Gen V Season 2 Is Losing What Made It Special
The sophomore season of 'The Boys' college spinoff is starting to suffer the problems of its origin.
When The Boys Season 4 premiered in June of 2024, it was clear it was at the end of its lifespan. The satire went from shocking to groan-inducing, the plotlines got more on-the-nose, and the gore was no longer as satisfyingly gnarly as it once was. But despite all the tired aspects of the season, there was one bright spot: the upcoming return of Gen V, the college-set spinoff that took all the best parts of The Boys and skewed them younger with some classic young-adult teen drama issues.
But in Gen V Season 2, it seems like The Boys’ bad habits have carried over to it. While there are still glimmers of the show it once was, and it remains very watchable, it elicits more eyerolls than gasps. To paraphrase William Shakespeare, the sins of the original show are to be laid upon the spinoff.
Gen V Season 2 picks up soon after the events of The Boys Season 4: Victoria Neuman is dead, superhero supremacy is at an all-time high, and Annie January, aka Starlight, is a wanted criminal. She’s not the only one. Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair) has escaped Elmira prison and is now trying to lay low, while her friends Jordan (London Thor/Derek Luh) and Emma (Lizze Broadway) get out in a much more straightforward way: they’re brought back to Godolkin University’s campus by Cate (Maddie Phillips), newly exonerated and lauded as “Guardians of Godolkin.”
Hamish Linklater’s Cipher is God U’s mysterious new Dean.
But just because their names are cleared, it doesn’t mean that everything is back to normal. There’s a new Dean in charge: Cipher (Hamish Linklater), and he’s all about Superhero Supremacy, down to hiring an all-Supe faculty. He’s also possibly at the center of a new massive conspiracy Marie gets a tip about.
But the biggest carryover from Season 1, something that looms over every scene of this season, is the loss of Andre Anderson, the result of the tragic passing of actor Chance Perdomo. Thankfully, this is one of the (very) few issues that is dealt with with nuance. Everyone grieves differently, something that’s shown through the various “Guardians” and Andre’s father, Polarity.
But that sensitivity is lost as soon as the series cuts to an exterior shot of God U’s campus, covered in banners saying “Make America Super Again.” I understand how wild the world is nowadays — as I write this, the world is reeling from a political assassination that took place on a college campus — but everything is so on the nose it reaches the sinuses. Emma starts a class on social media taught by “Modesty Monarch,” the self-proclaimed founder of the “tradsupe” movement. A “Homelander” says the line, “I bet you douche with adrenochrome.” Even the issues that were mostly sidestepped in Season 1, like the imperfect comparison between Jordan’s bigender superpower and the trans experience, are laid out in the most obvious way.
Andre’s passing is something all the characters, especially his dad Polarity, take to heart.
Those are all just set dressing for the central mystery, which does at least keep you coming back for more. The conspiracy-thriller aspect of Season 1 is replicated without ever feeling repetitive, and new dynamics and status-quo changes are definitely welcome. The highlights of the series are the moments where that Gen V charm shines through, like the examination of Sam (Asa Germann) as he unpacks his trauma and mental illness and Emma’s powers being linked to her eating disorder. There aren’t any puppet fight scenes or exploding penises, but at least you get the occasional moment of college drama that sets it apart from The Boys.
All my biggest worries about the series were alleviated by the penultimate episode, when a major twist completely undoes the season’s main villain, something I didn’t see coming at all. That rug-pull moment does a lot to forgive the earlier sins. Even if Gen V is devolving and picking up The Boys’ worst habits, it can still pull off an epic finale that will keep viewers guessing.
The Boys will end after Season 5, and I can’t wait to see how Gen V will continue to grow without its elder sibling’s shadow in the way. But unfortunately, sophomore year at God U also comes with a sophomore slump. But hey, maybe junior year will be better. Maybe we’ll study abroad.
