Gen V Season 2 Episodes 1-3 Review: New Year, New You / Justice Never Forgets / H is for Human

In the unlikely event you didn’t watch The Boys Season 4, you’ll want to watch the recap provided during the Gen V Season 2 premiere. It’s a messed-up new world order, one that Gen V Season 2 Episode 1,”New Year, New You,” dives into headfirst.

For Gen V, the college setting was always more of a window dressing, so it makes sense for the show to fully embrace the post-Neuman world where Homelander is effectively running the country. Despite what Godolkin wants its students to think, the rankings and classes don’t really matter anymore now that the fate of the world is at stake.

That means having the supes liberated from prison after Cate (Maddie Phillips) pulls a few strings and Vought decides it’s bad optics to have their own in jail.​

It also means Marie (Jaz Sinclair) meets Starlight (Erin Moriarty), who is on the run and assigns Marie the mission of finding out more about Thomas Godolkin’s mysterious Project Odessa. It’s a weapon that could be vital in finally defeating Homelander.

Yes, there’s a crossover already on the first episode to show just how intertwined the stories have become. 

With The Boys ending with Season 5, it makes sense to use Gen V as a bridge to that ending. However, any fan worried that the Guardians of Godolkin are getting shortchanged to support the franchise’s main show shouldn’t be.

Even with a full course-load of plotlines to support, the premiere manages to balance character development with action.

As off-balance as it feels for the viewer to see the heroes transition from being imprisoned to being out of jail from the Season 1 finale to the Season 2 premiere, the same instability is also felt in the characters’ actions. They don’t know who to trust, what to do, or whether any of this even matters.

The fallout from Marie breaking out of Elmira and abandoning Jordan (Derek Luh and London Thor) and Emma (Lizze Broadway) haunts the narrative. Marie and Jordan’s romance is tested, and Luh and Thor carry the brunt of emotional weight with the reveal of Andre’s (Chance Perdomo) off-screen death.

The storyline is handled tactfully to respect Perdomo’s real death, having Andre die as a hero and from his congenital disease related to his powers that was established in Season One. Even without seeing any of the events of Elmira depicted, there is a strong emotional focus on the lingering trauma.

Emma deals with her mental health’s impact on her powers and Sam’s betrayal, and finds an unlikely ally in Andre’s father Polarity (Sean Patrick Thomas). His expanded role also helps keep the memory of Andre alive.

It’s a surprisingly fun team-up to watch as Polarity’s seriousness balances out Emma’s complete chaos. And by chaos, I mean her playing beer pong AS the ping pong ball and getting involved with a campus resistance group.

The mission to uncover Project Odessa, which turns out to be related to Marie’s origin as a baby conceived at a Vought fertility clinic, gives the season direction without overpowering the more emotional moments.

It’s not all sad times; there is still gruesome humor thrown in as is the franchise’s trademark (one new character’s superpower is sucking things up his butt…yeah). And if you’re craving action, Marie and Jordan’s senior seminar that doubles as a superhero fight club provides some gnarly beatdowns. 

The real wildcard of the show continues to be Cate, who cannot fathom why her friends are not grateful she got them out of Elmira prison. Phillips is so good at playing unhinged, and whether her character will become even more villainous after her former friends attack her and cause her to lose her powers is yet to be seen.

The only one scarier than Cate is the new Dean of Godolkin, Cipher (Hamish Linklater). Unlike his predecessors, there is no question of whether he is evil since the superheroes saw him at Elmira, and it’s revealed that he was involved in Project Odessa.

Like Homelander, Cipher believes in superhuman supremacy. Unlike the grandstanding evil you might be used to from Homelander, Cipher is much more calculating and reserved, making him even more frightening.

Gen V Season 2 Episode 3, “H is for Human” still manages to end on a cliffhanger with Jordan using their Godolkin Day speech to reveal what really happened to Andre and who attacked Cate. I had a feeling something bad was coming after they finally returned Marie’s “I love you,” and I was right!

The premiere sets the season up for a wild ride that fans of the universe will become immediately invested in.

Additional Thoughts:

• The Deep’s cameo at the fraternity is almost too expected. After seeing how evil he could get in Season 4 of The Boys it doesn’t work as well to have him played for laughs.
• Why doesn’t Emma explicitly tell them to stop putting posters in the coffee shop? If that barista dies, it’s completely her fault.
• I have very mixed feelings about Sam. He was being manipulated by Cate but still seems kind of awful. Just no more puppets, please.
• Describing Sam and Cate’s work for  Vought as an internship is hilariously messed up. 
• Someone working on the show REALLY loves Weehawken.

---

What did you think of the premiere of Gen V? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to leave your own rating!

Critic Rating:

Audience Rating:

 

Gen V streams Wednesdays on Prime Video.

Check out our latest TV recommendations, updated weekly!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!