The Boys has entertained and repulsed its audience for three seasons so far with satirical social commentary and over-the-top comic book gore, and now it’s shifting its story from The Seven and The Butcher’s vigilantes to the world of younger supes in the spinoff Gen V. The Amazon Prime original series is set to premiere its eight-episode first season on Friday, September 29, and critics have screened the first six of those in order to give us an idea of what to expect from Gen V. It seems the protagonists may have gotten younger, but there will be no shortage of blood and dicks to satisfy fans of The Boys.
The spinoff introduces us to the students of Godolkin University, where supes hone their skills for careers in crime fighting or entertainment. Jaz Sinclair leads Gen V's ensemble cast as Marie Moreau, a blood bender with a tragic origin story, alongside Emma (Lizze Broadway) who has shrinking abilities, the magnetic Andre (Chance Padermo), queen bee Cate (Maddie Phillips) and the gender-shifting Jordan (Derek Luh and London Thor) whose powers apparently change with their gender. The Boys fans have had their eye on this spinoff since it was announced, so let’s get to the reviews.
Lauren Milici of GamesRadar rates it 3.5 stars out of 5, calling the first six episodes “a hot mess but a damn good time, and noting that the series wastes little time reminding us it’s part of The Boys universe. Milici writes:
After a muddled first episode, we head straight into Herogasm territory. Dicks explode, ear drums are broken, sex scenes are weird, puppets get violent, blood is everywhere, and there's also a gruesome self-immolation scene that rivals Hereditary. In between the moments of absurdity, we start to see that being turned into a supe at birth isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Turns out, not everyone wants to join the Seven.
David Opie of Empire assures The Boys loyal that no one should be concerned that the youth of Gen V’s characters might dilute the foul-mouthed franchise, but it does add themes relevant to younger audiences, including self-harm, suicide, eating disorders, etc. The critic rates it 3 stars out of 5, saying:
Bizarre sex scenes, a cascade of prosthetic cocks, and the kind of extreme violence Tarantino could only dream of all come into play — this is The Boys still, after all — but just like in the main show, these R-rated moments are grounded with real concerns that try to say something beyond mere shock value.
Ali Shutler of NME rates it 4 out of 5 stars, saying Gen V creates a rich, self-contained world that addresses the tribulations of college-aged young adults while still giving us the ultraviolence we’ve come to expect from The Boys. Shutler continues:
Despite Marvel introducing enough teen superheroes to launch a Young Avengers and the success of Stranger Things, Wednesday and The Umbrella Academy, Gen V is confidently its own thing. It’s comfortable sitting in the shadow of The Boys for the time being and while the gory humour might feel familiar, this smart, sleek spin-off is never less than exciting.
Ben Travers of IndieWire says the Prime Video series is peppered with meta jokes, dark humor and violence, and hopefully in future episodes it goes even harder. Travers grades it a B-, saying:
Featuring a fresh cast of characters (and a handful of cameos from The Boys), Gen V is lively and gruesome, cheeky and clever. It targets predatory practices in upper academia, be it unpaid student-athletes, racial discrimination, or abusive power dynamics. In the six episodes screened for critics (out of the first season’s eight total episodes), these kind of allegorical arcs are plentiful, though none are explored as thoroughly as one would hope. Like The Boys, Gen V remains an effective mix of fun and socially conscious storytelling, but what’s the point of all that blood (or flashing all that dick) if there’s no real skin in the game?
Nick Schager of the Daily Beast says you need to “See This,” as Gen V is motivated by the same creativity, energy and R-rated humor that has made The Boys so popular. The critic continues:
Gen V understands that pre-adults with amazing powers would behave in all sorts of wacko ways, especially sexually. Between a shrunken Emma’s kinky encounter with an erect rod, Golden Boy’s habit of winding up nude whenever he ignites (thus making his dong vulnerable and visible to the public), and Marie’s capacity for swelling members (since she can regulate blood flow), the series leans heavily on phallus-related gags. It’s similarly not short on The Boys’ trademark gore and perverse comedy, and like that predecessor, it knows how to balance its more outrageous instincts with compelling characters, captivating storylines and a cynical distrust of, if not outright disdain for, corporate greed, commercialism, and exploitation.
Many of the critics admit some parts of Gen V are messy, with plenty of room to grow and improve, but after the first six episodes, they all seem to think it’s definitely worth the watch, especially for fans of The Boys. In fact, the spinoff is holding a 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 40 critics’ reviews as of this writing, so fire up that Amazon Prime subscription, because the first three episodes premiere Friday, September 29, with new episodes dropping weekly after that.
