Gen V season 2 proves you can go bigger and bolder without relying on shock value, and The Boys' final season could learn a lot from the spin-off

Ahead of each season, creatives involved in The Boys promise that new episodes will top everything this show has done previously. But they're never talking about heightened dramatics or bigger emotional stakes, or even just new creative depictions of superpowers on screen. No, they're promising more gore, more sex, and more shock value than ever, the kind that will blow your mind as quickly as these characters blow their you-know-what at the annual Herogasm meetup.

Of course, that's part of the show's appeal. Where else can you see thinly disguised parodies of Marvel and DC heroes contend with casual dismemberment or exploding genitals? But reliance on this formula has begun to grow tired and even dull. After all, there's only so many weird hookups and violent maimings you can sit through before the novelty wears off.

This fatigue was especially pronounced in season 4, when these same old tricks began to grow stale, childish, and even offensive. The episode where Hughie is sexually assaulted over and over by Tek Knight, only for it to be laughed off as a joke, was particularly uncomfortable to watch, not to mention him being assaulted multiple times by a Starlight doppelganger soon after. What's worse is that this was then brushed over by the writers and not even recognized for the harrowing ordeal it actually was. News that season 5 will be the final chapter for these characters should have been a devastating blow for long-time fans, but instead it's been met with mixed feelings (including a few resigned nods of agreement). Yet with one season left to go, The Boys still has a chance to redeem itself, and the key to that lies with its most popular spinoff, Gen V.

Levelling up

Season 1 of the college-set series was pretty good for the most part. Characters like Marie, Emma, and Jordan brought their own unique powers and idiosyncrasies to this world that had predominantly focused on older characters up to this point, even if the overarching story still sat a little too comfortably in the shadow of The Boys. Season 2 could have continued to play it safe, piggybacking off the success of this franchise's flagship show. But, instead, Gen V has levelled up and become the stronger of the two.

Speaking in the latest issue of SFX magazine, Gen V co-creator Eric Kripke teased as much, promising "higher stakes" for these characters in their sophomore year. "It's a little bit of a darker show. The characterizations are a little bit more complicated. Season 2 is just a lot more confident," Kripke added. "It knows what it is and it takes some bigger swings."

That's often par for the course in the kind of interviews that lead up to a release of this nature. Everything will be "bigger" and "darker" and "more extreme." Yet Gen V is the rare show that actually follows through, and does so without losing sight of the potential it teased in season 1. While The Boys has progressively leaned further into shock value each season, Gen V has smartly pivoted away from that to double down on story and characterization, making for a much-improved watch. But that's not to say Gen V has suddenly become an entirely different show or no longer fits into the deranged world of The Boys like it used to.

Lessons to be learned

Gross, disturbing moments still hit out of left-field throughout season 2. The premiere even opens with one where a scientist explodes and another shoots tentacles out of their ass. The difference here is that said moments aren't thrown at us so frequently, so, when they do arrive, it doesn't feel forced or like the writers are trying to outdo themselves. As a result, these gross-out scenes genuinely shock like they used to back in the first season of The Boys and, often, they help move the story forward too.

The Boys appealed at first precisely because it was so mature compared to other superhero stories. Yet by relying so heavily on its adult rating, the show has now gone the other way and can sometimes come off as childish. It's impressive then that a spinoff that actually focuses on adolescents in this same world has become the more mature of the two, levelling up with a newfound confidence in its writing and characterization.

With just one season left to go, there's still time for The Boys to turn things around and emerge victorious, not just in the fight against Homelander, but also against the decline in quality this beloved series has struggled with in recent years. Yet with so much at stake in this final push, don't be surprised if season 5 tries harder than ever to blow our minds in a way that regulars at Herogasm can only dream of.

The first three episodes of Gen V season 2 are now streaming on Prime Video, with the rest of the season dropping weekly. Make sure you never miss an episode with our Gen V season 2 release schedule, or catch up on our verdict with our Gen V season 2 review.