As much as I enjoy Prime Video’s The Boys, I was not all that ecstatic about its upcoming spinoff, Gen V. Initially described as this universe’s idea of The Hunger Games meets Riverdale, I was expecting some tired YA tropes. I envisioned the hip in-crowd ruled by the uber privileged competing with the likes of our antagonist and a group of misfits. Instead those expectations were refreshingly flipped on their head as we followed the coed supes at Godolkin University.
I love the characters they’ve introduced and their varying ability to capture the grey of life at that age. Jaz Sinclair is awesome as Marie. Not only is she extremely likable, but the writing has done justice in depicting a Black woman in these hyper white patriarchal structures. The fact she would be the FIRST Black woman in The Seven speaks volumes of truth about gender and race in our society. I also really enjoy Lizze Broadway as Emma. Her performance is quite nuanced and very strong. Her character’s arc highlights the writers’ ability to capture what these powers would be like in the real world. There’s consequences for her shrinking, and the way they’ve linked that to a real life problem for many young women was smart.
The choice for Jordan Li’s (played by Derek Luh and London Thor) power to explore a somewhat trans-experience is interesting. I wonder if their powers had been switched – the male being agile with the girl being invincible – if it would have done more to explore gender identity and gender roles.
Some characters are bit stock arch types. Shelley Conn’s Indria Shetty felt pretty spot on as being a nefarious dean for the Vought cause. However, recent developments could definitely reveal more to her character. And I hated we didn’t have Clancy Brown longer – but then again, it helped flip early expectations.
The series so far has been a great successor to the original, which feels like it will reach new ground in its fourth season next year. New episodes of Gen V arrive on Prime Video every Thursday.
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