“Gen V,” the spinoff series of Amazon Prime Video’s “The Boys,” is an innovative show that pushes the boundaries of the typical college-age superhero trope. It centers around complex themes like the ethics of genetic modification and its impact on both individuals and society.
The series follows a group of college students attending Godolkin University, a school designed to help the newest generation of superheroes who had Compound V injected into them as children. As the plot progresses, the protagonists discover that the university is not what it seems.
However, this series is not just another teen mystery, nor is it a lazy spin-off.
The characters are all very multidimensional, with all of them navigating their own personal challenges such as gender identity, self-harm, eating disorders, drug use and sexual assault. The writers of the show perfectly weave together these storylines with the overall plot in a way that is easy to understand while also provoking thought and discussion.
The show follows Marie Moreau, an orphan who accidentally murdered her parents with her blood powers when she got her first period. After being separated from her younger sister and placed in a home for young superheroes, she is offered a scholarship at Godolkin University. This jumpstarts her aspiration to become the first black woman in The Seven, the most powerful superhero group in the world. She believes this is the only way she can prove to her sister and herself that she is not a bad person.
The series also makes several callbacks to its parent series, “The Boys”, even featuring a few popular characters from the show. It doesn’t stray far from “The Boys” raunchiness, with several explicit and gory scenes that definitely are not for the faint of heart. Rating: 9/10
Season four of “The Boys” is set to premiere sometime in 2024. Eric Kripke, the creator of “The Boys,” wrote, “Editing: done. VFX: halfway done. Music & sound: quarter done. Now that the SAG strike is over (yay), the actors can record additional dialogue. No airdate yet, but will be worth the wait. It could be our best season. For sure our craziest.”
