Season One Review
With "The Boys" being Amazon Prime's biggest cultural hit, it's not surprising that they've mined the source material a few more times, first for "Diabolical" and then for this, "Gen V". Taking its inspiration from one aspect of the graphic novels, "Gen V" is set at superhero college.
Having killed her family when her powers manifested, Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair) has spent her young life in a Vought institute. She applies to Godolkin University with the ultimate aim of being the first black woman in The Seven. However, when she's due to be expelled for a small part in a rebellious night out, she is spared when the University's' top ranked student, Golden Boy (Patrick Schwarzenegger) kills a member of the faculty and takes his own life.
Like the main series, "Gen V" is as much an exploration of cultural and societal prejudices, as it is a story about powered individuals. Vought are looking to fill the missing gap in "The Seven" and regardless of the relative powers and attitudes of the students, the debate is about the optics of putting "The first black girl in the seven". It's never better explained than the shift in the final scenes, which I can't talk about without spoilers. The show has exactly the same level of violence, language, and sexual content that the main series has.
Performances from the young cast are good and all of them sell the shifting loyalties and ambitions across the run well. There are a few cameos from characters in the main series and whilst generally it's an independent story, it does seem like the potential to feed back into "The Boys" is possible. The music choices, particularly on the closing credits are great too, each one an absolute banger.
I'm still a little concerned about Amazon spreading this franchise to thin, with the Mexican spinoff also on the horizon, as well as continuing both of the shows - but for now, this is good stuff.
Having killed her family when her powers manifested, Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair) has spent her young life in a Vought institute. She applies to Godolkin University with the ultimate aim of being the first black woman in The Seven. However, when she's due to be expelled for a small part in a rebellious night out, she is spared when the University's' top ranked student, Golden Boy (Patrick Schwarzenegger) kills a member of the faculty and takes his own life.
Like the main series, "Gen V" is as much an exploration of cultural and societal prejudices, as it is a story about powered individuals. Vought are looking to fill the missing gap in "The Seven" and regardless of the relative powers and attitudes of the students, the debate is about the optics of putting "The first black girl in the seven". It's never better explained than the shift in the final scenes, which I can't talk about without spoilers. The show has exactly the same level of violence, language, and sexual content that the main series has.
Performances from the young cast are good and all of them sell the shifting loyalties and ambitions across the run well. There are a few cameos from characters in the main series and whilst generally it's an independent story, it does seem like the potential to feed back into "The Boys" is possible. The music choices, particularly on the closing credits are great too, each one an absolute banger.
I'm still a little concerned about Amazon spreading this franchise to thin, with the Mexican spinoff also on the horizon, as well as continuing both of the shows - but for now, this is good stuff.
- southdavid
- Jan 16, 2024