Gen V Review: Season 1 Episode 1 (1.01)- “God U”

GenV Season 1 Episode 1 “God U”
AKA The New Kids on the Block

GenV is a new series from Eric Kripke, creator of The Boys, so you can expect lots of coarse language, titillation, and shock value. GenV is centered around Godolkin University, a college for superheroes. Our main characters are college-age superheroes, so add in some raging hormones and drug experimentation on top of that.

Recap:

Our intro shows a family scene, dad is watching television (Vought, of course). He’s excited because A-Train is just joining The Seven. The family is black, so A-Train’s elevation is significant to him. On the TV, we see Vought chair Madilynn Stillwell from season 1. The two daughters are less impressed, taking pictures with a phone in the back of the living room. The older girl seems to get a stomachache, so she goes upstairs. In the bathroom, she sits on the toilet, reaches down, and sees blood on her fingers. Sinister music plays as blood floats up from between her legs. The girl jumps up, knocking over a shelf. Meanwhile, her mother has come upstairs to check on her daughter.  “I’m fine,” she claims, but her voice is panicky. The mother starts to bang on the door, finally knocking it open. The floating blood shoots toward the mother, slicing her neck. Blood starts to pour out. The mother is gasping and convulsing on the bathroom floor. The father comes upstairs, asking, “Marie, what happened?”  The girl, Marie, screams and things explode. The man falls over, with something sticking out of his eye. The bathroom is covered in blood, water pours from the shattered sink. The girl, Marie, looks on the scene with horror. The younger sister stands in the doorway, meeting Marie’s shocked gaze.

With a gasp, an older Marie wakes up in bed. She’s been dreaming. She goes about her daily routine to the accompaniment of “Bad Bi%#h” by Megan Thee Stallion. She’s sitting in a circle in a gym (therapy?) then, sitting in a classroom next to a teleporting child, and she finally has some personal time where she sets up her own training, cutting her hand to release ribbons of blood, which she controls and directs like whips, knocking over mannequins and trash cans. When she is finished, she sits down in the middle of a seal on the floor. The seal shows us that she is at the Red River Institute. Streams of blood radiate out around her on the floor, like a star.

She checks the clock, and then proceeds to the next thing on her schedule. On the way, however, she looks downstairs, where some men are wrestling a crying girl into an armored truck. On the doors, it says Elmira Adult Rehabilitation Center. Marie goes on down the hall to a computer lab. Making a younger boy get up, she logs on. She’s looking at the portal for Godolkin University. She’s been accepted. As she talks to her counselor, we see Marie’s confidence and drive. The counselor says that she could be protecting a city someday. But Marie says, “You mean the first black woman in the Seven.”  But the counselor also gives her a warning. Marie doesn’t want to go to the adult facility in Elmira.  “That place, it – it’s not like here. You would be locked up. Worse. But a – a God U graduate? Um, you could wipe all that clean and start fresh.” Marie understands, “So don’t fu%* it up.” She tells the counselor, “I’m never coming back.”

Next we see Marie taking it all in on the campus of God U, eyes wide. Teens are milling around, but then one will show off powers, such as flying through the air. However, when Marie goes into the dorm hallways, there are thick metal doors at the end and a security guard behind bars. A pair of glasses and a hat float in the air in front of her. He introduces himself as Maverick, the RA. It’s Translucent’s son (but I thought he was younger?). Marie smiles.

In her dorm room, she meets Emma, her roommate. Emma’s superpower is getting tiny, and in her tiny form, she makes videos for her YouTube channel, doing things like fighting her gerbil. Emma and Marie go to the stadium to watch workouts, where they get to see Golden Boy’s training fights. The college superheroes are ranked like athletes in competitive sports. Right now, Golden Boy is ranked number 1 at Godolkin. Luke (Golden Boy) talks to his friend, Andre, who hypes him up for his match, and his girlfriend, Cate, who gives him a kiss. Luke has been having bad dreams, but they don’t seem to be interfering with his superpower, which is catching fire over his whole body. Golden Boy easily defeats his opponent, tearing off his arms. (Thank goodness, they reattach later.) Emma is captivated by Golden Boy’s physique, especially since, “You know, when Golden Boy flames on, his clothes burn off.”  Marie is appreciative, but she’s also thinking of the future. “I’m gonna be down there one day … Ranked in the top 10.”

