Gen V Season-Finale Recap: Life Is a Miracle

by

Season two of Gen V has consistently connected with the world of The Boys. This makes sense, as Homelander gaining power at the end of The Boys’ fourth season would naturally impact all levels of society, including college campuses.

The show stumbles when it tries to hint at big, lasting changes to the main storyline by forcing cameos from characters in The Boys. While it’s fine for Gen V characters to appear in The Boys, as we saw in season four, Gen V can’t drastically alter things before the final season of The Boys. It’s similar to how Marvel TV shows, especially older ones like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., are limited in how much they can change the overall Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Usually, Gen V successfully keeps its storylines distinct, allowing them to develop independently. However, the script for “Trojan,” by Justine Ferrara and Michele Fazekas, emphasizes the connections between the plots, and this is apparent throughout the episode, not just in the final scene. Sage returns, providing a foil for Cipher—who is now revealed as the original Thomas Godolkin, indulging in excessive drinking, eating, and sexual activity after years of suppressing his own identity within other people’s minds. Though Homelander doesn’t physically appear, as he did in the previous finale, his presence is strongly felt throughout the episode.

This episode reveals how Godolkin has managed to live for so long. He originally took a special compound (V-1) that gave Soldier Boy and Stormfront eternal youth. He then survived a fire and began transferring his consciousness into new bodies. First, he used a man named Dr. Fielder for about 30 years, then switched to Doug, forcing him to kill Fielder. Godolkin orchestrated events to have Starlight find Odessa, and manipulated Marie into healing him, all to continue his extended life.

Now what happens? Despite being incredibly intelligent, Sage thinks she and Godolkin can build a happy life together in her apartment, and they likely plan to join forces with Homelander to further their shared belief in supe superiority. However, Godolkin seems to have even grander—and potentially more sinister—plans. It’s not entirely clear how their visions differ from Homelander’s, except for who would be in charge. He reveals himself to the world by launching a livestream advertising an advanced seminar, promising top spots to the most powerful students. Marie’s competing livestream fails to deter a flood of ambitious twenty-year-olds eager for attention.

Godolkin interacts with the first group of children in a predictably cruel way: he belittles them, uses mind control to force them to harm each other, and then manipulates the injured in a disturbing display of power. While shocking, the show has featured similar violent events and training scenarios recently. Although Ethan Slater’s performance is strong, he doesn’t quite command the screen with the same memorable intensity as Hamish Linklater did.

Throughout all of this, Sage mainly observes with disapproval, though she ultimately does the right thing by letting Polarity go after Black Noir catches him. Sage was a compelling character in The Boys, but her innocence and reliance on her much older boyfriend feel unrealistic, particularly when she ignores a call from Homelander during the seminar. The show also never fully explained how she and Homelander started working together. Sage mentions he was part of their “phase two,” but the details remain unclear. As soon as Godolkin reveals his plan to become powerful enough to control Homelander, it becomes clear his scheme is destined to fail. The situation already lacked urgency, and learning this was his grand plan made it even less compelling. It’s obvious Homelander isn’t going anywhere, and while Godolkin initiated everything, he clearly isn’t up to the task.

For example, Black Hole tricks him by secretly bringing an entire team of superheroes into the seminar through, well, his backside using a gravitational anomaly. A fight breaks out, and Godolkin tries to use his remaining students against the heroes, but they manage to save the students after Ally magically restrains him (yes, you read that right) and Harper gains control of his abilities. Marie tries to turn the situation into a lesson about how Godolkin was defeated by heroes he considered weak, but her message is slightly undermined when she ends up being controlled by him.

This scene gives us a great look at Jaz Sinclair playing a villainous role. Her character, Marie, uses blood collected from corpses – fulfilling a prophecy Annabeth had – and mocks her sister with her ability to see the future. Luckily, Polarity shows up to prevent Marie (disguised as Godolkin) from harming anyone else. Marie then quickly defeats the dean by explosively killing him, declaring, “That was for Andre.”

At just 44 minutes, the episode “Trojan” feels a bit rushed, and some characters don’t get the development they deserve. There are some heartwarming scenes, like Polarity and Doug connecting over their shared admiration for Andre, which serves as a touching tribute to the late Chance Perdomo. The long-awaited breakup between Marie and Jordan is surprisingly emotional, as Jordan understands Marie’s reasons for leaving but realizes they can only be friends. Similarly, Marie and Annabeth finally make amends, with Annabeth acknowledging Marie as a hero after years of resentment – a truly meaningful moment.

Cate doesn’t get much focus beyond the scenes of Marie making amends and helping her recover. Emma’s storyline also feels incomplete. While she finally manages to gain confidence without resorting to her usual overeating, the reason for this change isn’t clear – and it shouldn’t just be because she saw her two boyfriends fighting. The kiss with Greg is sweet, but she’s ultimately left alone again, and her future remains uncertain.

So, Polarity told them to run, and honestly, it feels like they might be on the move indefinitely now. But the ending didn’t quite land for me. We just watched them go on the run before, and those trips to Elmira felt like detours. It’s just my opinion, but I really prefer Gen V when Godolkin University is central to everything. I’m not loving the idea of it becoming a background location.

I’m not sure what to make of the last scene, where Starlight and A-Train recruit the group to help the resistance. It seems like this is setting up appearances from characters in Gen V during the final season of The Boys, but it’s unclear what the purpose of that crossover will be, or how it might lead into a potential third season of Gen V. It’s hard to predict, especially since we don’t even know if Vought and Godolkin University will still exist when the show returns. Though, realistically, systems like those usually survive, even if the people in charge don’t.

I appreciate the decision to connect Gen V more closely with The Boys in season two, though it creates some unanswered questions the show can’t fully explore. While the season finale delivers on many of its initial promises, it doesn’t quite feel completely satisfying. I’m still interested in seeing where the show goes, but the future of Gen V seems more uncertain than before, and that’s a little worrying.

Extra Credit

It was sad to see Doug killed by Black Noir during the kidnapping attempt while he was being taken to the hospital. I was happy the show kept Linklater involved in the finale, as he was really the best part of this season.

Rufus plays an unexpectedly large role in the finale, drugging Sam and Emma at the fraternity and then almost dying at the seminar. While the group does end up saving him, it’s unlikely he’ll suddenly become a better person.

If Harper’s abilities recharge after a minute, why couldn’t she briefly gain powers from someone else, then immediately use them to regain control of Godolkin?

Marie and Jordan’s relationship felt rushed this season, so their breakup, while understandable, seems a bit early. Short seasons like this one don’t always allow relationships to fully develop, and they could have benefited from a few more episodes to explore their connection.

Read More

2025-10-22 21:56