as much as these aspiring superheroes.
As with any superhero project, Gen V is only as good as its villain. And that’s where Season 2 really excels. Midnight Mass and Legion’s Hamish Linklater joins the cast as Dean Cipher, who replaces the disgraced and thoroughly dead Indira Shetty (Shelley Conn) from Season 1. Cipher is only too happy to preside over a new era at God-U, one where humans are treated as second-class citizens and supe supremacy is on the rise. Here, the series continues to build meaningfully on the events of The Boys and dig deeper into the ever-darkening state of this universe. The series as it is now could only exist post-The Boys Season 4.
Like its parent series, Gen V is a show with plenty to say about our current political climate. As usual, it’s not remotely subtle in its use of allegory. Does it even count as allegory when it’s this obvious who and what is being satirized? Hashtag #MakeAmericaSuperAgain? But these are not exactly subtle times. Season 2 rages against the authoritarian machine in a way you’d hope for and expect from a show about rebellious, superhuman college students. Dean Cipher is just one more terrible face of the many-headed hydra that is Vought.
Plus, Linklater is just so much fun as the demented dean. From his first appearance, the series makes no secret of the fact that Cipher is a sociopathic master manipulator. He may well be Vought’s greatest monster this side of Antony Starr’s Homelander. Linklater knows how to chew scenery well, and he does so frequently and with great gusto. Cipher can be charming and affable in one moment and utterly unhinged and terrifying the next. Each time his careful composure breaks, it becomes more and more clear that this is not a well man. Linklater consistently makes the most of a truly meaty role.
True to his name, Cipher is also nothing if not enigmatic. Who is he, really? What are his powers? What motivates his intense hatred of those he deems as his inferiors? Those questions provide ample narrative thrust throughout the season, culminating in a truly memorable reveal late in the game. In short, Cipher is one of the best and most compelling characters this universe has yet produced. If you’re a The Boys fan who wasn’t won over by the initial premise of Gen V, it’s worth giving the series a second look for his sake.
And again, the series really does play like an organic and natural extension of the core The Boys saga. It makes the most of the foreboding tone and climate established at the end of The Boys Season 4. It also draws in enough of the major players from The Boys that Gen V never feels walled off or trapped in its own little bubble. The guest shots range from goofy little cameos to substantial appearances. All help build connective tissue between the two shows without overwhelming the series or overshadowing the main cast of characters. If anything, Season 2 is even stronger than its predecessor in that regard. The cameos are very well done, particularly those that come in the final three episodes.
And for those that watch these shows for the extreme violence and black humor as much as the characters and storylines, know that Gen V Season 2 doesn’t disappoint on that front. There’s no shortage of goopy, disgusting gore to be had. Limbs, heads, and other body parts explode, and often. Oh yes, there’s more puppet fun to be had for sure. This season also gets a lot of mileage out of the idea that not all metahumans are created equal. Some of the powers on display, such as the God-U student with an inter-dimensional portal in their rectum, truly have to be seen to be believed. There’s rarely a dull moment in this blood-soaked, utterly profane superhero universe.
It remains to be seen what, if any, future this spinoff series has on Prime Video. That may depend entirely on what state this world is in by the end of The Boys’ fifth and final season. But if Season 2 is ultimately the end of the road for Gen V, the finale delivers a satisfying sendoff for Marie and the gang. It’s not a full-blown cliffhanger like Season 1’s finale, but rather the end of one chapter and the act of opening the door to another.
