Gen V Season 1 Episode 7 Review: Sick
Denis Kimathi
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Nothing makes a show worth investing in as much as a great season-long arc.
Starting the season while having no idea what you're in for, slowly discovering what the writers have prepared for you, and then getting an epic conclusion is one of the best feelings.
Gen V Season 1 spent considerable time developing the season-long arc, but on Gen V Season 1 Episode 7, the show abandoned that for other vane pursuits.
Most of what the writers had been trying to keep a secret was revealed apart from the motivations behind Shetty's work in the woods.
We tried to predict what that was in our Gen V Season 1 Episode 6 review; it would seem I was half-right.
She harbored a great disdain for supes, which didn't come as a surprise because destruction is their middle name.
It's not just Homelander. You all leave a path of destruction behind you. You have ruined countless lives. Just look what you did to your parents. You can't help it. It's your species.
Shetty
Like she said, they leave pain and suffering in their wake.
But she needed to distinguish between these young kids who were only trying to play with the cards life had dealt them and awful assholes like Homelander, The Deep, or A-Train.
Everyone should not suffer for the sins of the group.
While it was true supes worked on a very long leash and abused that privilege severally, that was not uniform to everyone.
Homelander was aware of what he was doing most of the time, and the bad things Marie or Cate had done were by pure accident.
Thank you for being here today. We all saw Homelander kill a human in broad daylight unprovoked. Is he gonna be held accountable?
Student
If anyone was to blame, it was their parents.
While I understood the pain that she felt from losing her family, the course of action she thought of taking was not good.
I was convinced early on that Shetty was up to no good, and behind that proper accent and attractive features was something sinister.
However, you couldn't help but empathize with her plight.
Her death by Cate's hand didn't invoke strong feelings in me, but what it did for the story had me climbing the walls in anger.
For an arc the season had spent a considerable amount of time developing, having it overtaken by something else was not pleasing.
There is a lot the writers can explore from The Boys' universe. Every season, they come up with something new, which is quite exciting.
Storylines are usually a parody of popular culture but dialed up to a hundred percent with gore and dicks.
"Sick" saw Sam have a fun day out and fall in with the wrong crowd.
Supe 1: Fucking narc. You don't know shit
Neuman: We're gonna find common sense solution here...
Rufus: [Shouting} You will not control us!
Neuman: It's not about control...
Rufus: [Chanting] You will not control us!
Crowd: [In unison] You will not control us!
Neuman: People are passionate about this issue
Sam: Why is everyone so angry?
Rufus: Because they're trying to limit us. Limit our powers. But Homelander is white.
Nothing makes an issue more polarizing than when it gets into the political realm, and even straightforward issues with straightforward solutions become entangled in the language and process of politics.
This breeds strong opposition to issues that progress to fanaticism, and the next stop is terrorism in the name of the issue.
There was a turning point for supes when the source of their powers was exposed as coming from a lab. They lost their revered societal position, and the "special people of God" narrative died down.
When a particular group of people loses their position of power in society, they usually try to regain it, but if they're overpowered, it's an exercise in futility.
But who can overpower supes?
This episode abandoned the season-long arc (or at least what we thought it was) to pursue supe politics when Victoria Neuman visited God U.
Suddenly, there were undertones of supe supremacy when some characters talked, and within a short while, a Make Supes Great Again campaign had begun.
It seemed plausible that this would arise sooner or later, but not this soon.
Supes' (perceived) supremacy and the rise of a militant supe group seemed like an idea worth exploring in a whole season and not something to squeeze into the penultimate episode of a freshman season of a spinoff of The Boys.
It seemed like an idea that would affect young and old supes alike, which is worth exploring in a bigger context than a college.
Apart from being poorly timed, it overtook an excellent season-long story that would have made an epic season finale as Marie and her team fought for their lives and those of people like them.
Instead, we had to recalibrate our minds to grasp this new idea.
Sam, whose biggest problem was killing puppets, became a full-blown supe supremacist in a short while.
I did rip an entire person in half. I mean, in my defense, he was a puppet at the time, so...
Sam
Introducing that storyline and having it take center stage was a bad decision.
Intrusive Thoughts
- Finally, we met Marie's benefactor, another tie-in with The Boys. Truthfully, there isn't a big difference between Neuman and Shetty, which makes the story decision even more egregious.
- I don't think anyone cares enough about Polarity and whatever happens to him.
- Neuman is as untrustworthy as they come, and the fact that she has the virus is even worse.
- Neuman previewed the scope of Marie's powers, and blowing heads off is much better than using a blood rope to trip people over.
I've been trying to avoid bringing it up, but what exactly happens between Maverick and that animal? What is it, a llama or what?
Gen V Season 1 spent a lot of time dealing with obscure storylines and actions, and when we were finally on the same page, they pulled the rug from under us. It was disheartening.
Over to you, Gen V Fanatics.
What did you think?
Did you enjoy supe politics, nonetheless?
Chime in 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.
