The second season of Prime Video’s ‘Gen V’ transports the audience back to the superhero universe of ‘The Boys.’ While there might be some time before we see the Boys again, its spin-off series gives us a glimpse into the Homelander-era of America. Taking place in the aftermath of Season 4’s finale, where the country falls into the hands of fascist Supes, led by an increasingly unhinged Homelander, the second season of ‘Gen V’ brings us back to Godolkin University, where the secrets, lies, and illegal experiments continue to unravel the teenagers who already have too much on their plates. SPOILERS AHEAD.
New Year, New You at Godolkin
Last season concluded with Marie, Andre, Jordan, and Emma tossed into a building with no doors and no windows, which means that this is where they’ll be stuck for the time being. This season begins with Jordan and Emma being removed from Elmira, the rehabilitation center where wayward young Supes are tossed to get their act together. It happens that Marie had escaped some time ago, and Andre did not survive. The two are led back to Godolkin, where Cate welcomes them with a smile. She says it was she who negotiated that they be returned to the university, where she is sure they will be safe, given everything. But when she finds out that Andre is dead, she is devastated and begins to re-evaluate being loyal to Vought. Though Jordan is still resentful about all that transpired and doesn’t want to return to Godolkin, Emma explains that they don’t have another option.
They receive a script that discusses them being cleared of all accusations and how they played a pivotal role in assisting and safeguarding other Supes, once more taking up their role as the Guardians of Godolkin. At the same time, Marie attempts to keep a low profile as she searches for her sister, Annabeth, whom she was torn away from when she accidentally killed her parents when her powers suddenly manifested and she was brought to Red River. Her attempt at keeping a low profile is foiled when she comes to the defense of a group of Starlighters, using her powers to administer a beating on the bullies. But this proves to be a false assumption because all along, she has a bounty hunter by the name of Dogknot hounding her. He tracks her down to the motel where she is hiding and nearly catches up with her before Starlight/Annie arrives to save the day. Although she starts out by instructing Marie to remain low-key while on the lam, she also advises her to return to Godolkin, and it’s not only because she will be safest there. Annie opens up that she and her crew (whom she does not speak about) discovered something known as Project Odessa, which was being worked on by Thomas Godolkin, the second in command of Frederick Vought and the founder of Godolkin University. She doesn’t know what the project is all about, which is why she requires an inside man who can discover it. She also says that Odessa is a weapon that needs to be taken out of the picture if they are to emerge victorious in this battle against Homelander and his fascist minions.
As much as this, Marie does not care about going back, and she rejects Annie’s offer to become an undercover agent. She has an only goal, which is to get her sister, and nothing else matters to her. Emma and Jordan Reunite Emma and Jordan find it difficult to fit back into Godolkin, now with a new dean named Cipher. Jordan recollects the Elmira man, which only adds to their apprehension regarding their safety at the university. They are also devastated over Andre’s demise, and when Emma mentions going to look for Marie, they remind her that she left them behind and never looked back. Emma also contacts Polarity, the father of Andre, who is in shock from the loss of his son. She requests his assistance and informs him that something big is happening in Godolkin and he is one of the few individuals who can assist her and her group in learning what it is. He himself is not interested in anything of it, and he tells her to leave and escape as far from Godolkin as she can, if she wishes to remain alive. When Emma finds the video of Marie defending herself against the bullies, she resolves to find her, and Jordan goes reluctantly with her. It does not take long before they can find her, which shows just how reckless Marie has been. The reunion is characterized by the anguish of Andre’s death, which was not known to Marie. It later becomes evident that when she fled, Andre believed that they too had an opportunity to escape. But he declined to abandon Emma and Jordan, and when the moment arrived, he exerted all his strength in an attempt to burst through a metal door that was very heavy. It was too much for him, but he didn’t quit, and the stress finally caused him to break down and perish. Meanwhile, Marie is dealing with this revelation, Cate arrives. She’d been sent to find her by Cipher, who is more cruel and enigmatic than all of the last deans and professors of Godolkin combined. She invites Marie to return, too, but what really alarms her is when she scans Marie’s mind and finds out she has spoken to Starlight. She invites Marie to confess to Vought, but the latter has no plans to return. When Cate attempts to apply her powers of compulsion, Jordan activates their energy blast, sending Cate crashing into a wall. She smashes her head and begins to bleed. Marie attempts to halt the bleeding, but she cannot do so without coming into contact with her. Touching her, though, would equate to exposing herself to Cate’s ability, and nobody wants that. She begs Emma to assist her, but the three leave and assume that she will bleed to death.
