The Boys at College: Gen V is a worthy spin-off (review)

The spin-off series which takes place at the university has no reason to be ashamed of its big sister.

The global success of The Boys obviously gave ideas to Prime Video, which declines the trashy and bloody universe of the series through the spin-off Gen V. Head to Godolkin University, where students train to become the next generation of Vought-sponsored superheroes. And potentially land very lucrative contracts… We first follow Marie (Jaz Sinclair), a young woman whose ability to use her own blood as a weapon has played a very bad turn in the past. She discovers that her future will depend as much on her popularity as her good grades, and above all that something sinister is going on behind the scenes on campus…

If you like The Boys, you will not be lost: the derivative series reconnects with its funny and offbeat spirit, of which we find the scabrous tone (an erect penis and in close-up, we will not reveal the context) and a certain passion for hemoglobin. But Gen V would be of little interest if it only copied the original. The idea here is to tell a pure learning story, with enough personality to free yourself from your big sister after two episodes. Showrunner Craig Rosenberg plays skillfully with the clichés of the college film (the cool athlete is not necessarily trash), helped by a gallery of very robust young actors.

Of the first three episodes that we were able to see, Gen V moves at full speed and manages to juggle effortlessly between its main mystery (but what is hidden in “the Woods”?) and the development of its characters. Their superpowers are parables of adolescent troubles: Marie must mutilate herself with a sharp object to use hers; Jordan is able to change gender instantly, which upsets his parents; Emma must pay with herself to succeed in shrinking… All this should in theory be perfectly clumsy, but the ability of the cast to embody – and the writing is much sharper than it seems – allows Gen V to rise above the crowd and make purely psychological problems and questions very visual. Not to mention that we also have a lot of fun, the series not forgetting to be at the same time perfectly calibrated entertainment.

Gen V, three episodes seen. Available September 29 on Prime Video.