*Spoilers for episode 4 of Gen V below*
Gen V is a spin-off of the popular show The Boys, which is based on the Garth Ennis comic book of the same name. Gen V follows Marie Moreau, a young woman with superpowers, as she tries to navigate life at Godolkin University, a school that specializes in teaching young people with powers how to fight crime and promote themselves. Episode 4 explores the following themes: revenge, mystery.
Episode 4 begins with Sam(Asa Germann) and Emma (Lizze Broadway) escaping the Woods, which puts Dean Indira (Shelley Conn) in a compromising spot. To make matters worse, a famous hero named Tek Knight (Derek Wilson) arrives at Godolkin university to film an episode of his tv show, where he plans to fake a discovery related to Luke’s (Patrick Shwarzenegger) death by framing an innocent student. Marie (Jaz Sinclair) takes it upon herself to find Emma, who she hasn’t seen since the gala in episode 3.
As Sam and Emma hide from the authorities, the pair quickly form a bond though Sam worries about Emma’s safety. Sam eventually leaves and goes to look for Dr. Edison Cardosa (Marco Pigossi) since he believes that he’ll hurt Emma. Back at Godolkin, Marie is interrogated by Tek Knight and confesses to lying about Jordan’s (Derek Luh, London Thor) involvement in the fight against Luke. Jordan confronts Marie about her decision but the atmosphere quickly changes as the pair end up kissing, though they are interrupted by Emma, who fills them in on Sam’s plan to kill Cardosa.
Dr. Cardosa returns home and is shocked to see his family cowering in fear from Sam, who is in the midst of a mental breakdown. Before Sam can kill Cardosa, Marie, Jordan, Emma, Andre (Chance Perdomo), and Cate (Maddie Phillips) arrive just in time to stop him. Sam fights back but is eventually subdued by Emma, who uses her powers to grow and overpower him. The ending is inconclusive as Marie suddenly wakes up next to Jordan in bed, and the viewer is unaware of what happened after Sam was apprehended.
While episode 3 was centered around the dynamics between the characters and their parents, episode 4 spends more time exploring how the central characters feel about each other. Emma and Sam’s storyline stands out, as the two open up to each other and continue to bond. Their relationship feels endearing, though it can be argued that it does move a bit fast and they seem to forge a very strong connection despite only having met near the end of episode 3. Marie and Jordan’s relationship is more interesting, since up to this point they’ve consistently antagonized each other. The decision to create a romance between the pair is certainly not something that most viewers will expect.
The strongest performance in the episode comes from Derek Wilson. Though the other characters still have interesting storylines, Tek Knight steals the show thanks to Wilson’s ability to portray a disturbed character who also harbors a strange blend of charisma and intimidation.
7/10