Justice Never Forgets and Neither Does Godolkin
Thinking that they have murdered Cate, Emma concludes that the only option for them to survive is to return to Godolkin, which also means Marie. Although Jordan prefers to flee, Emma reminds them that they’ll be caught within a day and will be returned to Elmira. She asks Marie to record a video in which she explains that she needed a break for her mental health and is now prepared to return to school. After some trials, they successfully record the video, and, sure enough, Marie is warmly welcomed back at Godolkin, although Cipher has no illusions that she has done so out of desperation. Marie guesses that he is aware that she, Emma, and Jordan are responsible for Cate’s injuries and therefore says that she is in the hospital, recovering.
He also informs Marie about Andre’s condition, which he shares with his dad, where they abuse their powers, which destroys their brain, and that is how Andre died in Elmira. When Jordan gets wind of it, they run into Marie, whom they still have not forgiven for having left them behind. However, before they get to discuss it, they are summoned to report for a special class named Hero Optimisation. Cipher informs them that only the most promising young Supes have been chosen for this class with the aim of getting them to learn about their powers so they can level up. It is apparent that none of them actually understand how their powers function. For instance, though Marie knows she employs blood as a weapon, she has no clue what she manipulates in blood when she employs her powers. Similarly, Jordan does not know how and why they are able to switch between their two states. The plan is to place them in extenuating circumstances, hopefully allowing them to get a firmer handle on their abilities, and also providing Cipher with an opportunity to observe them. Essentially, they need to battle their way past a Supe who can kill all of them nearly single-handed. Though Jordan finally gets to the purpose established at the start of the challenge, the exercise confirms Cipher’s assertion of all of them having no idea how they work.
Emma and Polarity Learn the Truth About Odessa
Sam begins to fall apart when he learns of the attack against Cate. Before, he was taken by surprise when Emma informed him of Andre’s death, but Cate forced him to turn off his feelings, and that’s how he has been managing up until now. In theory, he is Godolkin’s top pupil, has a lovely girlfriend, and has his own fan base. In reality, though, he is falling apart, and things get worse for him when Cate goes off the radar.
While Godolkin and Vought give the impression that she was attacked by Starlighters, it does not take much for Sam to figure out that Emma had something to do with it. When he goes to visit Cate at the hospital, she ends up taking over the body of a nurse and screams for Emma before having the nurse murder the other nurse and then herself. At school, Sam receives another clue about Emma’s complicity, when a student tells him that she had swiped his phone and used it to order a cab to the same location where Cate was struggling for her life. As he grapples with this news, Emma joins forces with Polarity, who has resolved to become part of Godolkin as an instructor in a bid to avenge his son’s death. She is relieved that, at last, there is an adult to guide them out of this difficult phase, and she immediately informs him of Project Odessa. They go to the library to research Thomas Godolkin, and once Emma charms the librarian by telling him she’s a fan of his program, which ran years ago and was cancelled, they gain access to the archives. There, they find a secret room that primarily contains all of the Nazi and KKK memorabilia that Godolkin possesses, but that’s also where they find a file on Odessa that resolves a lot of their questions. Meanwhile, Marie and Jordan get back together after they share their grief at Andre’s passing. The situation becomes uncomfortable when Marie informs Jordan that she loves them, and they are rescued from further discomfort by the noise of firecrackers. It is revealed that Vought employed Cate’s assault to execute some Starlighters, among whom is one Marie recognises as the individual she saved from bullies when she was in hiding. Meanwhile, Emma approaches them with the Odessa file, which shows that Marie is Odessa. Or at least, she is a product of the project. Odessa Leads Marie to Investigate Her Past With the Odessa file in their possession, it is now evident that Marie has a connection to it. Polarity concludes that maybe she is the weapon Starlight had been discussing. But Marie can’t quite get her mind around all of this.
