REVIEW: ‘Gen V’ Season 2 Soars As Much As It Stumbles

One of the biggest recent surprises in streaming television is how good the first season of Amazon Prime Video‘s Gen V was. Going above and beyond what is expected of a spin-off, the teen drama/superhero series hybrid managed to surpass its parent show, The Boys, at several key junctions. Therefore, there’s been quite a bit of excitement about Gen V Season 2, which took a serious delay following the tragic passing of star Chance Perdomo.

In most of the ways that matter, Gen V Season 2 is another terrific piece of television that thrives off of its astute character writing and dynamite cast. Nevertheless, a touch-and-go overarching main plot and an inconsistent tie-in to the wider The Boys storyline keep the season from being as truly great as it could be. 

Following their imprisonment by Homelander (Anthony Starr) at the end of the first season, Gen V Season 2 picks up with the Guardians of the Godolkin- Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair), Emma Meyer/Little Cricket (Lizze Broadway), and Jordan Li (London Thor and Derek Luh)- being publicly brought back into the University. Initially bitter at their former friends Cate Dunlap (Maddie Phillips) and Sam Riordan (Asa Germann), the five must reunite when it becomes clear that their new Dean, Cipher (Hamish Linklater), has sinister designs for the Supe students.

Performances are the heart of what keeps Gen V Season 2 engaging, handling Chance Perdomo’s passing with respect. 

Before proceeding any further, it’s important to address the elephant in the room. Chance Perdomo is not in this season in any capacity as his character, Andre Anderson. His character’s absence is handled in a respectful, albeit slightly clunky, manner as his character’s father Polarity (Sean Patrick Thomas) takes on some of what one can only assume were Perdomo’s intended storylines. The Gen V Season 2 showrunner Michele Fazekas was handed an impossible task and managed to move forward as well as anyone possibly could. 

Now, onto the show proper. Just like last season, the cast is, well, perfect. Jaz Sinclair continues to make Marie Moreau a hell of a protagonist to hang a show on, her arc as the punished pseudo-detective still grasping the immensity of her power compulsively compelling.

Lizze Broadway is a delight as Emma Meyer, the true heart of the show, while Asa Germann’s puppy dog expressions as the unstable Sam continue to make him endearing. The same level of praise goes to London Thor and Derek Luh as the bi-gender Supe Jordan Li, whose icy demeanor hides a heart of gold. 

Maddie Phillips is a clear standout for this young cast in Gen V’s second season. 

The standout of Gen V Season 2, much like in the back half of the first season, is Maddie Phillips. After the events of season one and ostensibly in the background of season four of The Boys, the charming Cate has been ground down into a cynical tool for the Vought Corporation.

Phillips wears all the pain on her face, as well as a swelling rage just waiting to come out. Hamish Linklater’s Dean Cipher hides nothing; he is a truly evil bastard who is as up front about his nature as you could possibly be, which naturally paves the way for a highly entertaining villain. 

Other than the performances, the juice of Gen V has always been its character writing. Gen V Season 2 continues this trend, with a stellar writer’s room including Jessica Chou and Thomas Schnauz in place to bounce the characters off of each other in organic, interesting ways.

Gen V Season 2 understands how to write young characters without falling into any Gen Z traps. 

Gen V  Season 2 has a way with understanding Gen Z without falling into cringey, “how do you do, fellow kids?” territory. The excitement of young love- best represented through Marie and Jordan’s stellar developing romance this season- and the feeling of hopelessness in the face of an increasingly cruel world, feels very palpable to today’s youth. 

Even when Gen V Season 2 falls victim to the same messily slapped-on political lingo that threatened to derail The Boys Season 4, there’s an honesty in its characterization that keeps the series watchable. The righteous indignation of a generation whose future is sold off to corporate interests fighting a wide-eyed determination to take on the world courses through Gen V Season 2‘s veins. The series practically begs to be a 24-episode CW series that has the breathing room to meander through subplots that explore the Guardians of Godolkin as deeply as possible. 

Sadly, Gen V Season 2 suffers hard from being part of a wider franchise. The inclination to be something smaller and more character-focused after the first season’s explosive nature is an admirable idea. Due to its release right before The Boys‘ final season and following such an eventual finale for that show’s fourth season, Gen V Season 2 is saddled with the responsibility of having an irritating amount of setup. Not only does this cheapen Gen V‘s storylines, but it’s plain and not at all that interesting. 

Gen V Season 2 suffers from the same thing most Prime Video titles do: its short length. 

The cameos from The Boys cast are all over this season, and rarely do they really contribute much to the show. Even Erin Moriarty‘s much-discussed return as Starlight feels entirely extraneous. Gen V Season 2 is so keen to insist it’s an important part of the wider mythology that precious runtime space in the far-too-short eight-episode span is devoted to reminding the audience that, yes, this is indeed a The Boys show. 

Without the obnoxious shared universe baiting, Gen V Season 2 still has an issue with intent. Gen V Season 2 strives so hard to be both a captivating superhero thriller and an in-depth teen drama, yet the alchemy is not quite there for a tight balance this time around. For the most part, the series wisely focuses on the latter, but the whiplash of its jumbled primary storyline creates an inevitable confusion that can really hurt the whole package. 

In a way, Gen V Season 2 soars and stumbles. The cast of Prime Video’s series, along with the sharp characterization throughout, makes it one of the easiest recommendations in television this year. Still, the sloppy overarching plotline and forced connections with its parent show dilute what makes the series great. There is simply too much good here to throw away, making Gen V Season 2 a flawed, yet still worth watching, piece of superhero television.

Gen V Season 2 premieres on Amazon Prime Video on September 17, 2025.