*Spoilers for episode 7 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 7 explores the following themes: revenge, corruption, and extremism.
In episode 7, Cate (Maddie Phillips) tries to set up a meeting with Indira but fails to do so, which angers Marie (Jaz Sinclair), Jordan (London Thor/Derek Luh), and Andre (Chance Perdomo). Cate and the others settle on a plan where Cate meets with Indira one-on-one and uses her powers to force Indira to tell the truth. Marie and Jordan decided to find proof of “the woods” on their own while Andre decides to stay with Cate. Andre later rushes to Godolkin after his Father starts seizing on live television and loses control of his powers. Andre’s father is then transported to the hospital. Later on, despite receiving a text from Cate to go to Shetty’s home, Andre decides to stay at the hospital with his father.
Jordan and Marie sneak into Indira’s office and find out that Shetty’s husband and daughter died in a plane crash thought to have been orchestrated by terrorists. Marie and Jordan also overhear Dr. Cordosa (Marco Pigossi) talking about the infection of the supers that are hidden in the woods and decide to take the info to councilwoman Neuman (Claudia Doumit), who is set to speak on campus. Jordan causes a distraction by starting a fight with the girl who bullied Emma in an earlier episode. This allows Marie to sneak into the Godolkin assembly featuring Neuman, who invites Marie to talk with her in private. During their talk, Neuman reveals that she is a secret supe and that her and Marie have similar powers and upbringings, as they both came from the same orphanage. Neuman also reveals that she helped Marie get into Godolkin. Marie tries to convince Neuman to expose the woods, but Neuman declines and tries to convince Marie to pursue a position of power with political or cultural influence instead.
Sam (Asa Germann) and Emma (Lizze Broadway) go back to the Godolkin campus. While Emma goes out to get food and drinks, Sam leaves her dorm and meets other supes, who take him to see a televised meeting featuring newscaster Matthew Edison (Cameron Coleman) and congresswoman Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit). At the meeting Sam is influenced by the other attending students, who convince him that supes are superior beings to humans and are being persecuted for their powers. Emma and Sam manage to reunite, though Emma seems concerned over Sam’s sudden acceptance of radical beliefs.
Indira (Shelley Conn) and Dr. Cardosa (Marco Pigossi) discuss the supe-killing virus. Cardosa is hesitant to keep working on the virus but Indira forces his hand by threatening to tell Vought that Cardosa created the virus on his own volition. Indira then tries to meet with Mallory (Laila Robins), an ally of The Boys. Indira tries to convince Mallory to use the virus but Mallory refuses insisting that killing all the supes is wrong. Indira then meets Cate, who confronts Indira for forcing her to manipulate her friends. Indira tries to diffuse the situation by telling Cate that she loves her and thinks of her as family.
Marie, Sam, Emma, and Jordan show up to Indira’s house and in an unexpected twist, Cate betrays Indira and forces her to confess that Godolkin is a front for a science lab that studies supes, that she’s also been developing a disease that kills supes, and that Homelander (the antagonist from “the boys”) killed her family as well as the rest of the people on the flight. Despite protests from Marie, Emma, and Jordan, Cate kills Indira which forces Marie to relive her trauma of when she killed her family. The episode ends with Cordosa giving acces of the virus to Victoria Neuman in exchange for safety, but she betrays him by killing him with her powers.
Episode 7 is a very entertaining episode that features powerful emotional moments, a continuous sense of tension, and strong performances. At the same time the episode is also imperfect as some characters make decisions that either feel a bit rushed or just generally don’t make sense. The episode’s biggest strength is it’s pacing, as the story moves quickly and never really feels dull. The performances are also very strong as a whole, likely because of the intense emotions displayed by many of the characters. The performances that stand out the most are from Jaz Sinclair and Maddie Philips, particularly in the penultimate scene of the episode, where Cate kills Indira and causes Marie to relive her traumatic past.
Another interesting element of the episode comes from its choice to lean into some of the themes that were explored in The Boys, namely the scenes that feature the radicalized supe students and Neuman’s abuse of power. The scene between Marie and Neuman is especially interesting as we see Marie once again consider working for her own self-interest instead of the doing the objective morally correct action. On the other hand, some of the decisions made by the characters are questionable, namely those made by Sam and Cardosa. Sam’s radicalization feels a bit rushed, though at least it makes sense for his character. Cardosa’s choice to walk into Shetty’s office and drunkenly divulge information on the experiments he’s been overseeing is a decision that feels very strange for his character to make, given that he has previously been presented as someone who is fairly collected and intelligent.
Rating: 7/10