In order to get to the truth of the matter, she makes the decision to call her mom’s best friend, Aunt Pam, whom she hasn’t spoken to since she unintentionally murdered her parents. Whether that wasn’t enough anxiety of being reunited with her, she also has concerns about how Jordan will react when she informs them that she loves them. When she tells them she was a virgin before they got intimate, Jordan points out that one shouldn’t say “I love you” to the first person they sleep with. Before they can discuss it any further, Jordan is told that they have ranked number 1 in Godolkin, and that comes with some perks and some responsibilities. Meanwhile, Marie meets up with Aunt Pam, who welcomes her with some hesitation. In order to make it brief, Marie asks her about Odessa, and although Pam is unaware of it, she is aware that Marie’s parents struggled to conceive. Although they might have gone the way of IVF and other forms of conception, Vought appeared to offer them another solution. They would conceive, but the child would need to be a Supe. Her parents were not interested because all they cared about was having a child, and thus, Marie was born. More of a surprising discovery is that Cipher was the one who delivered her, which is a clear indication that he knows more than he is willing to admit. Tension eases between Marie and Pam as they begin to view some of her parents’ old photos. Marie feels much improved by the end. On her way out, she goes to the toilet, and that’s how she finds herself in a room clearly occupied by her sister, Annabeth. It has been discovered that Pam managed to adopt Annabeth but hid it from Marie. The news prompts an altercation in which Pam explains that she and Annabeth were afraid of her because she had killed her parents. Marie retorts that she did not ever request these powers, and what did occur was due to the decisions that her parents made. She hopes that Annabeth will not regard her as a monster, but Pam shares that it is Annabeth’s decision not to see her. Sam Breaks Down While Emma Finds New Allies Tensions run higher at Godolkin as Cate returns.
Although she is furious with Marie, Jordan, and Emma
she cannot do anything since Vought has decided to pin the crime on Starlighters. Cate protests against it with Cipher, but he makes it clear that she does not have any choice in the decision. As she is about to leave his office, she sees a secret vault-like door, which indicates that he must have been keeping his secrets there. At the Hero Optimisation Class, the young Supes are forced to fight against one another once again. Marie manages to emerge victorious from her fight, but Cipher intervenes and suggests that maybe the ignorance regarding her powers is causing her to inflict injury on herself. He says this in reference to her cutting herself to bleed, but she tells us that it’s her way to create her own weapon and not have to wait for someone else to bleed. But deep down, she knows Cipher is telling the truth.
Sam begins to deteriorate, and this time, Cate can’t assist her because she is recovering from his wounds and has been told not to exert herself with her powers for the time being. It’s not good news for Sam, who begins to glimpse the animated version of reality once more and is tormented by visions of everything horrible he’s done over the last few months. At the same time, a human worker at Godolkin cafe is distressed by a Supe who constantly posts pro-Starlight advertisements. The girl is intimidated by various Supes, with accusations of being a Starlighter, but whenever she takes down the advertisement, another one is there the next instant. When Emma learns about it, she decides to locate the Supe. Initially, she is following the Supe who appears to have super speed. But subsequently, she finds out that it is Harper, who possesses the power of chameleon and can borrow others’ powers for a minute. Emma learns that Harper and another girl have been creating the flyers and the graffiti in Starlight’s favor. She urges them to push it a bit further, and when they do not move, she urges them as Andre urged her. Meanwhile, while the school is celebrating Godolkin Day, Jordan is asked to the stage to speak on how much they owe having been in God U. This is preceded by them declaring how much they love Marie, admitting that it was hard for them to say it back at the start since they’ve never done so before with someone else. When they are on stage, they begin to follow the script provided to them, but they later choose to reveal the news of Andre’s death as well as that they were the ones who attacked Cate, whereas Vought fabricated the story about Starlighters and murdered them without a reason. Read More: How Did Marie Survive Homelander in Gen V, Explained
