Gen V: Season 2: Review

Death hangs heavily over the second season of The Boys' university-set spinoff.

Not just the usual exploding heads and bodies kind that we've gotten used to - there's a very real feeling in parts of this that a lot of what's being emoted on screen hasn't been difficult for cast members to dig down deep for.

Inevitably the sophomore run of this is shaped by the real-life death of Chance Perdomo, who plays Andre in the series, but rather than running from the reality, the writers have crafted a story that organically works within its confines and simultaneously extends its boundaries.

At the end of season one, the core group of students who had discovered the plans to unleash a virus were waking up in a seemingly sealed room, with no prospect of escape. It's no spoiler (of which there are many and which are heavily guarded by NDAs from the show's producers) to say they don't spend long there, but the impact of being there spills out carefully and symbiotically through the series.

As a new semester starts on campus, there's a new dean in charge, the mysteriously named Dean Cypher who appears to have something that he's hiding and whose actions don't take too long to ripple out into the Boys universe and wider lore.

But while the second run of Gen v deepens the world around it, it remains centred around the core group of Marie, Emma, Cate, Jordan, Sam and Andre. And frankly, eight episodes of this series fly by, with nary a feeling of any excess fat on the bone.

Once again, it's Jaz Sinclair and Lizze Broadway's performances as Marie and Emma that excel and propel most of the run this time. From Marie's continual delving into her past and trying to connect the dots through to Emma's perky push to uncover what's going on, their arcs this year are a delight to behold thanks to natural performances.

This year has wisely downgraded some of the not-so-subtle messages of the first in terms of its satirical take on social media and rankings - because there's a wider, more emotionally grounded story at play here that rumbles through each episode.

That's not to say Gen V's second season has sidelined the grossness - from fraternity pledges to some bone-crunchingly excessive violence, there's still plenty to engage. This is still a university that feels more like Professor X's mutant academy ramped up to XXX ways - but there's more heart this time around and more depth of poignancy to what transpires.

It's a hard season to preview without revealing some of the shocks and surprises that play out (of which there are many), but there's a confidence across the board here that makes season 2 of Gen V a compelling watch and a show that has a strong reason to exist within The Boys' universe.

How it all plays into the final season of The Boys is yet to be seen, but rest assured, this ride is well-worth taking.

All 8 episodes of season 2 of Gen V were screened for the purpose of this review.
Gen V: Season 2 starts streaming on Prime Video on Wednesday, September 17.
The Boys Season 5 - its final outing - has yet to have a transmission date.