Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Well, well, well… nothing good ever comes from pissing off powerful people in The Boys’ universe, right? It’s no different in Gen V. After Jordan (played alternately by London Thor and Derek Li) claims the number one spot at God-U, their moment in the sun quickly crumbles when they ‘expose’ the university and defend Starlight supporters, earning boos and villainization instead. In a hilarious twist, Dean Cipher (Hamish Linklater) cooks up a wild idea: pit Jordan against Marie (Jaz Sinclair) in a public showdown, marketed as “The Gender Bender vs. The Blood Bender.”
Quick Recap of Gen V Season 2 Episodes 1-3:
After escaping Vought’s lab, Emma, Jordan, and Marie are back at Godolkin University, but their freedom comes with strings attached. With Cipher installed as the new dean and Cate firmly in his corner, the trio dig into a secret 1960s program while Sam struggles to control his violent impulses.
Campus life swings between parties and gore, but the bigger storm is the rising “humans versus supes” conflict, leaving the group unsure how long their fragile freedom will last. Episode three of ‘Gen V’ ends with Jordan giving a public speech exposing Godolkin University, while also confessing that Jordan and friends attacked Cate Dunlap, not Starlighters.
Titled “Bags”, Episode 4 of Gen V Season Two comically kicks off with the TV segment Truthbomb with Firecracker, where the Supe host accuses Jordan of chasing clout with lies. The chyron flashes funny shit like “A Woke Plague at God-U” and “Pronouns: He/She/Liar.” In her brief appearances as Firecracker, Valorie Curry is pure comical/satirical chaos, spouting right-wing conspiracies while decked out in spandex.
Most of the episode zeroes in on Jordan, Marie, and Emma as they reel from the fallout. To spin the scandal, the university plots to paint Jordan as a duplicitous, attention-seeker, while propping up Marie as one of the “good ones.” The negative buzz around Jordan’s confessions gets milked into a made-for-TV showdown for the number one spot, with Marie set up to win.
With no interest in fighting each other, Marie and squad scramble to dig up dirt on Cypher, so that they can stop the showdown. Marie suggests they turn to Cate Dunlap (Maddie Phillips) for help, even though they nearly almost killed her a few days ago. He he. With no allies, and little powers left, Cate readily agrees to assist her former friends, although of course there is a lot of tension and resentment between them all.
Hamish Linklater’s Dean Cipher is shaping up to be the most fascinating new face in ‘Gen V‘, portraying the character with the right amount of sly menace. The first three episodes teased his secrets, and Episode 4 finally offers a glimpse into what he’s hiding, just enough to deepen the mystery. The real eyebrow-raiser is his attention to Marie Moreau, inviting her into a personal combat training class.
Not too surprisingly, the most fun bits were once again the scenes with Lizze Broadway’s Emma, who’s joined a secret pro-starlight group by Harper (Jessica Clement) and Ally (Georgie Murphy). Emma volunteers to spy on Cypher with the help of her new friends, and their plan doesn’t go as smoothly as anticipated, delivering some humorous moments.
Packed with minor and major twists, but surprisingly light on gore, this ‘Gen V’ chapter leans more on dialogue than action, especially in the first half. Some of the character exchanges feel oddly stiff in a few sequences, as if the cast’s energy dipped just for this round. But of well, you’ll be adequately distracted by the ‘bags’ of blood Marie trains with.
The episode closes with a big reveal about Dean Cipher, setting the stage for even greater villainy ahead.
Stream ‘Gen V’ on Prime Video.
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