Gen V: Season 1
November 8, 2023 10:36 AM - Season 1 (Full Season) - Subscribe
Wrap-up thread for the first season. (Content warnings: yes.)
• (Not really going to set talking points here, since I’m still on Episode 4. Feel free to spoil anything and everything; I’ll come back to this thread eventually.)
• (I am going to guess that Marie’s sister is not only also a Supe but also imprisoned in the Woods. Possibly the same goes for Cate’s brother. Anyone reading this will already know if I’m wildly off-base.)
• As regards the relationships (at time of writing, anyway): I was impressed at how quickly, yet effectively, they were able to set up Emma and Sam. Marie/Jordan… in hindsight, should’ve been obvious, but I didn’t see it coming at all. Cate/Andre didn’t do much for me, but hey.
• I liked the detail that Sam was implied to already be able to escape the Woods, having memorized the door codes and everything, but had actively chosen not to try again—that is, until someone he’d only met an hour ago was suddenly facing the same fate, whereupon he immediately murdered his way out without even trying so that they could both escape. Seems to parallel S1 of the Boys, where there’s an entire support group for people who have lost limbs and suffered injuries at the hands of Supes—but it’s only people who have lost loved ones who join the Boys.
• Okay, I’ll add one talking point: proposed Supe names. Bloody Marie? Coagula? Discuss.
• (Not really going to set talking points here, since I’m still on Episode 4. Feel free to spoil anything and everything; I’ll come back to this thread eventually.)
• (I am going to guess that Marie’s sister is not only also a Supe but also imprisoned in the Woods. Possibly the same goes for Cate’s brother. Anyone reading this will already know if I’m wildly off-base.)
• As regards the relationships (at time of writing, anyway): I was impressed at how quickly, yet effectively, they were able to set up Emma and Sam. Marie/Jordan… in hindsight, should’ve been obvious, but I didn’t see it coming at all. Cate/Andre didn’t do much for me, but hey.
• I liked the detail that Sam was implied to already be able to escape the Woods, having memorized the door codes and everything, but had actively chosen not to try again—that is, until someone he’d only met an hour ago was suddenly facing the same fate, whereupon he immediately murdered his way out without even trying so that they could both escape. Seems to parallel S1 of the Boys, where there’s an entire support group for people who have lost limbs and suffered injuries at the hands of Supes—but it’s only people who have lost loved ones who join the Boys.
• Okay, I’ll add one talking point: proposed Supe names. Bloody Marie? Coagula? Discuss.
I liked this series a lot. The Boys had already gone a long way to complicate the idea of supes being uniformly bad and this went one further.
Ultimately this was a story about imperfect people learning to be heroes for the most part, and discovering that the world they are in doesn't necessarily have a place for that.
The one misstep I think the show made for me is having Andre nearly kill someone in the first episode. For most of the show past episode 1 it really wants us to emphasize with all of its leads, even Cate, but Andre so casually almost killing someone, then bugging out made him seem much more callous than he was written for the rest of the show.
I loved how Emma, who initially felt peripheral to the rest of the cast, became the emotional centre of the team, and feel very sorry for her.
While Sam descending into violence is sad, I think it makes sense: he was tortured for years, and assuming he did start mentally ill, that could only have made it much worse
posted by Cannon Fodder at 2:25 PM on November 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
Ultimately this was a story about imperfect people learning to be heroes for the most part, and discovering that the world they are in doesn't necessarily have a place for that.
The one misstep I think the show made for me is having Andre nearly kill someone in the first episode. For most of the show past episode 1 it really wants us to emphasize with all of its leads, even Cate, but Andre so casually almost killing someone, then bugging out made him seem much more callous than he was written for the rest of the show.
I loved how Emma, who initially felt peripheral to the rest of the cast, became the emotional centre of the team, and feel very sorry for her.
