REVIEW: Gen V – Season 1, Episodes 7 and 8, “Sick” and “Guardians of Godolkin”

Television Reviews

The first season of Gen V has been crazy so far. From blood-bending to making friends forget about major developments, it’s been quite a ride. The finale, “Guardians of Godolkin,” has been reported to lead directly into The Boys season 4. I’m a week behind, so I’ll be taking a look at this and the previous episode, “Sick,” together. Let’s see how Gen V wraps up its introductory season. 

***SPOILERS***

“Sick” opens in Dr. Cardoza’s lab as a room full of supes get increasingly ill. Cate calls Dean Shetty, and they agree to meet at Shetty’s house. Jordan and Andre are skeptical of Cate’s intentions, but Marie wants everyone to work together again. Emma hides Sam in her room while she leaves. Marie and Jordan break into Shetty’s office to snoop but must hide when Dr. Cardoza comes in. Meanwhile, Shetty meets with Grace and proposes they spread Cardoza’s virus. Sam disobeys Emma and plays with students in the hallway. Polarity, set to moderate Senator Neuman’s speech, goes into a seizure and is taken to the hospital, Andre in tow. The event is thrust into chaos as the students begin chanting and fighting. Marie meets Neuman and learns the truth about her. Cate makes Shetty kill herself. Neuman takes the virus and eliminates Dr. Cardoza. 

In “Guardians of Godolkin,” Cate is bombarded with her friends’ consternation. She and Sam head for the woods, and Marie, Jordan, and Emma pledge to stop them. Polarity’s brain shows damage from using his powers over the years. He has to stop using his powers to prevent the condition from worsening. Andre and his dad have a heart-to-heart, and Polarity finally apologizes for helping to cover up the Woods. However, he expects Andre to make the same choices he did. Ashley and other executives discuss spinning the situation to distract from recent disasters. Sam and Cate bust everyone out of the Woods. Emma, Marie, and Jordan split up to save everyone and lock the school down. Ashley offers a spot in the Seven to anyone who stops the rogue Supes. It’s a draw until Homelander comes and takes Marie down. Sam and Cate are hailed as heroes, while Marie, Jordan, Emma, and Andre are locked up. 

The world of The Boys consistently punishes good people for doing the right thing, doesn’t it? Marie and Jordan are portrayed the most sympathetically out of the kids, and they always talk about wanting to be good people. In this world, being a genuinely good and caring person is at odds with being a successful superhero. Shetty, who previously at least pretended to care about Marie, even throws the latter’s traumatic past in her face. I’m shocked that Dean Shetty actually did love Cate, evidently viewing her as a surrogate child in the wake of her own loss. I wonder why a genuine bond grew there while Shetty gave others like Marie similar treatment but never felt true compassion for them. It’s sad that Dean Shetty’s husband and daughter died in the plane that Homelander brought down, if unsurprising. This is the standard backstory in The Boys: “Homelander (or someone exactly like him) killed my family or kidnapped my wife,” etc. 

I have an issue with how quickly Sam becomes radicalized at Senator Neuman’s town hall. I get that it’s social commentary, and he’s not all there, having been held captive for years. But really? Some people shout and argue at one political meeting, and he’s ready to kill all humans and abandon Emma entirely? Sam treats Emma horribly in “Sick” and “Guardians of Godolkin,” and I’m not sure why. He says she just wants everyone to like her, and I don’t understand where that came from. This is a strange way to show gratitude to the only person who ever came for him. Emma rescued Sam from the Woods and just wants to protect him and deal with Shetty the right way. I’m sorry to belabor a point, and Sam has been shown to be a little kooky before. He sees his enemies as puppets and argues with TV characters. But at least in my eyes, there’s a long way between that and rejecting your only real friend in lieu of radical, violent politics you don’t even understand. Eight episodes isn’t a lot, and these truncated seasons are something I hate about streaming shows. But at least an episode or a montage was needed here, showing Sam bonding with these weirdos and falling into their mindset. This character was likable previously, if clearly unbalanced by his awful life. Tossing all that aside like this is bizarre. It’s like what they did with Ryan in The Boys, except he was a literal child, and even then, he had his own father manipulating him. This is dumb and unbelievable. 

I have other more minor problems with both episodes. Why doesn’t Cardoza blow the whistle on Shetty right away about the supe-killing virus? Just tell Vought it’s her doing. Say you were forced to do it, which is true anyway. Why does Shetty not have cameras in her office? Cardoza peeing in her liquor bottles would be the least of the problems faced by someone like this; I’d want to know who was in my office at all times. If Emma wants to ensure Sam stays in her room, why doesn’t she order delivery? Doordash those burgers rather than leaving him unattended. Problem solved. If Victoria Neuman was Marie’s mysterious fairy godmother all this time and also grew up at the same facility, why is she okay with her being imprisoned at the end? Sam also forgives Cate pretty quickly when he joins her to empty the Woods. I get that they have a common interest, but seriously, dude; she helped keep you there and contributed to your brother losing his mind and killing himself. In this case, the enemy of my enemy is still my enemy. Possible hot take there. Why does Sam pick a fight with Andre when the latter is trying to reason with Emma? At that particular moment, I don’t see a reason for them to fight. 

I think Cate’s pills are more complex than she gives credit for. They were limiting her powers, but it was in a way that benefited her and which she evidently wanted. Now, she can hear everyone’s thoughts all the time, but she can’t handle it. And personally, I wouldn’t want to know what others were thinking all the time. I’m not defending Shetty at all, but I wonder if Cate is making a mistake by dropping the medication altogether. Emma and Sam’s scene on the stage is magnificently well-acted. I still don’t understand Sam’s choices here, but the emotions expressed are compelling, and I really feel for Emma. It seems she’s found a new way to shrink now: crying. I wonder who Luke really was. We only saw him in the first episode, with everything since being someone else’s projection of him. This isn’t that important, just something I’ve been thinking about. Marie blowing up Cate’s arm, although unintentional, is awesome. I love this because Cate deserves it. I don’t have much to say about Homelander and Butcher’s respective cameos. It’s great to see them, but they show up at the last minute to imprison the kids and infiltrate the school, respectively. I like this and have no problem with it, but I don’t have anything to add. 

“Sick” and “Guardians of Godolkin” mostly end the season on a solid note, but I have issues with the writing. Some of the characters’ decisions are just stupid here. In my opinion, the writing in prior episodes gave the heroes and villains more credit. I look forward to Gen V season 2 and especially The Boys season 4, but this finale could have been better.