Fans of The Boys universe, rejoice as Gen V is back, and this season starts strong with new cast members bringing some much-needed life and variety to the new season. Last season was a triumph and strong enough as a stand-alone show, rather than a spin-off, but this one struggles to find its identity as it gives screentime to edgelord humour that becomes more of an eye roll the more it progresses.
Before the Gen V season 2 production began, the tragic news of Chance Perdomo's passing broke, and Amazon announced that they would not recast the role out of respect. Instead, his character, Andre Anderson, is revealed to have died due to his abilities, and the season is rewritten. The story still has the character, and Chance, throughout the sophomore season, with every character feeling his death, and it being a central point or feeling that feels respectful and honors the impact Perdomo had.
Marie (Sinclair) and the rest of her friends return to Godolkin University after months of suffering to find the school is now under a new dean and super, Cipher, who wants to train Marie to reach her potential after deeming her the most powerful supe to ever exist and that she has the power to change everything. We’re told at this time that Cate (Philips) and Sam (Germann) are revered heroes, but we’re never actually shown that. Cate struggles with her powers not working after an altercation with Cipher and Sam, well… think of the last season, because nothing much has changed except that he is jealous of Emma’s (Broadway) new relationship, and he sees puppets again. That’s it. Jordan (Luh and Thor) struggles with PTSD from their time at Elmira and agrees to be GodU’s PR puppet if it means they and their friends do not return to the prison. Emma is the star of the season. Not only does Broadway bring joy to the role, but there’s also some crazy plots going on in an unlikely team-up with Andre’s dad, Polarity (Sean Patrick Thomas), that makes for some of the most grounded and crazy moments of the show. Emma and Polarity give the series what it needs, and where the strongest plots and writing come from, the biggest reason is that there’s little time for their arcs to influence the main show. Polarity is, by far, the seasons that stand out, leading to a dramatic confrontation with Cipher and can even hold his own against characters from the parent show, such as Sage and Black Noir.
For the new characters, Ethan Slater comes to the season fresh off his Wicked fame, but quickly proves that his iteration of Thomas Godolkin is not someone to go against. Godolkin doesn’t waste time and can play people better than any character in either show, focused on his goal of culling the herd and inciting a super-civil war to ensure that only the strongest survive in an omnipresent, almost Darwinian outlook that wants to push Marie outside her comfort zone and force her true powers to come out. Although not in the season much, Slater’s performance makes the season entirely worth it. There’s a calmness to his bloodlust, a methodical approach to get what he wants, and a sense that he will not fail because he knows people and knows how to push their weaknesses and destroy those he does not deem worthy of Compound V. Similarly, Hamish Linklater is the perfect villain as Dean Cipher. There’s a no-nonsense approach to his character that makes things move along instead of being stagnant like they often can when the scenes focus on the main group, except Emma and Jordan. It’s needed because much of the rest of the show comes off stale in many aspects.
There are, of course, cameos from the main show to ensure that the viewers transfer over. Some of the appearances work well for the plot, like Giancarlo Esposito as Stan Edgar, who saves the group, brings them to a safehouse, only for them to leave. Sage (Susan Heyward) has an interesting arc with her partnership with Godolkin, but it can feel flat and forced into the plot, and is still enjoyable. Others clunkily make an appearance, such as The Deep (Crawford), who is there to inject some of the edgelord humour, but it feels so separate from GenV and actually tarnishes it. Annie (Moriarty) randomly turns up to start Marie on her task of finding the Odessa project, but it's so quick and random that it serves as more of a distraction than a plot point.
So, where does GenV season 2 compare to the parent show? It still feels separate, which works incredibly well in its favour, but it’s pulled down with the cameos forced into it and The Boys' preference for shocking material just to be talked about rather than actual plot, and an obsession with pandering to shock value. There’s even a scene where the group sneaks into the University by a student's super-expanding-butt that you can tell the writers are excitedly waiting to read the online reaction for. When watching the episodes, it’s quite jarring to notice the similarities to season 2 of The Boys, almost as if the writers wanted to parallel it or, more likely, that they’ve run out of ideas. In both series' second season, the main characters are locked away (or in hiding from The Boys) with their leader, Maire/Butcher, nowhere to be found, a side plot of Vought/GodU capitalizing on the nation's paranoia, a Chosen One (Marie for GenV and Ryan for The Boys) whose birth was unexpected and has special abilities. And, the glaringly obvious one, a villain who is obsessed with Nazi/KKK memorabilia. Yes, you see an entire room dedicated to it. It doesn’t feel like commentary anymore; it feels like a fetish the writers are desperate to include in any way they can.
If you want blood, guts, gore, and edgy humour, then the show does have that and more, but the best moments are from the main group when the writers remember there’s a plot. Unfortunately, it’s not with the main character Marie, whose flip-flopping between denying she’s the Chosen One (they do call her this a lot) and then saying she is only to swap again. In the space of a few minutes, she laments how she “…is not special, never going to be anything more than a girl who cuts herself when sad,” while knowing she has unlocked a new power that changes everything, and that the entire season and point of Cipher is to use her and have her usher in a new era of superheroes. Emma is the only character who shows any depth, which is mixed with some outrageous moments that fans of both shows will enjoy while being more plot-driven than anyone else. Is it a good season? Yes, but it does feel lost at multiple points, but is saved by the villains of the season, Cipher and Godolkin, who make the series one to remember.
Final Score- [7/10]
Reviewed by - Leigh Doyle
Publisher at Midgard Times
Premiere Date: September 17, 2025, on Prime Video with the first three episodes.
Note: All eight episodes of Gen V Season 2 were screened for this review.