Photo: Amazon Prime Video and IMDb
“Gen V” (2023) is a spinoff series of the widely-acclaimed Amazon original show, “The Boys” (2019), and proves to be a worthy successor. The show expands the universe of “The Boys” to Godolkin, a university for students with superpowers and aspirations to be future heroes. The show follows Marie Moreau, a new student at Godolkin who at first is focused on keeping her head down and graduating — but she finds herself in a heated and messy climb to the top ranking with her fellow peers. What at first glance seems like fairly standard and safe superhero show, “Gen V,” from its opening, is a bold and nuanced approach to the superhero genre: somehow making these characters with god-like abilities shockingly relatable characters, really reflecting what it’s like to be young and to have lofty expectations in today’s day and age.
The best way I can think of how to describe “Gen V” is through layers. On the outside layer, you have a raunchy and gory story that shows how these powers would actually affect the people wielding them, as well as the world in which they reside. In most superhero movies, you’ll mostly see very generic action that plays it very safe. However, in “Gen V,” the action is anything but generic. If you’re not a fan of blood or graphic imagery, this show probably won’t be your cup of tea — but for those who can stomach it, you are in for a treat. Not only is the action gory and creative, but it’s also engaging and grounded, and within this brutal yet charming show is a sophisticated and potent plotline.
At Godolkin, there’s a ranking of the top students that refreshes every week. The people that are in the top 10 will do whatever it takes to hopefully attain that top spot and become a full-time superhero. Luke Riordan, referred to in the show as Golden Boy, starts the show in top spot. He’s seen as the stereotypical top student and seems to be perfect. But of course he isn’t — in the very first episode, we see that he’s being unethically groomed by the president of the school. Everyone can relate to feeling the pressure of college and high expectations; whether it’s our parents pushing us towards a certain career path, or you’re heavily involved in an organization/job and a lot of people are counting on you to perform well, we all know how it feels to feel the pressure of meeting expectations. “Gen V” captures this feeling perfectly and shows the extremes and dark sides of that. The students that are in the top 10 of the rankings don’t get to live their life on their terms, but instead their lives are dictated by the perceptions of others and the people in power.
No character exemplifies the pressure of meeting expectations more than Marie Moreau. I didn’t really like this character in the first couple episodes; I was intrigued by her backstory and circumstances, but the actress, Jaz Sinclair, initially came off as very flat and uninteresting. Marie has lived in the margins all her life, so when she got into the school her goal was just to graduate. But when she finds herself in the top 10 with a chance to be the first ever freshmen to be the top ranked student, her world is flipped completely. At first she just submits to the people in power, willing to do whatever it takes to get that top spot. Once she sees that things aren’t what they seem at Godolkin, and that there is a sinister plot going on behind the scenes, we see the true Marie take a stand, and Jaz Sinclair then really shines in this role of a quiet yet strong and confident character. Throughout the show, we see all of our main characters fight against the system in some way, and it’s remarkable how each character gets their own fleshed-out personal journey. We see these characters go through some disgusting and wretched situations because of their powers, which only makes it so much more rewarding when they shine in their moments of self acceptance.
In an oversaturated and seemingly done-to-death genre, “Gen V” is a breath of fresh air in the superhero realm. Instead of seeing the same stereotypical characters that have the same generic powers, we get fleshed out and nuanced characters that give us a glimpse of what it would actually be like if powers existed in the real world.
Nathan Castimore is a third-year Communications Studies major. NC973905@wcupa.edu