While Sam descending into violence is sad, I think it makes sense: he was tortured for years, and assuming he did start mentally ill, that could only have made it much worse
posted by Cannon Fodder at 2:25 PM on November 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
A solid season 3.5 and I can't wait to see where this is going.
posted by Pope Guilty at 6:49 PM on November 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Pope Guilty at 6:49 PM on November 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
So, that one guy whose dick got blowed up... he never went to the hospital or nothing? He just kept on going to classes? That seemed... odd.
posted by Saxon Kane at 10:50 AM on November 9, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Saxon Kane at 10:50 AM on November 9, 2023 [2 favorites]
There’s got to be some kind of…fleshbender on Vought’s staff, right? They wouldn’t want potential media properties permanently maimed. I guess we’ll find out about that wrt Cate’s arm in season 2.
posted by hototogisu at 9:21 PM on November 9, 2023
posted by hototogisu at 9:21 PM on November 9, 2023
He just kept on going to classes?
There were classes at God U? Cause it seemed to me the primary activities were walking the quad, keeping the socials updated, and having superpowered parties.
posted by Molesome at 1:22 AM on November 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
There were classes at God U? Cause it seemed to me the primary activities were walking the quad, keeping the socials updated, and having superpowered parties.
posted by Molesome at 1:22 AM on November 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
it seemed to me the primary activities were... having superpowered parties
In one of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels (I'm thinking The Last Continent, but I may be wrong), Ponder Stibbons has the insight that the whole point of the Unseen University is to keep the wizards preoccupied with lunch so they don't go running around throwing fireballs and lightning bolts in Anhk-Morpork like they did in the old days.
Maybe Godolkin is just a low-security version of the Woods.
posted by SPrintF at 7:41 AM on November 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
In one of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels (I'm thinking The Last Continent, but I may be wrong), Ponder Stibbons has the insight that the whole point of the Unseen University is to keep the wizards preoccupied with lunch so they don't go running around throwing fireballs and lightning bolts in Anhk-Morpork like they did in the old days.
Maybe Godolkin is just a low-security version of the Woods.
posted by SPrintF at 7:41 AM on November 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
I did like the idea that you could plausibly cover up any event by making all the students believe that they were just recovering from a blackout at an epic rager.
posted by paper chromatographologist at 8:36 AM on November 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by paper chromatographologist at 8:36 AM on November 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
There were classes at God U?
Fair point -- I can only recall 2 or 3 actual classroom scenes: Marie auditing Shetty's substitute lecture after Brink dies, Tech Knight interrogating her in the class later, and then I think a flashback of Cate's first meeting with Luke/GoldenBoy
But anyway -- dude's penis got exploded, surely a significant loss of blood... Also, he happens to be the same guy whom Cate orders to smash his balls with a baseball bat and shout "Jumanji!", so either 1) this dude has some dick regenerating powers that we haven't yet been told about, or 2) it's just a running joke about how his genitals repeatedly take a pounding.
posted by Saxon Kane at 10:49 AM on November 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
Fair point -- I can only recall 2 or 3 actual classroom scenes: Marie auditing Shetty's substitute lecture after Brink dies, Tech Knight interrogating her in the class later, and then I think a flashback of Cate's first meeting with Luke/GoldenBoy
But anyway -- dude's penis got exploded, surely a significant loss of blood... Also, he happens to be the same guy whom Cate orders to smash his balls with a baseball bat and shout "Jumanji!", so either 1) this dude has some dick regenerating powers that we haven't yet been told about, or 2) it's just a running joke about how his genitals repeatedly take a pounding.
posted by Saxon Kane at 10:49 AM on November 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
In fairness if you're attending Godolkin keeping your socials updated actually counts as coursework.
posted by Pope Guilty at 11:13 AM on November 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Pope Guilty at 11:13 AM on November 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Ultimately this was a story about imperfect people learning to be heroes for the most part, and discovering that the world they are in doesn't necessarily have a place for that.
