The Boys Goes to College in the Equally Anarchic Spinoff Gen V: Review

The post The Boys Goes to College in the Equally Anarchic Spinoff Gen V: Review appeared first on Consequence.

The Pitch: In the world of The Boys, people with superpowers don’t magically have their abilities — instead, at some point in their lives (likely as children) they were given a substance known as Compound V, with the expectation that it would lead to some sort of enhancement.

Thus, there are a fair amount of young people who have grown up with supe potential, and Godolkin University offers them a place to learn, to grow, and to figure out how to use their abilities safely. Attending “God U” is the literal dream (and best chance at a good future) for orphaned Marie (Jaz Sinclair) — though as a new student, she of course finds that fitting into super-powered college life isn’t all that easy. And because Godolkin is under the umbrella of Vought International, there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes, as Marie and her friends are about to find out.

Not Exactly Animal House: The basic pitch on spinoff series Gen V is a relatively simple one — “The Boys goes to college.” However, based on the first six episodes, its actual interest in exploring the nuances of college life like a super-powered Felicity is minimal. Instead, it offers up a new ensemble of younger people with some fresh powers, who stumble across a new development in Vought’s ongoing quest for…

Actually, it’s hard to say what Vought’s ultimate goal as a corporation is, beyond more money and power — one of the ongoing mysteries of this franchise. Gen V, if nothing else, leans hard into exploring those conspiracies, without pulling its punches in terms of sex and violence.

In fact, while no whales have exploded yet, Gen V does seem on the right path toward making its parent show quite proud: As the trailer promises, at least one penis meets an untimely end, and the first episode opens with a sequence that answers the question “Has this franchise run out of ways to shock the viewer?” with a definitive “Noooooope!” (It’s too good to spoil, but trust that this show delivers at least one reasonably sized “Oh my god!” moment, as my neighbors can attest.)

Not Exactly the Avengers: While Gen V largely skips the collegiate routine of attending class and studying, there are still touches of that experience as Marie gets to know her new classmates. They include Emma (Lizze Broadway), whose ability to shrink down Ant-Man style comes with a cost; Andre (Chance Perdomo), a second-generation supe with magnetic powers; Cate (Maddie Phillips), whose powers of persuasion make her quite formidable; and Luke, aka Golden Boy (Patrick Schwarzenegger, yes, son of Arnold), who is primed to become a fresh new star for Vought, despite the fact that his flame powers always burn his clothes off.

Gen V (Prime Video)

There’s also Jordan, a single individual played by both London Thor and Derek Luh, whose abilities are connected to their gender identity: Jordan shifts between male and female forms to utilize different powers, a well-intentioned metaphor for those who identify as fluid or nonbinary, though perhaps a clumsy one at points. It’s a young cast, and in some ways as unproven as their characters, though there’s sparks of potential in each of them — Sinclair is immediately sympathetic as Marie, and some of the show’s most engaging moments involve Emma, her abilities, and her complicated relationship with them.

The faculty, meanwhile, lacks superpowers but does have the full might of Vought behind them, and also one of them is played by Clancy Brown, with the natural superpower of “intimidating.” Also, Shelley Conn (Bridgerton, Good Omens, the dearly departed Terra Nova) plays the Dean of Godolkin, delivering just the right mix of engaging kindness that Boys fans know better than to trust.

The Verdict: While character-wise, there’s very little crossover between The Boys and Gen V, the two series feel very much of a piece — in fact, Gen V isn’t so much a new house in the same neighborhood as it is a new wing of Boys Manor. This is another way of saying that Gen V isn’t designed for newcomers to this demented super-verse, but instead supplemental material that casts new light on aspects of the world not often faced by the first show — specifically, what it means to grow up in a world like this, where superheroes are real and real heroes are scarce.

That downside is that Gen V doesn’t really hold up on its own, and also doesn’t feel like it’s built to last for multiple seasons, if only because the central mystery (as compelling as it is) quickly absorbs the screen time that might be spent making Godolkin feel like a real university. And, as many superhero stories as there currently are these days, “superheroes in college” feels like an untapped opportunity.

However, while the series’s connections to its parent show may limit its audience, creatively it’s an exciting proposition, and it’s fun to discover just how much mayhem Gen V can deliver. Especially because while this franchise can feel a little nihilistic at times, there’s an innate sympathy to be found in these characters, young people who weren’t given a choice about getting these “gifts” and have to contend with the results. Of course there are potential benefits, but in our current glut of superhero tales, one ongoing theme is that great power doesn’t just come with great responsibility — it can also just be a real drag sometimes. Especially in the world of The Boys, where everything has a catch.

Where to Watch: The first three episodes of Gen V premiere Sept. 29th on Prime Video. Subsequent episodes will debut weekly on Fridays.

Trailer:

The Boys Goes to College in the Equally Anarchic Spinoff Gen V: Review
Liz Shannon Miller

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