Gen V

Gen V

Gen V is basically season 3.5 of The Boys. We are introduced to teenagers that are in a school for supes, teaching skills to be able to interact with humans depending on their unique powers. The major themes of the show are acceptance of who you are and, fear and discrimination on all sides.

The challenge with self acceptance of being a minority in America is made worse due to the fact that they have special power that can be deadly, depending on the morality of the person. What makes this worse is the fact that these powers were given to the people as children by the parents, thus metaphorically giving the impression that they were born that way. The idea that a minority is stronger than the snobbish majority is a theme that has been shown a lot lately in fictionalized media. Dehumanization still remains which is also a more difficult issue for these people because any use of their power can be interpreted as threatening thus justifying the discrimination. It doesn't help that there are folks happy to be immoral because they believe themselves as unstoppable. This metaphor proves to be very interesting as self acceptance then becomes near impossible. Most of the characters do not like having their powers. Some use them accidentally causing harm or death to loved ones, increasing this self loathing. I definitely can relate as a gay man because self acceptance took many decades, even though my power to cause harm was emotional or mental.

Fear and discrimination plays out in abusing the supes' lack of self acceptance because we learn that the school is more than it appears. In the first episode, the boy considered the number one student murders a beloved mentor and then commits suicide with the audience left wondering what is happening with that character, and with the school that supported him. The Boys demonstrated this many times in their three seasons with the supes' behavior and arrogance, often hidden to prevent backlash. This fear leads to two types of people. Ones that wish to live in peace, and those that wish to promote their arrogance to squash the others. It's ridiculous as it happens today, but it is still fun to watch the lovable characters fight back.

I'm eager for Season 4 of The Boys, and this show just made my eagerness stronger.

This review was made after watching Season 1.

Good news, the show will have a second season 2. Sad news, sadly, one of the main actors passed away at 27. He was my favourite character in the series, I wish his family well, and I'm sure he made it to Heaven.

Ok let's review the show now. Is there gore? Yes. Is there nudity? Yes. Are there cool superpowers? Yes. That checks it for most of The Boys fans, but this series has more. Many current topics are tackled like eating disorders, self harm, parents acceptance and social media. The cg is good, the sets are good, and the acting is great. You really should give it a try.

SEASON 1 (4.5/5)

A blast of a TV show that doesn't let his original source, The Boys, overshadow. Gen V keeps most of the debauchery and violence from The Boys and turns it into a mystery show and a teen drama. All the characters get a good development through the show with surprising twists and turns.

Gen V tackles a lot of young adults' issues with interesting (but not so subtle) arguments but still keeps the provocation. Yes, it is respectful of the subjects it talks about but that doesn't stop the show from being as immature and punchy as it wants.

Also, I don't think have seen this many p*n*s in one show!

Plot

From the world of "The Boys" comes "Gen V," which explores the first generation of superheroes to know that their super powers are from Compound V. These heroes put their physical and moral boundaries to the test competing for the school's top ranking.

Cast

Mostly unknown to me, but several were memorable due to fantastic performances including Jaz Sinclair, Lizze Broadway and London Thor. A few of the Boys cast momentarily jump over and veteran Sean Patrick Thomas was a welcome sight.

Verdict

I like The Boys, I think it's one of the better shows of the last few years partially due to the no holding back, hyper violence and it just being something different and that's really needed right now. I was skeptical about a spinoff as they tend to be mere shadows of what came before but Gen V actually managed to get and keep my attention throughout.

Is it laden with teen angst? Well yeah, but that was never in question and was always going to be a major factor here. But the teen drama crossed with the Boys adult material, it works fantastically.

Interestingly co-written by Seth Rogan and with a mostly unknown cast I have to say everyone did a great job, most of the cast are brilliant here and that's what more shows need! I want to see a character, not have that ruined by my seeing a familiar face all the time. Sinclair, Broadway and Thor were all great and thorough scene stealers.

The plot is uninspired but competently handled so you can get past that and it parallels The Boys perfectly and makes for a nice companion piece which if handled correctly could intertwine incredibly.

I love The Boys, I like Gen V, I'm very excited where this all could lead.

Rants

In a world that hates the young, inclusivity is the devil and diversity is "Woke" I'm surprised that Gen V has been met as well as it has. The Boys got hit with all those accusations and I'd argue Gen V is even more so, I'm resisting the urge for a change to jump to the 1/10 reviews as I know what I'll see. Closed mindedness, the W word on a loop, an ocean of misogyny and casual racism. What time to be alive, rampant tribalism at it's most primal.

The Good

Some great cast members Solid connections to The Boys Engaging stuff Some action packed and very funny moments

The Bad

A couple of weak links among the cast Plot could have been stronger.

Oh gosh, what should I say? This series is a true storm. Actually, I have already lost enthusiasm for both MCU and DCEU and I need something new. To say that The Boys series is also a superhero series but is presented from a new perspective. I saw this vision in Gen V also. If I had to choose between The Boys season 1 and Gen V season 1, I would choose Gen V, because it is so classy! From the back stories of the characters to its original story, from action to thriller, from sex to suspense and from powers to madness everything is there in it.

What should I say about the story, the insanity is the same as in The Boys s1 or is a little more than that. The story starts after the events of The Boys s3, from a God U School, which is a school of Supes, where Supes who will emerge in the future are raised, who will go on to become a part of Team 7 and at worst take place of Homelander. But below this school there is a secret facility named WOODS where some of the most powerful and most uncontrollable supes are not only being held but are being experimented upon, and it is here that they are tortured. Marie Monroe, who is a supe, whose powers awakened during her first period, after which she killed her parents. Marie comes to God U with a dream of overcoming her past and becoming a great superhero, she makes friends with some famous supes in school, after running away from school, she goes to a late night pub with them, where Andre one of the famous Sups accidentally harmed a non-supe and Marie uses her powers to save her. Next day she is expelled from school so that the famous supes can be saved from charges. When Marie tries to talk to the principal, one of the famous supes Luke has killed the principal and then he tries to kill Marie, after being confronted by his fellow supes Jorden and Andre he regains consciousness then commits suicide. Vaught tries to suppress the matter and Marie gets free credit for stopping Luke. In meanwhile, all of Luke's friends try to solve the mystery of his mysterious suicide. Whether Marie herself supports them or not, what challenges she has to face in the future for that you will have to watch this show.