Gen V is a spin-off of The Boys. That’s both a fact about the show and a warning. It’s an ultra-violent, ultra-bloody show, and you’ll see more than one nude penis on the screen during the eight-episode Season 1. At the same time, it’s also a more focused story that knows how to use the tools we associate with The Boys effectively and–pending a sharp left turn in the final two episodes we haven’t seen–finds plenty of interesting stuff to do with them without involving Vought or The Seven as more than background noise. At the same time, you should consider this a catch-all trigger warning for Gen V: The series is bloody, and its main characters deal with self harm, eating orders, and mental health in ways that directly apply to the plot. If you tend to look away from the screen in the presence of blood, you’re not going to see huge portions of Gen V.
We’ll work hard to avoid spoilers, but be aware that there may be minor spoilers ahead, depending on your threshold for such things. This review covers the first six episodes of Gen V Season 1.
Gen V’s better use of the tools it’s borrowed from The Boys can be summed up easily through the show’s main character, Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair). Our first scene with her is a horrifying, flesh-spattered introduction to her powers and how she learns about her ability to manipulate blood. That’s part of what Gen V is about–it’s every bit as graphic as The Boys, but the blood and gore on display feels much more effective, using it more often to tell us things about the characters than to shock us.