Fans of "The Boys," hear my cry: You need to watch "Gen V" season 2. Now, the good news is that season 2, or at least its three-episode premiere, is good. You'll have a good time, even if it's ultimately not quite for you. But trust me, having now watched every episode of "Gen V" to date, I promise you that you cannot skip season 2 if you want to know what's going on in "The Boys" season 5.
I'll be honest, I skipped "Gen V" season 1 when it came out. Well, more accurately, I watched the first episode on a plane, said "This is fine," then put away my iPad and did something else. Then season 4 of "The Boys" came around, and suddenly, in the finale, there were a bunch of characters from "Gen V" I had no clue about.
I finally got around to watching "Gen V" season 1 as part of my prep for reviewing the season 2 premiere, and I stand by the assessment I had on the plane. This show about super-powered teens running rampant at a fictional college is fine, even consistently good, but it's not for me. It doesn't scratch the same itch as "The Boys." The mothership show excels in part because it unintentionally mimics our increasingly dystopian life in the real world. This spinoff is less subtle; it actively seeks to make cultural references and directly highlight exactly how fascist forces operate in our timeline.
Frankly, I'm also not entirely sure I'm the show's target demographic. I'm 33 and my college years are long behind me. I like Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan, but they're hardly my contemporaries. While I understand the reference to 5G cell towers potentially causing cancer as a popular conspiracy theory, the hyper-online lifestyle of these students, where every moment is broadcast to social media, isn't really my lifestyle. I understand what the show is doing, but I don't connect with it.
That all said, the show is good, even if I'm not necessarily its audience. That's a relief, given that I'm now positive you'll need to watch the three-episode premiere and the subsequent five episodes to fully understand the events still to come in "The Boys" season 5.
'Gen V' season 2 seems designed to set up the endgame for 'The Boys'
Having finally seen all of "Gen V" season 1, it's clear this has always been the case. While you didn't have to watch the inaugural season of this show to get what was going on in "The Boys," the whole superhero-targeting virus plotline is laid out in detail in "Gen V," while it's only a shock reveal at the end in "The Boys."
In "Gen V" season 2, it looks like Project Odessa will be the major plot device, and it seems to be setting itself up to be a vital part of "The Boys" season 5. We've already seen Starlight show up to recruit Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair) in the trailer for "Gen V" season 2 (and in the first episode) to discover what this secretive Vought project is about.
If you watch the three-episode premiere of "Gen V" season 2, you'll learn what Project Odessa is and how it could play a major role in "The Boys" season 5. If you watch the rest of the season, you'll probably learn vital information you'll need to know for the final season of "The Boys." Showrunner Eric Kripke has even hinted as much. “There’s a lot in Gen V that really helps set up the climax of this final confrontation in The Boys,” he revealed to Entertainment Weekly in a recent interview.
He also revealed that Marie might be "the most powerful superhero on the planet," which the three-episode premiere of "Gen V" season 2 certainly seems to be setting up as a possibility. So avoid watching this show at your own risk; if you're a fan of "The Boys," "Gen V" is officially required viewing.
Stream "Gen V" season 2 episodes 1-3 right now on Prime Video
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Malcolm has been with Tom's Guide since 2022, and has been covering the latest in streaming shows and movies since 2023. He's not one to shy away from a hot take, including that "John Wick" is one of the four greatest films ever made.
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