‘Gen V’ Season 2 Review: Confronting A Darker Reality in ‘The Boys’ Universe
Your typical students with powers of the gods are returning in Gen V season 2. This time, their story will go into an even darker, messier, and crazier world than in the first season. Due to the events from season 1 of Gen V and the last seasons of The Boys, a superhero regime now exists, led by Homelander (Antony Starr). We immediately pick up some time after the fallout from The Boys’ season 4 finale. As previously mentioned, Gen V season 2 is marked to serve once again as a bridge between the events of this season and the ones from the upcoming last season of The Boys. The season drops on Prime Video September 17, 2025, but I received screeners and will offer my early thoughts on the new season below.
[Warning: Light spoilers from Gen V are below]
The story in Gen V season 2
Season two opens with Godolkin University changed under the new direction of Cipher (Hamish Linklater), who is now the headmaster of this school. It’s all reorganized and cleaned up, just like the events from season 1 never happened. The campus that felt chaotic and freely open in the first season has been restricted, and students are trained to become something more. The rules have been rewritten, and they are training to be the protectors of the world (so they can help Homelander and eventually rule the world).
The main plot in the first half of the season focuses on Marie (Jaz Sinclair) and her friends returning from imprisonment after traumatic events. They are trying to make sense of what’s become of their school and themselves as they are trying to at least pretend they want to be there, just so they are not put in prison again. Their target is to figure out what the final plan is behind this change in the school’s regime and turning students into mindless soldiers. All because Marie is cooperating with Starlight (Erin Moriarty) in a small way to uncover this.
The whole season is about discovering the conspiracy, finding out the way to stop it, fueling future events, and making sure we at least have some idea what’s going on in this world. On paper, this is a good idea, but the final execution leaves a lot of room for improvement. I wasn’t a big fan of season 1, but it had its moments. This time, young supes are turned into instruments of power and pawns in a political conflict. This season often finds its strongest moments when it balances blockbuster spectacle with quiet, personal stakes, just like The Boys did.
As for Marie herself, she is still struggling with the scars of last year’s traumas as she becomes the voice of reason for a group of friends who aren’t sure whether to adapt to the regime just to survive or resist and risk their lives. For her, there’s a balance between going into survival mode and choosing rebellion. She wants to find her sister, which Vought and the University may help her with, but she also has this inner hero in herself who wants to avenge Andre (Chance Perdomo) and stop Homelander.
But, instead of immediately throwing everyone into large battles, this season creates a constant, uncomfortable sense of surveillance in the mind of every single character. Students spy on each other, whispers spread about who might have done or said something that they shouldn’t have, and friendships fracture under the pressure of the past events. It leans into paranoia sometimes, and any classroom interaction could be a trap, any seemingly innocent exam could be a loyalty test, or a simple answer to the simplest question may be used against anyone.
That shift in Gen V works for better and for worse. In its best episodes, Gen V turns the idea of this “military” school into a tense battle for life, and in the worst moments, it goes down the road of the most classic and overused comic-book tropes with a parade of unnecessary cameos, plot detours, and emotional payoffs that do not work most of the time. Still, overall, it works as a part of the larger universe, and the show continues to be faithful to its roots of constant brutality and dark comedy.
A significant, unavoidable part of the story is the passing of Chance Perdomo, who played Andre in season one and passed before production started. The show’s writers chose not to recast his character but to honor him and made Andre’s absence a huge part of the plot of this season. They went really deep into exploring grief within the series and behind the scenes in the real world. This is definitely the most important and needed part of the story this season that saves it.
Connection to The Boys and overall experience
Also, if you care about the wider The Boys universe and Gen V’s connection to it, the second season is explicitly designed to once again be connected to it and fuel the events of the final season. The new order established by Homelander in the latest seasons of The Boys is very much visible in the characterization of Godolkin University’s campus, changing how supes are trained and weaponized. They are meant to be perceived by the public as saviors to humankind, but they are merely used for political agendas.
The season’s commitment to grief, uncovering potential high stakes, strong lead work, and showing the willingness to evolve the show rather than reusing the same plot points, the same awkward situations, and the same “parodies” is worth noticing. What doesn’t work is an overused narrative, the temptation to use far too many cameos for that kind of show, and occasionally escaping into the easy, unfunny satire instead of exploring the deeper and more needed commentary on everything that happened.
Final thoughts on Gen V season 2
Gen V season 2 is really ambitious; I can say that. By changing Godolkin University into a military-style training ground, it pushes the series into darker territory where questions about loyalty, conformity, and rebellion are appearing daily. Watching Marie, Jordan (Derek Luh/London Thor), and Emma (Lizze Broadway) struggle with impossible choices. This isn’t just about kids with powers having fun anymore. It’s about showing how every evil, rough, and corrupt institution molds, manipulates, and weaponizes youth in The Boys world.
But by having some great moments, it doesn’t mean that this season is flawless. By relying on the direct tie-ins to The Boys, which are meant to move forward with the story, it sometimes weakens it rather than helps it. A couple of cameos serve more as fan service than anything else. Also, certain arcs are left alone and abandoned in a way that feels less like an artistic choice and more like relying on The Boys’ final season to acknowledge them and do something with them. Yet even with those flaws, the show remains okay enough to say that it’s good and that it is watchable.
Ultimately, this season succeeds in a way because it still isn’t afraid to be uncomfortable. It doesn’t let its characters off the hook, and it doesn’t give the audience a smooth ride. Instead, it asks what happens when power is given to those too young to fully understand it and then twisted by institutions that only see them as tools. The answer is messy and brutal. As a part of The Boys universe, it is necessary to watch before the final season, although it may take more than one day to binge-watch it when you start to see its flaws.
Also check out: The Boys Season 4 Review: Insanity Reigns Supreme
