By Jeremy Mathai
Copyright slashfilm
That inevitably leads to the other side of the “Gen V” coin. There’s no denying the instant impact that “The Boys” had on pop culture overall upon arrival in 2019, taking full advantage of the superhero movie craze and bringing Garth Ennis’ satirical comic series to viscera-filled life. But, with each passing season, it’s also fair to say that all the endless gore and boundary-pushing imagery have contributed to a sense of diminishing returns. As “Game of Thrones” discovered with its Red Wedding, there’s just no way to constantly recreate the highs (and lows) of its biggest and most divisive moments — in this case, the nightmare-inducing “Herogasm” from season 3. But perhaps the spin-off show is finally falling prey to the pitfalls of its parent series.
“Gen V” managed to avoid this with its mostly well-received freshman season, but the cracks begin to expand in season 2. As much as “The Boys” creator Eric Kripke helped define the entire property’s irreverent tone and sharp political claws, the actual level of insight behind this parody has fallen somewhat short of its own standards. We can all likely agree that reality has officially become more bizarre and logic-defying than fiction could ever hope to be, but it takes more than lazy 1:1 recreations of our most absurd political headlines and the occasional jab at superhero media to remain relevant. “Gen V” unfortunately returns to the well of these surface-level politics, relying on passingly clever riffs on obvious targets as stand-ins for saying anything genuinely meaningful about our current climate. “Make America Super Again” signs, “Resist” imagery, a suped-up version of the “Trad wife” trend, and Amazon product placement fill the frame in each and every episode, but it all serves as mere window dressing in the absence of a narrative equipped to legitimately wrestle with such heady topics.
Making matters worse, the show’s approach to worldbuilding details and crossovers with “The Boys” has now become indistinguishable from Marvel or DC. The first season of “Gen V” generally used its cameo ammunition with restraint and tact, saving its most heavy-hitting surprises for maximum impact. Season 2, meanwhile, makes an unwelcome pivot to excess early and often — many times in ways that detract from the story at hand, rather than enhancing. Gone are the days when this property could coast on the goodwill of providing a rebellious counterpoint to its IP-driven brethren on the big screen. There are now five shows in this universe in various degrees of release or development, proving that even the most niche and edgy alternatives to major studio tentpoles aren’t safe from the money-grubbing gears of the Amazon machine.
Still, “Gen V” does just enough to provide thrills and twists galore to keep its core audience happy, including one heck of a killer finale that helps redeem much of the lower points of the season — even if it ultimately feels like yet another bridge to the next season of “The Boys,” when all’s said and done. Taken on its own merits, the spin-off series graduates to a sophomore year that’s more confident, more ambitious, and more earnest than what we’ve come to anticipate. That’s enough to give this a passing grade in my book … though maybe a little extra credit work wouldn’t have hurt.
/Film Rating: 6.5 out of 10
The first three episodes of “Gen V” season 2 premiere September 17, 2025 on Prime Video, followed by a weekly episodic release every Wednesday.
