Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Gen V Season 2 wastes no time in reminding viewers the kind of show it is – bloody violent, gory, and zany. It opens with a 1967 flashback to a lab, where a group of scientists inject themselves with a blue liquid and things go horribly wrong. We’re talking blood and guts everywhere, just a shade tamer than The Boys Season 4, Episode 4, where Homelander visits the Vought lab and massacres the scientists who tortured him as a kid.
Also Read: Gen V Season One Review – A Bloody Good Mess
And here’s the thing about Gen V Season 2: it feels more like a violent set-up for ‘The Boys’ season 5 than a story about the next generation of messed-up superheroes at Godolkin University (God-U), the elite school for the super-powered. But Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair) remains the primary protagonist of this spin-off, who in the finale of Gen V Season One had ended up in Elmira with her friends, a maximum security prison for troubled supes.
Titled ‘New Year, New U’, the first episode of Gen V Season 2 follows Emma (Lizze Broadway) and Jordan (played alternately by London Thor and Derek Li), who are shocked to be freed from Elmira. Their ‘freedom’ secured’ through a “deal” their friend-turned-betrayer Cate Dunlap (Maddie Phillips) strikes with Vought. Marie (Jaz Sinclair) is said to have escaped from Elmira by herself, and is on the run but manages to reclaim her spot on campus as well. Of course, their escape from captivity means falling in line with Vought’s agenda, whatever it might be.
Now that the protagonists have their freedom back, they can chill, party, make tiktoks, get hammered, but they – Marie, Emma, and Jordan – start investigating a secret program from the ’60s called “Odessa”, one that may hold the key to finally taking down their enemies. Hamish Linklater plays Cipher, the new dean at the University, and Jordan recognizes him from Elmira, so they are suspicious of his motives. This mystery project “Odessa” becomes a key mystery in the season, so does a creepy burnt man lying in a hyperbaric chamber.
Not too surprisingly, Hamish Linklater’s Cipher emerges as the primary antagonist of Gen V Season 2, a manipulative, evil dean whose own abilities, if any, remain shrouded in mystery for most of the season. Supe or not, Dean Cipher is obsessed with molding Marie into the “greatest” warrior, or rather “weapon”, even introducing a brutal, gladiator-style class where students are forced to fight to the brink of death.
The creators handle the loss of actor Chance Perdomo with sensitivity, paying heartfelt tribute to the late star who portrayed Andre Anderson, one of God-U’s top students, before his untimely passing ahead of Gen V Season 2’s production. In the show, Andre is said to have died while helping Emma and Jordan escape Elmira, and his friends honor him as a hero. Sean Patrick Thomas, who plays Andre’s father, Polarity, takes on a larger role this season as he joins God-U’s faculty and teams up with Marie’s group to uncover Dean Cypher’s malevolent schemes.
Gen V Season 2’s funniest moment comes when Vought PR stages a flashy “Gender Bender vs. Blood Bender” match, pitting Jordan against Marie for the top spot at God-U. This face-off takes place in Episode 4, which 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.
And yes, Gen V Season 2 is laden with cameos from The Boys, some expected, others not so much. Dean Cypher is, in fact, in cahoots with a notable supe, conspiring toward something sinister, though mystery shrouds his ultimate game plan until the very end of the season. Marie and squad scramble to dig up dirt on Cypher, so that they can stop him from bullying and manipulating them on campus.
Jaz Sinclair’s Marie stands out as the undeniable hero of Gen V Season 2, evolving into a more powerful supe whose newly unlocked abilities leave even the strongest rivals stunned. Even as Marie grows stronger, her personal life remains a mess, as her romance with Jordan faces serious strain, and her long-awaited reunion with her sister Annabeth (Keeya King) brings more pain than joy.
Jordan may be the least interesting character in the show at this point, but London Thor and Derek Li deserve credit for their seamless performances, they continue to make it entirely believable that both are the same person.
The most fun bits in the show were with Lizze Broadway’s Emma, who joins a secret pro-starlight group by Harper (Jessica Clement) and Ally (Georgie Murphy). Emma also 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. Also, there’s some comedic romantic awkwardness between her and Sam Riordan, even though they aren’t together anymore.
Asa Germann as Sam gets limited screen-time, but given his volatile mind, bizarre hallucinations, long-standing hatred toward his parents, and crazy super powers, most scenes with him feel like they could erupt in violence at any second. Maddie Phillips’ Cate Dunlap finds her mind-bending abilities take a hit this season, and she spends a lot of time trying to earn back her former friends’ trust.
The penultimate episode of Gen V Season 2 drops a darkly satisfying twist and an unexpected new character, foreshadowed well from the start, but still landing with punch. Chaos is once again the norm for the young supes, leaving behind the usual trail of blood and destruction. The visual effects stay flashy yet fun, and Marie’s blood-bending powers continue to make your skin crawl.
The climax of Gen V Season 2 Episode 8 is gloriously chaotic, it’s violent, wacky, and occasionally downright gross, delivering a blood-soaked showdown. It’s a mix of teamwork, friendship, and rebellion against corrupt megalomaniacs. But the closing stretch is more of a setup for next season of The Boys than a proper payoff for Gen V’s young heroes. Cate, Sam, and Emma deserved more screen time, though at least protagonist Marie finally steps into her full “god-like” potential.
The series ends with an exciting twist that catapults Marie and her friends into Homelander’s orbit, teasing an explosive clash with the ultimate villain. If The Boys is your thing, consider Gen V Season 2 required homework. And if you’re already a fan of these supes-in-training, well… you don’t need me to tell you not to miss it.
Rating: 7.5 on 10. Stream Gen V Season 2 on Prime Video.
Also Read: ‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ Review: One of 2025’s Best Anime (Audio Version Below)