‘Gen V’ Delivers on the Promise of an Explosive Finale

The first season of Gen V has come to an end, and it did not disappoint. And in the tradition of The Boys, the finale is … a lot to unpack.

Gen V, the first live-action spinoff of The Boys, follows Marie (Jaz Sinclair) and her friends as they attend Godolkin University, a special college for kids with superhero abilities. It’s everything Marie has ever dreamed about. But after her first day, Marie finds that nothing is as it seems. There’s a secret lab under the school called The Woods where they perform experiments on young supes. The entire season has been building to an explosive finale.

Let’s go over all the major plot points in episode 8, “The Guardians of Godolkin.”

Be warned, this article contains all the spoilers for the season finale of Gen V!

The Polarity problem

In the last episode, Polarity (Sean Patrick Thomas), Andre’s dad has some kind of seizure, making his metal-bending powers go wild. Andre (Chance Perdomo) and Polarity are taken to a special hospital room in Vought Tower. The doctor tells Andre every time Polarity uses his powers, it causes a micro-tear in his brain. His brain scan shows the loss of substantial brain matter with no way to reverse it, only mitigate it. Andre already shows signs it is affecting him as well. If they continue to use their powers, they will die. Andre’s dad will hear none of it and wants Andre to take on the mantle of Polarity to support their family.

The Woods

After killing Dean Shetty (Shelley Conn), Cate (Maddie Phillips) decides she must free all the prisoners in The Woods. Sam (Asa Germann) joins her so he can prove that he is a hero. Arriving at the underground lab, they kill the guards and free the prisoners. When they see a student who was killed by the genetically engineered virus, the young supes begin a mission of killing all humans. Sam has visions of his brother speaking as Sam’s conscience. So Sam asks Cate to rid him of his feelings so he can kill without guilt or hesitation.

The Battle of God U

When the students held in The Woods hit God U, they immediately start killing. Although it seems like they are just killing humans, lots of bodies are hitting the ground. Andre, Marie, and Jordan (London Thor/Derek Luh) try to save the humans against Cate, Sam, and the prisoners. They attempt to save the Vought executives who are on campus. Marie’s blood powers take some interesting new turns.

Marie can see the circulatory system of the invisible Maverick (the son of Translucent from season 1 of The Boys). She also uses blood from dead bodies to create solid knives and sends them flying at a supe attacking the humans. When Cate reaches for Jordan, Marie explodes Cate’s arm accidentally. It is at that moment that Homelander (Antony Starr) lands at the school. When Marie tries to talk to him, he calls her an “animal” for attacking her own kind, then blasts her with his laser vision. We see Homelander and the conservative news network happy that Sam and Cate are the new Guardians of Godolkin, a title once held by Marie and Andre. Of course, the conservative news would be happy that two white kids hold the title, even if they are severely mentally unbalanced.

That ending

Marie wakes up in a hospital-type room with no doors. Andre, Jordan, and Emma (Lizze Broadway) are also there in hospital gowns. Somehow Marie survived the attack by Homelander, which Andre points out would have “put anyone else in the ground.” Which may mean Marie has levels of her powers that we didn’t see before. How could she withstand the blast when metallic objects haven’t held up against it? The group also has no idea where they are or how they got into the room. Although it does look like they have food and medical supplies. They may be in some secret room under Vought Tower.

During the end credits we get a special bonus scene. In The Woods, now dark and abandoned, we see one person strolling through. It’s none other than Billy Butcher (Karl Urban). That means the Boys are onto what has been going on underground at the school. That ending just gave us way more questions than answers. How are these unhinged supes that want to kill humans going to be in the real world? Has the virus that kills supes been completely eradicated? Will the Boys aide Marie and her friends? We will have to wait for the new season of The Boys and the second season of Gen V to find out.

(featured image: Prime Video)