Gen V is a spin-off show to The Boys on Prime Video. Set not long after The Boys Season 3, the show will take audiences to Godolkin University, a fictional education establishment that exclusively accepts Supes, and molds them into perfect and compliant employees for Vought. It’s a show that takes the over-the-top violence and gore from The Boys and applies it to a school setting. As we’re about to unpack the connections between Gen V and The Boys, there are spoilers for both shows to follow.
Right from Gen V Episode 1, connections to The Boys are made. References are numerous, as familiar characters are name-dropped or make cameos. There are even hints as to what audiences might happen in Season 4 of The Boys.
Gen V follows new student Marie Moreau as she joins the esteemed Supe university, Godolkin University.
It’s here that Supes will learn to control their powers and understand how to craft their brand. Marie might need this help more than most, as her powers are blood manipulation. At Godolkin she meets fellow new student and roommate Emma, who has the power to shrink.
But all is not what it seems. Marie and other students like Andre, who has the power to manipulate metal, Cate, who can persuade people with a single touch, and Jordan, a student with the power to change their gender at will, begin to notice several weird things happening at Godolkin. They investigate and uncover a conspiracy at the university.
Gen V and The Boys are set in the same universe
In the first three episodes of Gen V, there are plenty of references to characters and places that appeared in The Boys. In the opening few minutes of Gen V’s first episode, a flashback shows A-Train, a prominent character in The Boys, joining The Seven. Vought’s ever-stressed former CEO Ashley Barrett makes an appearance in Gen V Episode 2, working with the trustees of Godolkin University to come up with a crisis plan after Luke, aka Golden Boy, killed himself.
Gen V Episode 3 opens in a familiar location. In a flashback, Luke and Cate visit the Sage Grove Center, a psychiatric hospital and a testing center for Vought. Viewers will remember the hospital from its appearance in The Boys Season 2 episode “The Bloody Doors Off”. The inmate Love Sausage also makes an appearance.
Throughout the episodes, news alerts update viewers on the status of other key players in The Boys. Victoria Neuman is continuing her bid to become vice president of America, while Homelander faces trial for allegedly murdering a Starlight supporter.
The marketing of Gen V emphasized the fact this series takes place in the same universe. It reminded audiences that there will be just as much blood, swearing, and edginess as is found in The Boys. Soldier Boy will also make an appearance in Gen V at some point, though it’s unclear how as The Boys Season 3 ended with him incapacitated.
Gen V takes place after Season 3 of The Boys. The premise of the show is that these are the first students to attend Godolkin University after the revelation that Supes weren’t blessed with God-given powers, but were injected with Compound V. This reveal happened in Season 2 of The Boys when Starlight leaked the existence of Compound V to the press.
Several news clips in Gen V refer to events that happened in The Boys Season 3. Homelander is now on trial for allegedly murdering a Starlight supporter, Vought blamed the attack on their tower on Russia, and Victoria Neuman’s bid to become vice president of America. It all shows what’s going on in the wider world of The Boys and hints at what viewers can expect in season four.
A final connection Gen V makes to the end of Season 3 of The Boys is during its first episode. When Professor Brink reveals to Golden Boy that he is going to join The Seven, Vought’s top superhero team, Brink asks Golden Boy if he wants Starlight’s or Maeve’s old room. This is a reference to the fact that both Starlight and Maeve left The Seven in the final episode of The Boys Season 3.
The flashback seen in episode one likely takes place long before The Boys, because when audiences meet A-Train he’s already a seasoned member of The Seven. The timing of the flashback to Sage Grove Center in Gen V’s third episode is unclear, though it almost certainly takes place before Butcher and the other Boys infiltrate the hospital in The Boys Season 2, as they cause chaos in the facility.