Before that can happen, though, Marie needs to take Intro to Crimefighting, taught by Professor Brink, (Brinkerhoff) and it’s not on her schedule. She goes to see Jordan Li to argue the point, but since Jordan is Professor Brink’s TA, she’s the one who rejected Marie from the class. During the conversation, Professor Brink comes out of his office, yelling “Jordan!” and shoots.  Immediately, Jordan changes into a male, prying the flattened bullet out of his skin. Marie makes an impassioned plea to Brink about getting into his class, but Brink dismisses her and goes back into his office.

After Marie leaves Brink’s office, she walks across the campus grounds, which are fairly empty. She pauses under a banner with Luke’s face on it. A guy in a gray sweat suit comes running by her. Immediately, two black cars with strobe lights pull up. The guy in the sweat suit knocks down two of the guards, then throws one of the cars. Marie asks, “What is going on?” The guard says, “He’s tweaking on meth.”  Andre has been sitting under one of the statues, and he gets up to look at the commotion. Marie cuts her hand and throws her blood lasso, tripping the guy in the sweat suit. The guy gets up and turns to look at her.  Marie says, “Let’s just calm down.” More vehicles pull up. The guy hits the guards, who go flying into the air.  He yells, “I’m not going back to the f*$#king Woods!” Andre uses his power, magnetism, to send a car door slamming into the boy. He falls into the guards, who use electric shock prods and clamp a mask over his face.

In another location, the black-suited guards drag the gray sweat suit guy down a hallway. They throw him into a room. As the heavy door swings shut, the view of the outside hallway shows walls that have a picture of a forest on them, while the interior of the room is stark – white tile and chrome fixtures. The boy begs, “Please don’t leave me in here!”

The next day, Marie and Emma discuss what happened. Emma is amazed that Marie didn’t film it. Emma also tries to encourage Marie about performing arts classes. Emma and Marie join some others at a picnic table. Marie and another girl talk about videos and parts that they have had on shows. Marie leaves, because it’s just not her.

Luke and Professor Brink have a meeting in Brink’s office. Luke is going to be joining the Seven. There is a new superhero suit for him that can withstand his flames. But Luke is bothered by a disembodied voice calling his name.

Andre sees Marie walking on the campus, and does a little flirting, trying to come up with a superhero name for her.  “Bloody Marie” is his first offering. He invites her to come out with him and his friends on a “field trip.” Marie is reluctant, because they will be breaking curfew. Once she tells Emma about the invite, her new friend/roommate pressures her to go. “You have a chance to go party with Golden Boy and you aren’t sure? Are you insane?” She starts pulling clothes out of her closet for Marie to try on.

Marie joins the group, which includes Andre, Luke, Cate, and Jordan. They go to a construction site. Some of them partake in some white powder. Luke talks to Marie for a minute. Marie starts telling him a sanitized version of how she got her powers. In her story, her parents are happy. She finally admits that she’s lying, and that her parents are dead. Luke tells Marie that his brother passed away. He gets serious. “Being a hero is, uh . . .It’s not what you think. You know, if you’re gonna do this, make sure you do it for you.

While Marie is out with the popular gang, Emma is looking at comments on some of her videos. Some of them are horrible (“Kill yourself.”) She texts one of the boys she had been talking to earlier. They wind up on the bed, kissing, and the boy, Liam, asks Emma to get small for him. Emma is reluctant, she says it is not so easy for her, but the boy asks again. Emma agrees. She takes a bag and leaves the room, saying she’ll be right back. Emma goes into the bathroom and strips. She kneels in front of the toilet and throws up. When she raises her head, she’s shrunk somewhat. She does it again. Emma has an interlude with the guy she texted, Liam. Of course, this is the world of The Boys, so we see Emma as a tiny girl grabbing onto a huge penis, which is clearly not fun for her. I can only imagine Kripke’s glee.

