Gen V Season 1 Recap: Key Moments To Remember Before Watching Season 2
As the first few episodes of the second season of Gen V are releasing on September 17, some of you might have forgotten the series. Here, we’ll give you an overview of the first season so you can enjoy the new one to the fullest.
Let’s start with the setting. The series Gen V takes place in Godolkin University, where the next generation of supes is trained. Alumni of this institution include Queen Maeve and A-Train. Since it is part of The Boys universe, the series also features characters from that show. Godolkin University is funded and controlled by Vought International.
Background Of Gen V & The Main Characters
One of the main characters is Marie Moreau, who has the ability to manipulate blood. She aspires to be a real superhero but carries a tragic past. When she had her first period, she accidentally killed her parents, leaving her and her sister Annabeth orphans. Annabeth still harbors resentment toward Marie for what happened. As orphans, they were separated, and Marie was placed in the custody of the Red River Institute orphanage. Determined to reconcile with her sister, Marie joins Godolkin University as the first step to becoming one of the Seven, hoping that her success will change Annabeth’s opinion of her.
Then Marie meets her roommate Emma Meyer, who has the ability to change her size, either growing larger or shrinking smaller. Marie also meets the popular kids of the school, including the golden boy Luke Riordan, who has the power to control fire. There is also Andre Anderson, who has the ability of magnetism and is Luke’s best friend. Andre’s father, Polarity, was once a supe but is now retired.
Luke’s girlfriend, Cate Dunlap, can manipulate people by touching them, changing their minds, erasing memories, and similar things. Then there is Jordan Li, who can switch between male and female forms at will, with each form having different powers. Jordan works as a teaching assistant to Professor Richard Brinkerhoff, the head of the crime-fighting department. However, Jordan’s parents are unhappy with their ability to change genders.
When Marie First Gets Noticed
Marie starts hanging out with this group and goes out with them. Unfortunately, a person gets injured due to Andre’s carelessness, and everyone else runs away except Marie, who stays behind and saves the injured person’s life using her powers. This incident blows up on social media, and Marie is unfairly blamed as the scapegoat. Richard decides to expel her.
Luke’s Psychotic Break
Marie goes to meet Richard to ask him to reconsider his decision, but when she arrives at his office, she finds Luke there arguing with him. Then, Luke burns Richard to death. He then tries to kill Marie as well, but Jordan intervenes and attempts to stop him. Andre tries to calm Luke down, but instead of attacking anyone else, Luke burns himself alive.
The Clue About Something Bigger
Before his death, Luke gives Andre a clue about a place called “the Woods,” where experiments are conducted on supes. Teen supes are held captive there for testing. The Woods is an underground facility within the Godolkin University compound. One of those experimented on is Luke’s brother, who has powers of his own but is mentally unstable. The real reason Luke killed Brink was because of the treatment his brother was suffering in those experiments; Luke wanted to save him. After Luke’s death, Andre and Cate decide to investigate what is going on in the Woods. It is also revealed that before Luke died, Cate and Andre were secretly having an affair.
Meanwhile, Vought spins the story into a narrative that portrays Marie and Andre as heroes who saved the school from Luke, who supposedly had a psychotic break. Marie accepts this role in the hope of reconciling with her sister. Jordan, who actually played a crucial role in stopping Luke, is sidelined and does not receive the recognition they deserve.
Emma’s Heroic Act
After failing to enter the Woods, Andre convinces Emma to use her ability to shrink herself and sneak inside. Once there, she finds Sam and helps him escape, forming a bond with him. Sam reveals information about Dr. Cardosa, the lead researcher running the Woods, but explains that his superior is none other than Dean Shetty, the university’s principal.
The Gang Reunites With Emma & Sam
Meanwhile, Marie seeks help from a psychic student named Rufus to find them. Instead of helping, Rufus tries to assault her, and in self-defense, she uses her power to explode his penis. Eventually, Marie and the others manage to reunite with Emma and Sam. However, Sam suffers a violent outburst, and while the group struggles to control him, they suddenly lose consciousness. When they wake up, they realize their recent memories have been wiped. Cate informs them that Rufus was responsible for this. Marie and Jordan grow closer. Sam, however, believes Cate is the true culprit, as she had manipulated minds in the past, even with Luke. When confronted, Cate admits that she was indeed responsible and that she did it on Principal Shetty’s orders.
Cate & Principal Shetty: Their Bond
Cate and Shetty share a deep connection due to Cate’s troubled childhood and the way her parents reacted to her powers. Shetty had rescued Cate from that life, which created their bond. Eventually, Cate restores everyone’s memories, but during the process, she suffers a seizure. Marie, Jordan, and Andre are pulled into her mind, where they begin to experience each other’s memories and pasts. The group is informed that they must find a way to wake Cate before it is too late, if she dies inside her mind, they will die with her.
The Virus
Shetty has a secret project that Vought doesn’t know about—a virus capable of killing supes. Dr. Cardosa is the mastermind behind it. The reason Shetty wants to wipe out supes goes back to the first season of The Boys: during the plane crash incident, Homelander could have saved everyone but chose not to. In that tragedy, Shetty’s family also died. She seeks support and approaches Grace Mallory to help disperse the virus, but Grace refuses.
Victoria Neuman’s Involvement
Meanwhile, Marie contacts Congresswoman Victoria Neuman from The Boys, sharing details about the Woods. Marie learns that Victoria has powers similar to hers and was the one who got her into the university. However, instead of taking action against the Woods, Victoria advises Marie to stand down, since she has her own plans for the virus. Victoria strikes a deal with Cardosa: his family will be protected in exchange for the supe-killing virus. But instead of keeping her promise, she kills him, causing the knowledge of how to recreate the virus to be lost.
End Of Chapter: Shetty
Kate confronts Shetty and uses her abilities to force Shetty to kill herself. At the same time, Andre struggles with personal turmoil. His father suffers a heart attack, and Andre learns that his father knew about the Woods all along. On top of that, he carries the guilt of betraying Luke. Despite everything, father and son eventually reconcile.
Attack on Godolkin University
Sam and Kate team up to free everyone trapped in the Woods. Together with the escapees, they decide to target the non-supes at the university. Marie, Jordan, Andre, and Emma step in to stop them. At one point, Sam asks Kate to remove his conflicting emotions so he can stay focused.
Meanwhile, Ashley and other Vought executives are present at the university during the attack. Ashley convinces Marie to help them, promising her the chance to finally meet her sister. Andre manages to take down Sam, while Marie, gaining better control over her powers, helps Ashley and the executives escape. Kate then attacks Jordan’s mind, but Marie intervenes and uses her powers to blow up Kate’s hands, stopping her assault.
Homelander’s Involvement and the Shift in Story
Just as things are cooling off, Homelander arrives and completely changes the narrative. He frames Marie as the one responsible for the massacre, accusing her of betraying her own kind. As a result, Marie, Andre, Emma, and Jordan are imprisoned, while Vought’s PR machine recasts Kate and Sam as heroes and brands the others as terrorists.
