On the brink of war between humans and Supes, the team discovers a program that could change everything.
Spoiler-free review: The first three episodes will premiere on Prime Video on September 17.
Cameos, crazy revelations, and gore galore, bloodier, & provocative
Gen V season 2 marks an exciting and heartfelt return of the gripping spin-off, expanding The Boys universe even further with a deeper exploration of the Guardians of Goldokin. While there are plenty of violent, mind-blowing fight sequences, wtf moments, and even more devastating fatalities, it doesn’t rely solely on shock value but rather pushes boundaries, adding context to the world of unhinged supes.
Gore galore, bloodier, and provocative — but the series also explores themes of mental health, trauma, gender identity, and self-harm. Season 2 adds an additional slew of new villains and new alliances, testing abilities and just how far they can go in this eerie, relevant political landscape. Prime Video’s exhilarating first season of the unhinged superhero spin-off proved itself a worthy expansion, effectively building on the foundation of the universe that brought us Vought, The Seven, and Billy Butcher’s team.
In a world where superheroes are more powerful than politicians and can do whatever the f*** they want, who puts them in check? Fans became immersed in Prime’s binge-worthy Emmy-winning adaptation of Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s gritty comic series The Boys, which was one of the best new shows of 2019. Gen V, the exciting spin-off, comes from a loose adaptation of the story arc from the Boys called “We Gotta Go Now.” Now, the second season of the fan-favorite satirical superhero TV series is back with an explosive, ambitious new season and a fantastic, chilling new villain.
While Season 2 starts off as a bit of a slow-burn, the buildup leads to a truly satisfying and rewarding reveal. Gen-v serves as a direct continuation and bridges the gap between season 3 and season 4 of the main series, with this season taking place after the fourth season of The Boys (2024), so it is an essential watch for understanding the upcoming and final season of The Boys.
Prime gives fans an exciting return of the unrestrained and provocative franchise with school currently back in session. The first episode picks up months after the events of season 1 and the violent on-campus massacre which left us with a cliffhanger as Andre, Marie, Jordan and Emma woke up imprisoned in a mysterious Vought facility.
After being trapped in the doorless white-walled Vought facility in Elmira for eight months, only some of our heroes made it out alive. It’s a new year, and the Guardians of Goldokin reluctantly return to campus, with a clean slate – but that doesn’t mean there aren’t ulterior motives at play. While Cate and Sam are celebrated heroes, Marie Moreau (Sinclair) and the rest of her friends must return to class after suffering months of trauma and loss.
As the rest of America adjusts to Homelander’s fascist reign (all too familiar), back at God-U, there’s a mysterious new Dean (Linklater) preaching a curriculum that promises to make students more powerful than ever. Meanwhile, there is a war brewing between Human and Supes, both on and off campus, and the crew learns of a secret program from the 60s that dates back to the founding of Goldolkin University. And, somehow, our blood-bending hero Maria is a part of it.
Season Two stars Jaz Sinclair (Marie Moreau) Lizze Broadway (Emma Meyer) Maddie Phillips (Cate Dunlap), London Thor and Derek Luh (Jordan Li), Asa Germann (Sam Riordan), Sean Patrick Thomas (Polarity) and Hamish Linklater joins the cast as Dean Cipher.
‘New Year, New You’ – School is back in session, and it’s Sophomore year at Goldolkin University. In typical Gen V fashion, there’s the absurd classroom drama, hedonistic parties, crucial school rankings, and the standard provocative superhero college formula amongst the aggressive political landscape.
While Gen V centralizes the rebellion against corrupt superheroes who abuse their power, it also lets each of the leads discover who they are meant to be and the limits of their abilities. Boasting a fantastic cast and note-worthy performances from our young heroes, family also plays a big part this season with relationships and friendships put to the forefront. Expanding on current issues like mental health and themes of forgiveness and trust, this season even lets the little dogs have moments to shine. While the disjointed narrative takes some time to find its footing it absolutely raises the stakes towards the second half of the season. This season does however take its time to explore individual storylines and does a really great job of developing each of the lead characters and eventually tying together isolated plot-points.
We see so much growth in Marie (Sinclair) as she begins to truly understand the extent of her blood-bending abilities and takes on more of a leadership role while trying to get better at not doing everything alone. One of the major highlights this season is the emotional growth from Emma (Broadway), who we see rising to the occasion inspiring more unlikely heroes with her newfound confidence.
