The first three episodes of Amazon Prime Video’s “Gen V,” a spinoff series of the television series “The Boys,” prove that the show can bring drama, action and superpowers together for its audience.
The story at the heart of “Gen V” follows Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair), an orphaned college freshman at Godolkin University, America’s only university focused on helping students with superpowers become the greatest heroes they can be.
Moreau comes from a troubling past, as she lost her parents at a young age due to discovering her powers. Thus, she makes it her goal to work hard and become the first African American woman of The Seven — this world’s version of the Avengers or the Justice League.
However, Moreau gets involved with other classmates in a troubling conspiracy of what happens at the university. The three episodes released so far cover a good amount of the story and end off in a decent spot for next week’s episode to pick up from.
Where “The Boys” goes heads-on with action and violence, “Gen V” takes its time brewing up the suspense and situations the characters are in, which is a nice change of pace for the show, aiming it toward a slightly younger audience.
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Most of the traits found in “The Boys” can still be found in “Gen V”; however, “Gen V” does a great job at standing out as its own thing while still calling back to its predecessor.
It’s fun to see various minor characters from “The Boys” make cameos in “Gen V” without being drawn out or forced in — the show handles their appearances as simply that. They might have a line or two but are not the main driving force of the story or setting.
Another thing that “Gen V” greatly succeeds at is its worldbuilding. Superheroes are obviously not real, but the show’s implementation of superheroes into our way of life is brilliant.
In between all the references to things like Disney+, Apple and fast-food restaurants, the world of “Gen V” is just about the closest thing we’ll get to a representation of how superheroes would affect the social aspects of our lives.
The series also makes great usage of its university setting. Being set in New York and having a huge campus, there’s a good number of scenes that display these locations, including classrooms, stadiums, residence halls and parks.
“Gen V” also isn’t afraid of the gore and all the other gross subjects “The Boys” is known for having.
Make no mistake, although the tone and feel of this new series are aimed toward a younger audience, there will be scenes that might gross you out in one way or another. Whether it’s a scene involving genitalia or blood spilling like it’s a storm, there’s going to be something for everyone.
So far, “Gen V” has a great start that leaves the viewer wanting more. Thankfully, there are five episodes left in this season, with new episodes rolling out each week on Fridays only on Amazon Prime Video.