Luke’s group, along with Marie, get into a club. Cate gets them in by using her power, which is controlling people’s minds. They sit at a table, and everyone but Marie has been doing drugs – coke, mushrooms. Marie finally takes a little bit of powder on her finger and tries it. Then, she and Cate go to the dance floor. Jordan, Luke and Andre discuss what they think will happen after Luke goes to Seven Tower. Jordan predicts that Andre will be ranked number 1. Andre flirts with a girl at the bar. He turns a coin into a small floating bird which he directs across the club. As he is doing that, someone bumps into him and the bird careens into a woman, slicing her neck. Andre and the others panic. They want to run. Marie has a memory of her mother lying on the floor of the bathroom. She hears a heartbeat, slowing. Marie raises her hands. Blood rises and moves toward the woman’s neck. The heartbeat strengthens. Marie whispers, “She’s alive.” She smiles. Photo flashes go off in her face. (She gets that hero feeling.)

The next day, Emma and Marie look at videos of Marie’s rescue on Emma’s phone. Marie is summoned to Brink’s office. Emma tells her, “You’re in his class for sure.”  But in Brink’s office, Brink paints a different picture. Marie is going to be expelled for slitting the woman’s throat. That way, Luke, Jordan and Andre will escape scrutiny. He paints it as Marie sacrificing herself in order for them to continue to be heroes. Marie protests, “You don’t understand, I can’t go back. ” Brink is unmoved. “Well, you’re an orphan who murdered her parents, kiddo. I’m afraid you don’t got much choice.”

Marie is panting, striding across the sidewalk outside of the building when Emma comes up. Marie lashes out at Emma, blaming Emma for talking her into going out. She keeps on walking by herself. Finally, Marie breaks down and starts to cry. She takes out her knife and cuts her hand. Flashbacks from her parents’ deaths come to her. Her sister, standing in the bathroom doorway, saying, “You killed them,” and “Stay away from me,” and finally, “You’re a monster.” Blood pools in Marie’s palm. She flings it out, knocking over garbage cans. But she stands back up with resolve on her face. “I’m not a monster.” She starts to walk.

In the meantime, Luke has passed Jordan on his way to Brink’s office. Marie also runs into Jordan. “Do you know? What’s Brink’s doing to protect you?” Marie pauses at Brink’s door, then opens it. She sees a wall of flames. Brink is groaning. Luke’s flames go out. Marie backs away, “I – I didn’t see anything.”  Luke tries to give an explanation, but realization dawns on his face. He starts to come after Marie, igniting the flames again. Marie turns and runs. Luke follows. Along the way, Jordan comes up to them and starts fighting Luke. They toss each other around the building. When Marie comes running out of the building, Andre notices her. Marie yells, “He killed Brink!” Luke comes out of the building, sees people milling around, phone cameras out. He has a moment with Andre. They hug, and Luke whispers something to him. Then Luke takes off into the air. Up in the sky, he explodes and blood rains down on everyone in the courtyard.

An end scene after the credits has Ashley Barrett performing a public service announcement that Golden Boy’s death was not a reflection on the university as a whole. Golden Boy was a chronic drug user who had a psychotic break.

My scattered thoughts and reaction:

Marie’s origin story is one of the worst ever. Right?

What happened to her parents was an accident. She still would have had horrible guilt over what happened, and it seems like she gets a lot of messages of blame for it.

I have a much more positive reaction to GenV than I do to The Boys. I feel like I connect to Marie, in the way that she wants to prove herself, and how she is so excited to arrive at Godolkin. She’s just taking it all in. I was the first person on my mother’s side of my family to go to college, so it was a little bit of stepping out into the unknown. I also pinned all my hopes on attending my alma mater from the first time I visited. Also, I’m like her in that she is kind of a goody two-shoes. Of course, she has good reason. I am not nearly as driven and relentless as Marie, though.