Maybe it’s because I have an 18 year old who’s struggling a bit, or because I haven’t watched The Boys, but I took it as a generational fable about capitalism trying to absorb your talents into its machine - and your Gen-X parents grossly trying to help it along. With the fun add of a virus and people in lockdown.
posted by warriorqueen at 3:14 AM on November 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
Maybe it’s because I have an 18 year old who’s struggling a bit, or because I haven’t watched The Boys, but I took it as a generational fable about capitalism trying to absorb your talents into its machine - and your Gen-X parents grossly trying to help it along. With the fun add of a virus and people in lockdown.
posted by warriorqueen at 3:14 AM on November 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
I think both of these ideas work for the show.
I finally finished it last night and appreciated the conclusion and the show. Marie's growing powers, which were once ridiculed and dismissed, end up being pretty much almost god-tier though she may not know it. At the end, I was thinking, "Dang, she could probably take down Homelander if she got the drop on him." Homelander's appearance in the finale was spoiled for me, but it was done so perfectly in that he arrives to stop the Supes killing everyon else, see's POC folks next to wounded white supes...and just goes with the belief they're the bad ones.
I honestly wonder if Marie will end up being how Homelander is taken down (unless the comics already tell that story?).
I was excited that Emma discovered she could change size without ingesting/vomiting out food.
Anyways, I'm ready for the next season.
posted by Atreides at 7:30 AM on November 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
I finally finished it last night and appreciated the conclusion and the show. Marie's growing powers, which were once ridiculed and dismissed, end up being pretty much almost god-tier though she may not know it. At the end, I was thinking, "Dang, she could probably take down Homelander if she got the drop on him." Homelander's appearance in the finale was spoiled for me, but it was done so perfectly in that he arrives to stop the Supes killing everyon else, see's POC folks next to wounded white supes...and just goes with the belief they're the bad ones.
I honestly wonder if Marie will end up being how Homelander is taken down (unless the comics already tell that story?).
I was excited that Emma discovered she could change size without ingesting/vomiting out food.
Anyways, I'm ready for the next season.
posted by Atreides at 7:30 AM on November 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
I honestly wonder if Marie will end up being how Homelander is taken down (unless the comics already tell that story?).
The Boys TV show and The Boys comic are so different (and thank god, the comic is vile) that knowing literally anything about the comic won't actually give you any useful information about the show. Herogasm, for example, is an entire multi-issue arc about a yearly event where all the heroes pretend to be going to space to do the equivalent of Secret Wars or whatever but they're actually all going to an island to spend a week doing, well.
The show reuses ideas and proper nouns from the comic, and there's nods (Hughie's dad being played by Simon Pegg because the comic Hugie was drawn to resemble a young Simon Pegg) but comics readers are flying as blind as everybody else vis a vis the plot of the show.
posted by Pope Guilty at 1:20 PM on November 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
The Boys TV show and The Boys comic are so different (and thank god, the comic is vile) that knowing literally anything about the comic won't actually give you any useful information about the show. Herogasm, for example, is an entire multi-issue arc about a yearly event where all the heroes pretend to be going to space to do the equivalent of Secret Wars or whatever but they're actually all going to an island to spend a week doing, well.
The show reuses ideas and proper nouns from the comic, and there's nods (Hughie's dad being played by Simon Pegg because the comic Hugie was drawn to resemble a young Simon Pegg) but comics readers are flying as blind as everybody else vis a vis the plot of the show.
posted by Pope Guilty at 1:20 PM on November 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
Ah, cool to know, Pope Guilty. The other Amazon comic adaptation, Invincible, which I have read, definitely hews a lot closer to the source material. It also sounds like you saved me time picking up The Boys, too!
posted by Atreides at 10:14 AM on November 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Atreides at 10:14 AM on November 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
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Do they even need Supe names? Calling yourself Hemo the Magnificent (Holy Moly! Directed by Frank Capra?!) seems more like giving yourself a brand name. Maybe shedding the names and costumes would allow the actual heroes to retain their true identities, their true selves.
posted by SPrintF at 11:53 AM on November 8, 2023