Gen V Season 1 Episode 1 Review: God U
Denis Kimathi
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For lovers of the diabolical world of The Boys, Gen V is a good addition to it.
From incredibly awful characters to blood, superpowers, and the phallus, the show is a good representation of the absolute chaos of the universe.
Gen V Season 1 Episode 1 introduced a new generation of supes -- a very aware generation.
The most significant distinction drawn between these supes and ones from The Boys was that the new generation was aware of their powers' origin, and that made all the difference.
However, before that news got out, most people were unaware of what was happening, and the cold open introduced one such person.
Supes had taken over the world, and seeing the first Black man to join The Seven was a glimmer of hope for Marie's parents.
TV Anchor: Ladies and gents, supes and civvies, rip up the history books because in New York this morning, Godolkin University All-Star A-Train was just drafted into Los Siete, which, of course, makes history for the first African American on the world's premier supe team.
Madeline: And so we're thrilled to welcome A Train to The Seven, which proves what we have been saying for a long time: we live in a post-racism world.
They had taken a chance and given their daughter Compound V, and if everything went according to plan, she stood a great chance at being a super and a celebrity, for that matter.
Most of what they hoped for happened, but they would never live to see the day.
For many girls, their first period is a cause for celebration despite the discomfort associated with the occurrence. For Marie, her first period and other subsequent ones would be a constant reminder of what happened to her parents.
The scene in the bathroom with her parents laying on the floor, bleeding to death, will be stuck in her brain forever, and ours too.
Marie's beginnings were tragic, and her first interactions with her powers were less than favorable. They were catastrophic. The scene was like A-Train running into Hughie's girlfriend and killing her.
But her parents didn't seem shocked even when lying on that floor. They knew that might happen, and their biggest regret was that Marie was unprepared.
A flashforward took us to the present day and showed an all-grown Marie, now residing in a children's facility. And to ensure she had a handle on her blood, she practiced controlling it in solitary.
The day would end positively because she had gotten into God U, a sign that her future as a supe was bright.
Up to this point, everything happened so quickly that if you blinked, you could have missed it. It felt like the creators wanted to get all that out of the way and dive into God U.
The story could have benefitted from not being told chronologically but still telling everything in the same episode.
For example, they could have begun the episode with Marie joining God U and lying to Emma about her family but told the truth to Luke later. That would have been the perfect time to flashback to the events in the bathroom eight years prior.
Marie met people she would interact with regularly at God U, and the first person was Emma. Lizzie Broadway brought the character to life with such energy it was easy to like her.
Her powers were her ability to shrink, which, like most other supes, came with strings attached. She had to make herself puke repeatedly to shrink.
The episode introduced several more characters while setting up the dynamics between them, the school, and their interests.
One of the most popular characters in the school was Golden Boy. He had the biggest prospects of joining The Seven, so he was quite in demand.
While some people wished they were him, many others wished they were with him, even for one night. Emma was so lustful with him and Cate that she would have given up anything to sleep with them.
When Golden Boy flames on, his clothes burn off. And he's uncut. Because I guess like he's impossible to cut. I'd put my tongue on that.
Emma
The Boys has good and bad supes, even if the line is relatively thin between the two.
Before watching the show, I expected Luke to be a complete assh*le. He was nicknamed Golden Boy and was quite powerful and popular. He was a walking cliché of an awful supe.
However, it was almost disappointing when he turned out to be a stand-up guy, humble, loyal, and self-aware.
He empathized with Marie at Vought Tower, and I was rooting for him at that moment.
It also introduced Andre, Luke's "best friend" (more on the quotes later), whose powers were his ability to control magnetic material.
Andre wasn't fascinating because when have best friends been interesting? It also made sense because Luke's popularity always overshadowed him.
There was also Jordan, who had different powers based on the gender they were presenting. They were a teacher's pet on Brink's right side.
The biggest problem with the episode was that it was too fast-paced, like most pilot episodes nowadays. Being a streaming show releasing three episodes on the same day, Gen V was at an advantage where they had the luxury of diving into the story slowly for the three episodes.
Instead, Marie discovered her powers, killed her parents, grew up in a children's facility, left the children's facility, made friends, got in with the popular kids, got rejected into the major of her choice, saved a dying woman, became popular, and then stumbled upon several secrets, all in one episode.
The episode introduced a season-long conflict through Luke where he had recurring dreams about his dead brother and a place called "The Woods."
Late one night, Marie and Andre witnessed an event where a kid was trying to run away from campus, but they stopped him, and campus security dragged him away.
It begged the question about the kid's identity and why he was treated that way.
That occurrence saw Marie get in with the popular crew, but the night was tragic as a woman's life hung on the balance on their account.
While the rest of them ran away to protect themselves, Marie took it upon herself to help the injured woman, and that suddenly raised her profile when the videos were shared on social media.
One would think that would make Brink take that as a sign, but he expelled her to protect the supes who ran away. His explanation sounded okay on paper, but it was awful to do to someone who only tried to do the right thing.
Brink: See, that is what most superheroes, even the big ones, they just don't get. That being a hero -- a real hero -- it's not about glory. It's about sacrifice. You understand that?
Marie: I think so, Sir.
Brink: Good. Good. Because, and I can't tell you how sorry I am to tell you this, but you're being expelled.
Marie: What?
Brink: See, Golden Boy, Andre, Jordan, they're going all the way. They could save thousands of people. But not if TMZ finds out that they almost let a woman bleed to death because they were high. Somebody's got to take that hit.
The biggest thing to happen was Luke's suicide.
It didn't make a lot of sense why that happened because he was dreaming about his brother one moment, and the next, he was roasting Brink to death.
There seemed to be a massive disconnect in the story because it made no sense why someone with great prospects (he would replace Starlight or Maeve in The Seven) would go off the rails like that.
It's gonna take the lawyers and a couple of months to paper the deal, but you, my boy, are going to The Seven. No draft, no nothing. It's done.
Brink
His behavior seemed to be very off since it wasn't well explained.
It was hard to see the justification for killing Luke when he was likable, and the payoff might not be good enough.
Intrusive Thoughts
- The universe always packs surprises, but I didn't expect that many penises. One is a lot, even a tiny one that needed Little Cricket for the guy to get off. Seeing Luke get literally punched in his fiery penis made me wince, thinking about how painful that would be.
- The scene with Little Cricket and the tiny dick guy was hilarious if you forget the shaft staring at you in the face. The little ball kicks and scrotum hopping? Come on, that was hilarious.
- Remember the "best friends"? It was giving Buck and Eddie from 9-1-1. Male friends do tell each other "I love you" all the time now, but there is a little spice between Andre and Luke. It was a little romantic, and I ship them together. If they become canon, I'll die. Everyone in Gen V seems Queer, so here's to hoping.
Luke: I'm sorry.
Andre: It's okay.
Luke: I'm so sorry. I love you.
Andre: I love you too.
Luke: I'm so sorry.
- Who knew Patrick could act? I always thought he was nepo baby, but seeing how much range he delivered as Luke, I'm convinced otherwise.
- Colby Minifie deserves her own spin off. She is part of why The Boys became such a hit. Her dedication to the character is unmatched.
- There are several pop culture references that certain generations or groups of people might not get. Jake Paul and Scott Disick? Riverdale?
Gen V has potential, but the pilot episode didn’t show much of that potential. It was all over the place and too rushed.
Will the generation die before they mature?
What did you think?
Let us know in the comments section.
Denis Kimathi was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on X.