London and Derek are superb as Jordan Li and truly feel like one person, their consistency is incredible and the season explores their persona and morality even further. We also see a bit of a more vulnerable Sam (Germann) who is struggling to reconnect with who he used to be, and Cate (Phillips) struggles to regain the trust of her former best friends. Missing this season is the popular and beloved Andre.
The Gen V follow up respectfully honors the absence of the fav Magento-esque Andre Anderson, played by Chance Perdomo, who tragically died in a motorcycle accident in 2024. His tragic death left both the series and his cast members forever changed. Despite not appearing, Perdomo still has a big impact on Season 2.
Shortly after Perdomo’s passing, Gen V producers confirmed in Variety that the character of Andre Anderson would not be recast. Stating that “No one can replace Chance. Instead, we have been taking the time and space to recraft our Season 2 storylines as we begin production in May. We will honor Chance and his legacy this season.” Season 2 keeps its promise, with Andre still being a major focus connecting his shocking death to the mysterious facility and the repercussions of the Guardian’s actions. Andre was fearless and loved his friends, this season made sure to emphasize his impact.
His on-screen father Polarity (Thomas) takes a bit more of a prominent role as the grieving father and guidance figure helping the crew get their revenge for Andre’s murder. Polarity takes things into his own hands discovering the secrets of the new Dean’s agenda while also struggling with a terminal disease. Thomas offers a strong performance as the grieving father fighting with guilt and the traumatic loss of Andre.
However, it’s the villain that really carries the series. The biggest highlight is the main antagonist played by Hamish Linklater who joins the cast as Dean Cipher. Replacing the old Dean of students Indira Shetty, Cipher is the brilliant mastermind manipulator pulling strings behind the scenes and training Supes to be super-soldiers with his Hero Optimization Seminars. We know Linklater as the unhinged Father Paul Hill from Netflix’s Midnight Mass. He brings a similar sinister presence as the scientist and overseer of the Elmira Adult Rehabilitation Center who also runs the “gladiator murder class” of intense challenges exercises with the expectation that at God-U you are “Not students, but soldiers who will fight for the cause.”
With the ideology of “Supe Supremacy” Goldolkin controls supes. All of this is happening simultaneously while Starlighters are fighting the battle against the “Make America super again” crowd and the Homelander propaganda discourse. This scary “Join the fight” rhetoric is prevalent in today’s political climate with the exhausting complaints of a ‘woke agenda.’ Humans are treated as second-class citizens with separate ‘Human’ entrances and Starlighter supporters being labeled as “race traitors.”
We see current topics reflected such as fake support and performative allyship displayed at the Goldolkin 60th anniversary celebration, and giving platforms to unqualified rightwing podcasters. The heavily right-winged podcast Truthbomb continues its misinformation agenda and its woke plague, pronouns and anit-trans agenda.
Supe Rankings, social media, and public relations are once again at the forefront with its emphasis on attending seminars to become exceptional and garner endorsements and contracts. Goldolkin invites “students, failures, unworthy of institution to prove they belong or die trying” and to kill the weakest “useless” supes.
This season is all about the evolution of powers and testing capabilities, and we haven’t seen anything like it yet! Packed with new enemies, unexpected alliances, and some major note-worthy cameos things really pick up mid-way though the season and the last couple episodes are mind-blowing. Nothing is what you expect.
While the last episode does feel like it ties things up rather quickly, the pay off is absolutely worth it. Loaded with crude raunchy moments, they are kind of overdone at this point and redundant so nearly not as shocking anymore. The effects were kind of wonky at some peak critical moments, wish they went with more practical effects especially when it comes to blood.
8/10
Overall, the extension of The Boys does not disappoint, with intertwined storylines, exciting reveals, and trust in relationships and friendships being tested. Season 2 is an explosive, ambitious, and unpredictable ride with its depiction of violence, satire, and abuse of power. Gen V also effectively explores more serious topics related to college life, including mental health issues like self-harm and eating disorders.
‘For Chance‘
8 episode season, the first three episodes will premiere on Prime Video on September 17.
» Watch Gen V on Prime Video: https://bit.ly/Gen-V_PrimeVideo
Gotham Geek Girl 