Generation V is a great spin-off of The Boys that brings superheroes to college.

On September 29, the first three episodes of the series “Generation V” premiered on Amazon Prime Video. The result was one of the most unusual superhero projects of the year.

“Generation V” is a spin-off of the successful series The Boys, which tells about a world in which many people have superpowers. Only a small part of them fight crime, the majority entertain people - they star in films and TV series, run their own blogs, and enter into advertising contracts. “Generation V” demonstrates the same world, but 20 years before the events of “The Boys” - the future heroes are just studying at a college for people with superpowers.

The main character Marie knows how to control blood - both her own and that of others. She discovered her powers during her first period and accidentally killed her parents. Years later, she enters university and hopes that she can get into the "Seven", an elite team of superheroes. She meets other applicants, learns to accept herself and faces bureaucratic difficulties.

A worthy spin-off from the main series

Globally, “Generation” is engaged in the same deconstruction of superheroics as “The Boys.” People with special abilities find themselves hostage to their skills. Their life completely depends on the realization of their gift - they do not see themselves outside of it. But they didn't choose this path. In the series' universe, parents feed their children pills that give them superpowers.

Naturally, it’s easy to see a metaphor for the high demands placed on one’s own children. Moreover, in the future, when superheroes grow up, they suffer because of the decisions of adults. This is a fairly simple message, but the entire drama of the project is built on it. All characters are reluctant heroes.

The media component of the life of superheroes (advertising contracts, films) in Generation V is just as absurd as in The Boys. However, the focus on students even allows for a superhero draft - like in American sports leagues. In this regard, “Generation V” not only uses successful developments, but also offers its own interesting moves.

For example, stylistically “Generation V” is based on youth comedies about college. The atmosphere and soundtrack reinforces: from pop-punk to modern rap (usually female). There is a lot of music in the series, so a poor selection of songs could have spoiled it, but this did not happen.

In addition to the teen comedy setting, the series has a lot of blood and sex (there is a sex scene in the first episode that claims to be one of the strangest in history), which gives the project its own identity.

Confusing start

The series has a very fast pace of storytelling, so it doesn't let you get bored. True, sometimes the lightning speed of events works against him - some things are spoken casually and are not immediately clear. Perhaps this is a feature of the first three episodes, but it is more likely that the entire season is like this.

This is not a global problem, since the viewer who watched The Boys more or less understands the general rules of the universe.

But the pacing definitely affects the perception of the characters. It seems that only by the third episode does the overall picture begin to take shape - the first two episodes are too intense to figure out who wants what. However, fans of dynamic series will be pleased.

Lovely Lizzie Broadway

The series has a good cast, but from the very first episode all the attention is stolen by Lizzie Broadway, who plays Emma, ​​Marie's roommate in the dorm. Her superpower is useless - the girl can become very small. She cannot use this skill for good deeds, and therefore she runs her own video blog, where she makes faces and simply entertains the audience. All the people around her are much more talented, so all she can do is be just a friend for this or that superhero.

But unfulfilled ambitions do not make her a sad hero. On the contrary, in many ways she embodies the typical character from a college comedy. She gives the series a crazy energy - both comedic and sexual. And actress Lizzie Broadway does a great job of portraying every aspect of her character. Each of her appearances on camera is the best thing in the series. Not because the rest is bad - this is a truly brilliant performance.

Generation V is an almost perfect spin-off. It takes the general atmosphere and humor from The Boys, but at the same time exists as a full-fledged independent story. The result was a strange mixture of youth comedy and superheroics. The series may well exist separately from “The Boys” - it is self-sufficient and interesting in its own right, without being tied to the main series of the universe.