By George & Josh Bate
The following is a NON-SPOILER review of all 8 episodes of Gen V Season 2
Gen V Season 1 successfully made a franchise out of a series so openly antagonistic toward franchises. The Hogwarts-for-Supes story featuring an energetic young cast offered a different flavor of adventure for the world of The Boys and, despite some hiccups along the way, ultimately exceled in being both an effective spin-off and standalone series. Now, after a mediocre fourth season of The Boys, Gen V triumphantly returns for its sophomore year, elevated by introducing the universe’s best villain (outside of Homelander), fusing the universe’s trademark satire with an intriguing story, and gracefully handling the passing of a key cast member.
Gen V Season 2 takes place after the events of The Boys Season 4. Cate Dunlap (Maddie Phillips) and Sam Riordan (Asa Germann) betrayed their friends and got them imprisoned in Elmira Adult Rehabilitation Center. After months of imprisonment, Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair) manages to escape and goes on the run, while Emma Meyer (Lizze Broadway) and Jordan Li (London Thor and Derek Luh) are given a second chance to return to Godolkin University by the mysterious Dean Cipher (Hamish Linklater). As the plot unfolds, Marie, Emma, Jordan, Cate, and Sam must unravel a mystery with ties to Vought’s past and implications for the future of Supes.
The shocking and tragic death of Chance Perdomo posed many questions for a second season of Gen V. Perdomo’s Andre Anderson played an integral role in Season 1 and, for many, was a standout in the ensemble. Whenever an actor passes away mid-production or mid-series, the creatives at hand are tasked with the difficult question of whether to recast the character or write them out. Both options have distinct pros and cons, but the latter often sees the character awkwardly exit the show and remain unaddressed moving forward. In a surprising and admirable move from Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters, Gen V Season 2 handles the passing of Perdomo with incredible grace and intelligence. After being killed off-screen, Andre plays a vital role throughout the season. This isn’t just a fleeting reference here or there. Andre remains a critical element to the narrative, frequently features in conversations, and lays at the center of the show’s emotional heart, despite never being shown on screen. His father Polarity (Sean Patrick Thomas) is also given a significant upgrade this season (not to fill the void of Andre; instead, to add even more emotional depth to his passing). The season never shys away from Perdomo and, in turn, Andre’s passing; rather, it leans into the grief and intricately examines its impact on the surviving characters. For a show that was deemed fairly emotionally simplistic by some in its inaugural outing, Gen V pleasantly surprises with just how affecting it integrates Perdomo’s death into the narrative.
In part due to Andre’s death, Season 2 takes on a darker tone than its predecessor and tonally moves closer to The Boys. The early episodes of Season 2, which admittedly take some time to get interesting, feel much like a YA-take on The Boys, but, through developments in the story and characters, matures. This maturation aligns with the exponentially escalating stakes of the season, which culminate with implications for the entire The Boys universe. Whereas Season 1 felt like a spin-off series, Season 2 plays more like The Boys Season 4.5 in terms of its dramatic weight and narrative importance.
The episodes don’t just achieve this weight and importance through cameos from The Boys alum (although there are plenty of those). Instead, the stakes and drama gradually unfold through a plot line that sees the students face off against their most formidable threat yet. Hamish Linklater, known for his role in the Netflix horror series Midnight Mass, becomes a series regular this season as Dean Cipher. Much like his name suggests, Cipher is an enigma. His motives are unknown. His origins are unknown. Even his powers are unknown. In pitting such an antagonist against our heroes this season, Gen V instigates an intriguing mystery from its first episode that interestingly unravels until the final episode. Linklater steals every scene he is in, chewing up the dialogue with an arrogance and Moriarty-like intelligence and all-knowing intensity. The Boys universe will always face challenges having villains most notable and effective than Homelander, but Linklater’s Dean Cipher is, by far, the closest we’ve gotten to Homelander in terms of quality of antagonist. Thankfully, the mystery surrounding Cipher resolves satisfactorily, ensuring that the destination is just as captivating as the journey.
Unfortunatley, some of the other main characters fail to captivate in the way Linklater’s Dean Cipher does. Maddie Phillips’ Cate and Lizze Broadway’s Emma become the most interesting protagonists this season, with organic, fully-developed, and unexpected arcs. Cate’s decision to betray her friends at the end of Season 1 looms large over Season 2 and poses fascinating moral questions of her character and, in turn, the audience. Emma, meanwhile, still possesses her unique, energetic, and endlessly endearing personality as she grapples with Sam’s betrayal and the dilemma of whether to investigate Cipher or keep her head down. Less gripping are Marie and Jordan, who, despite solid performances from Jaz Sinclair, London Thor, and Derek Luh, simply aren’t the most gripping characters this season. Even more than the last season, Season 2 revolves around Marie, but, with the exception of a few superbly acted scenes, serves more as a plot device than a fleshed-out lead. The will-they-won’t-they between Marie and Jordan never stands out from the millions of YA romance plots in film and television and also relegates Jordan to a character whose purpose in the story is almost exclusively to serve Marie’s arc.
Much like The Boys and its first season, Gen V Season 2 firmly wears its political satire on its sleeve. The results are mixed. Sometimes the satire works quite poignantly (such as a bit tapping into the real-life trans sports debate) although other times it seems like buzz words are haphazardly thrown in the mix to merely trigger a reaction from the audience. Our heroes’ powers serving as allegories for different mental difficulties and marginalized identities (e.g., self-harm, eating disorders, psychosis, non-binary gender identity) still works well and adds an edge to the series, albeit one not as sharp or intentional as last season. As is the case with the other seasons in this universe, the jokes can miss the mark sometimes (especially when they’re overly grotesque and/or sexual and seemingly done for shock value), but, when they’re clever and creative, they really work. Some damning critiques of MAGA politics and a particularly funny jab at Elon Musk are among some of Season 2’s most successful embraces of the satire genre.
As Gen V Season 2 comes to an end, it is difficult to not become significantly more excited for the fifth and final season for The Boys. For many, including us, the fourth season was the weakest and dipped our interest a tad. However, the strength of Gen V Season 2’s story, characters, and connections to The Boys has resoundingly restored our interest in what’s to come.
VERDICT: 7/10
Gen V Season 2 sees the superhero satire universe overcome the slump from The Boys Season 4 for a triumphant and intriguing season. Showrunners Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters handle the tragic passing of actor Chance Perdomo with incredible grace as they kill Andre off but ensure he continues to play an integral role nonetheless. Andre’s passing allows the season to explore the intricacies and different manifestations of grief with surprising sharpness and make Season 2 far more emotionally intelligent and powerful than its predecessor. After taking some time to get interesting, the season dives into an interesting narrative, spearheaded by Hamish Linklater’s Dean Cipher. It’s difficult to beat Homelander in terms of quality of antagonists in The Boys universe, but Cipher is about as close as you can get as Linklater delivers a scene-stealing performance with the all-knowing intensity of Moriarity. While Maddie Phillips and Lizze Broadway excel in bringing new, organic dimensions to Cate and Emma respectively, Jordan is disappointingly relegated to almost exclusively serving Marie’ arc and Marie herself interests more as a plot device than a character. In typical The Boys fashion, Gen V Season 2 firmly wears its political satire on its sleeve with some damning critiques of contemporary American politics and society. Not every bit works, and some are certainly used haphazardly or played for shock value, but the more creative and clever jokes work exceptionally well. After a mediocre fourth installment of The Boys that saw our interest in the franchise somewhat dip, Gen V Season 2 has resoundingly restored our interest in what’s to come from the fifth and final season of the hit Prime Video series.