Gen V “Trojan”

I don’t know if this show is coming back.  Given how tightly it is connected to The Boys, I am not sure it can come back after that show ends in…well, probably just a few more weeks honestly.  As it is, while I think that Gen V actually does a lot of things right, it does seem to rely heavily on the other show, and this episode features cameos by A-Train, Black Noir, Starlight, and in the most extended of those cameos, Sister Sage, whose actions are actually pretty vital to the plot.

Actually, I spent a good deal of time trying to remember where I saw Thomas Godolkin before, so I looked him up.  It’s Ethan Slater, Boq from the Wicked movies.  Slater is good here.  He plays quite a convincing eugenicist.  Granted, he dumps Sage’s plan, which seems out-of-character since Sage’s whole thing is her plans are that good.

But in the end, it comes down to defeating Godolkin before he wipes out who-kn0ws-how-many students by forcing them to fight each other.  Also, to dance.  But then in comes Marie with the black hole anus guy to spit out all of her friends and allies, and quite frankly, there’s some creative superpowers use in this episode, moreso than I think the parent show has done.  That may be because Gen V might be closer to a standard superhero show.  The Boys is social satire with superpowers.  Gen V is at its weakest when it tries to match The Boys‘s style of humor and satire.

I mean, I do think the actors on this show can do a very good job with some blatantly silly material.  And, quite frankly, I was tickled by Black Noir fanboying it up after knocking out Polarity, but that is more the exception than the rule.

But what is this show without The Boys?  It plays a bit like The Book of Boba Fett except I think it turned out pretty good here.  Yes, the episode ends with Annie and A-Train offering Marie, Annabeth, Jordan, Emma, Sam, and Cate a chance to join “the resistance” that, I suspect, will not actually do much when I switch over to The Boys for next week.

Yes, I am starting the final season of The Boys for Fridays, starting next week.

But really, I figure Marie and Co. will be given some token appearances in that final season.  There’s no way Marie will be the one to defeat Homelander in the end.  That will almost certainly be Billy or Hughie’s job if the series follows something akin to the comics where Butcher goes too far and Hughie, the guy who has been trying to keep him in check or push the group to be better, has to stop him as the last man standing.  Granted, that show has gone way off from the source material, so I will see what happens.

That said, it might have been nice to see Marie and her friends have an adventure that was not dependent on the world in the parent show.  Maybe that will happen if there’s a season three.  I have no idea if I am getting one or not.

Anyway, to repeat myself, back to The Boys next week.