Gen V has arrived with its first three episodes in season 2 of the series, one that had to deal with the brutal loss of Chance Perdomo, who was killed in a motorcycle accident in 2024.
The rewritten season has honored him and his character, and outside of that, is already producing something that is better than at least the current state of The Boys itself, something I would argue that season 1 also did.
Some of this is due to where The Boys has gone, and some is due to how Gen V is structured around a group of people you actually want to root for, and meaningful mysterious villains in addition to the occasionally Boys-universe gross-out antics.
There are three aspects that I think work with Gen V more than The Boys:
The Core Group – While there is certainly interpersonal conflict between the show’s heroes, they are that, heroes. At this point, The Boys has evolved into a series whose former lead, Hughie, is an abused, sidelined character, whereas Marie Moreau has that role in a way that feels more coherent. The supporting cast works well as a team as opposed to the constant fracturing we see in the main show every other episode.
The Mysteries – The Boys is fundamentally centered on one thing, taking down Homelander. I do, of course, believe that Homelander is the best-acted character across both that show and Gen V, but these storylines have become far less interesting than what we’ve seen in Gen V. Currently, there are two significant ones already in season 2, one involving the birth of Marie as an apparent weapon, the other trying to figure out what the deal is with new villain literally named “Cipher.” I find these storylines more interesting than anything we’ve seen with The Boys in recent seasons.
Politics – Speaking of recent seasons, The Boys has just gone too far when it comes to politics. I say this not as a right-winger annoyed by being targeted, but as a left-winger annoyed at just how stupidly ham-handed all this is with Trump analogies and now actual quotes from political figures in real life. That has translated to the Gen V campus a bit between Homelander and Starlight supporters, but The Boys has gone too far down the rabbit hole believing its some brilliant political commentary when it’s actually pretty bad at it.
I don’t know what will happen in the final season of The Boys. It’s not that I don’t like The Boys, and I am certainly excited to see how it ends. I just think that Gen V is a fundamentally better structured and written show compared to the last season or two of The Boys itself. I know many may not agree, but if you’re making that judgement without watching Gen V, I don’t recommend that.
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