Roy Narra writes about Prime Video’s latest series, Gen V. Will it be a good enough follow up to its parent series, ‘The Boys’?
Welcome to Godolkin University (God U. Get it?)! The best and brightest students coming from different backgrounds have superpowers and they may hone and use them for the good of others, for killing enemies, and for ridiculous reasons like shrinking to an ant-size height to cling to a penis during a hookup.
Gen V continues the tradition and tropes of its parent series The Boys in poking fun at the superhero culture with its over-the-top and jaw-dropping scenes of gore. Being shy or subtle has never been in the vocabulary of the hit anti-hero TV series and it’s the same case with its spin-off.
What made The Boys a critically and commercially acclaimed series is its sharp satirical attack on the domination of Marvel and DC in our society, from the merchandise to the cash-grab superhero propaganda content masqueraded as adrenaline-filled action-adventure films. How are The Boys’ developers Craig Rosenberg, Evan Goldberg, and Eric Kripke going to continue this when Gen V was created to capitalize on the series’ popularity?
In the first two episodes shown in the advanced screening of Gen V in Quezon City last week, I heard the gasps of some people in the audience when Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair) accidentally killed her parents with her bloodbending skills using her menstrual period. She literally painted the bathroom red with her dead parents’ blood. For the new viewers of The Boys world, it’s one of the most gruesome depictions of death in TV history. For the fans, it’s the typical scene that makes them glued more to the series.
We later learn more about Marie and her aspirations to redeem herself from her traumatic past. The series also has other characters and their stories. There’s Emma Meyer, Marie’s half-inched size roommate who can grow to a regular size, the pyrokinetic Luke/Golden Boy (Patrick Schwarzenegger), God U’s top student who’s having recurring nightmares about his brother and a forest called The Woods. We also have the gender-shifter Jordan Li (London Thor and Derek Luh), the metal bender Andre Anderson (Chance Perdomo), and the mind empath and Luke’s girlfriend Cate Dunlap (Maddie Phillips).
Gen V is off to a decent start, showcasing a promising story about a group of young people who will unearth the mysteries and flaws of Godolkin University and its parent company Vought International. Sinclair puts a lot of depth and nuance into her role as she portrays Marie’s commitment and dedication to being the ideal superhero who saves those who are in need while grappling with her traumatic past. Her chemistry with Emma, who is seemingly written as her comedic sidekick, was also on point.
But it seems that, so far in the first two episodes, Gen V focuses on producing transgressive shocking visuals for quick gasps and laughs without making the characters and the plot more complex and remotely interesting. For example, what’s the point of the penis scene? It’s already given from previous scenes that the character riding that uncomfortably detailed male organ is not the most well-treated woman on the campus.
The series also pokes fun at practices forwarded by the liberal ideology, from calling Godolkin University a “safe space” to vloggers exploiting someone’s eating disorder “for raising awareness”. Where is this going though? Is it just an avenue to make fun of the politically correct Gen Zs? Looks like a lazy shot at the mentioned generation.
What happened to the satirical take on superhero culture? Is Gen V afraid of accidentally swallowing its own tail, hence the focus on presenting shocking visuals and mocking today’s college students?
Still, Gen V has some interesting questions to unfold and resolve. How can Marie redeem herself from her past? What exactly is The Woods? What is the ulterior motive of Godolkin University Dean Indira Shetty (Shelley Conn)? These are enough reasons to click the next episode button but not as eagerly as I did when I binge watched The Boys.
The first three episodes of Gen V are now available on Amazon Prime. Get your experience of Godolkin University here.
