By Pauli Poisuo

Copyright slashfilm

Marie’s potential has been teased quite a few times, and let’s face it, she is technically an orphan with mysterious powers. Still, “Bags” marks the first time that a Vought insider has outright stated that she might be able to defeat Homelander. In any other show, this would send her on a classic path to vanquishing evil. Too bad that this is “Gen V,” and there are no heroes here.

Both “The Boys” and its spin-off have shown time and time again what happens to people who try to be traditional superheroes or protagonists. On “The Boys,” you can count the supposedly heroic crimefighter supes who aren’t secretly twisted, horrible, or corrupt with one hand and still have fingers to spare. “Gen V” season 1 similarly introduces the new generation’s paragon Golden Boy (Patrick Schwarzenegger), who might actually have been a semi-decent guy if it wasn’t for the fact that Vought was using his girlfriend, Cate (Maddie Phillips), to repeatedly mess with her brain. Even the darkest antihero types tend to go askew at some point during their journey — just ask Billy Butcher (Karl Urban), who’s all but set to become the kind of villain even Homelander might dread when “The Boys” ends with season 5.

So, where does this leave Marie? In a bad place, surely. Being a hero, let alone a Chosen One, isn’t a great thing in this universe — historically, it’s a dark omen of danger, despair, and death. Now that Marie’s path and potential have been spelled out, she seems far more likely to suffer a shocking, tragic, and/or extremely embarrassing fate than to become the strongest supe and have a happy ever after.

“Gen V” season 2 is streaming on Prime Video, with new episodes dropping on Wednesdays.