I’m not a fan of rap, but the “Bad Bi%$h” song by Megan Thee Stallion, used when Marie goes through her day at Red River, is really effective at setting the mood and conveying Marie’s mindset. One of the lines says, “All I really want to hear is it’ll all be okay.”  The song really fits.

As Marie arrives at Godolkin, a commercial plays on the monitors around the campus. Alexander Calvert makes an appearance as one of the students. He’s very blond. Dean Shetty delivers a line about “the unique, culturally rich change agent that you are,” and I thought – “Are some of the writers going on college tours with their kids?” Very inspiring, yet vague.

I also love Emma. She’s so eager-to-please and enthusiastic, but also so sensitive. She was so excited for Marie getting invited to go out with Andre and Golden Boy, and didn’t show any jealousy. As she was scrolling through the comments on her video, and getting so depressed, I just wanted to hug her. Her choices to call the boy, Liam, and then to give in to his urging and do things that she didn’t want to do, were so bad, and yet very relatable. She made emotional choices that wound up only making her feel worse. Emma’s obsession with social media and “likes” does make her oblivious to the import of things in real life. When Marie tells her about the guy in the gray sweat suit, she can’t believe that Marie didn’t film it, and she says, “I wish I got attacked.”

Marie not having a phone is kind of a bit in this episode. It does allow Emma to ask, “You Amish? Is Black Amish a thing?”

Andre, Luke, Cate, and Jordan are not as fleshed out, but we get a look at their powers. Patrick Schwarzeneggar is quite handsome. It’s too bad we probably won’t be seeing too much more of him. (And not as much as Emma delighted in seeing.)

In the club, Marie is able to save the woman’s life with her power. At Godolkin, there seems to be only two choices: crime fighting or performing. Marie would be spectacular in the medical field with her powers, but no one seems to want to present that as an option. Also, saving the woman in the club was a redemption. It was something that she couldn’t do for her mother.

After the incident in the club, when Marie goes to talk to Brink, she is so excited at first – sure that she is going to be rewarded with a spot in his Crime Fighting class. But Brink is cold, taking her dream away, but also threatening her future so callously. The threat of the Elmira adult facility looms over her. Also, the sheer unfairness of the situation – she’s being punished and not the others. Life, unfortunately, is smacking her in the face. Marie does retreat after that, going to sit down behind a building, crying. Flashes of her mother’s death fill her mind. Her sister stands at the door of the bathroom, “You killed them. You’re a monster.” How many times has she relived that moment? But the music swells and stops. Marie says to herself, “I’m not a monster.” She stands back up and heads back to Brink. I felt so proud of her for that determination.

We have the super strong guy in the gray sweat suit, and his imprisonment in “the Woods.” That’s an intriguing mystery that should come up later.

There are several things that hint at Supernatural vibes for me as well. Obviously, Marie cutting her hand is a big one. How many times have we seen Sam and Dean do that? And Sam’s use of his scarred hand to control his Lucifer hallucinations?

Another Supernatural vibe for me is the separation between the siblings, Annabeth and Marie, and Marie’s determination to reunite with her sister. It’s not an exact parallel, but it makes me think of Dean and Sam’s relationship, how Dean went to pick up Sam at Stanford, and Sam’s line in “Faith,”  “We were just starting to be brothers again.”

Another striking similarity with Supernatural hit me when Marie had the flashback to Annabeth standing in the door of the bathroom, saying, “You’re a monster.”  It’s the same line that Dean says to Sam in season 4, when they have their epic fight and Sam leaves. As mentioned above, I was so proud that Marie rejects that characterization.

Luke has the single man tear going on as he gives his last hug to Andre.

I think I like this show. I’ll be back for more. 

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