‘Gen V’ just officially became Season 3.5 of ‘The Boys’

While Gen V features multiple characters from The Boys, the spinoff mainly was an optional viewing for fans of Prime Video’s bloody superhero universe. “Was,” past tense, because Season 4 of The Boys made Gen V mandatory.

Previously, in Gen V

Episode 5 of The Boys’ fourth season revolves around a deadly virus capable of killing Supes. The titular Boys think the virus might be a key to solving their Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) problem, and Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) even dreams about making the virus strong enough to take down Homelander (Antony Starr). As such, the virus just became the main plot element of Season 4. The problem is that this virus was introduced in Gen V.

Gen V reveals how the virus was created to control Supes in a laboratory where kidnapped students of Goldakin University were used as lab rats. The spinoff is all about these secret labs, and Season 4 of The Boys doesn’t take enough time to explain all the details behind this magic solution the protagonists just found to solve all their problems. In fact, The Boys is so confident that everyone has watched Gen V that the “previously” section before Episode 5 even features footage from the spinoff show. 

Those who didn’t watch Gen V will feel lost in Episode 5 of Season 4. From a commercial perspective, this decision makes sense, as Prime Video is forcing The Boys’ fans to consume more content on the streaming platform. However, turning Gen V into The Boys Season 3.5 also creates an unpleasant side effect, as the superhero parody becomes too much like a classic superhero franchise.

The Boys is feeling too much like the franchises it pokes fun at

The Boys frequently (and rightfully) pokes fun at Marvel and DC for how these companies handle the superhero business. Since Hollywood’s golden rule is to keep the money flowing, superhero cinematic universes often produce too many movies and TV shows simultaneously, making every project mandatory for people to follow up their favorite sub-franchise.

For example, people who like the Guardians of the Galaxy can’t understand what’s happening to Gamora in Vol. 3 if they don’t watch Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. In turn, these massive crossover events don’t make sense unless you have watched at least a dozen other movies. This is less important in DC because Warner Bros. Discovery wasn’t competent enough to create a cohesive universe so far. Still, it’s undebatable that superhero fatigue is fed by the average person feeling obligated to do homework just to enjoy a movie.

Due to The Boys’ success, Prime Video has decided to expand on its universe with a spinoff series. Gen V is an excellent addition to the streamer, with a strong cast of characters that could support the show on their own. However, instead of offering a new starting point for newcomers, the plot of Gen V is so intertwined with the first three seasons of The Boys that the spinoff only makes sense for people who are fans of the mainline series. That was already a red flag. Yet, now Season 4 of The Boys has come full circle by bringing Gen V‘s story to the main series as a major plotline.

With the announcement The Boys is ending in Season 5, Prime Video is trying to figure out how to milk what’s arguably the streamer’s most successful IP. Nevertheless, following the Marvel model is not the best approach for a universe that thrives when it jokes about the flaws of the Marvel model. Instead, The Boys‘ future would be more assured if the franchise could spawn multiple spinoffs, all relatively independent.

There’s nothing wrong with Homelander showing up in Gen V‘s season finale. It’s also fine that Gen V‘s Cate (Maddie Phillips) and Sam (Asa Germann) appear in The Boys Season 4. Since both series are set in the same shared universe, it’s natural that characters transit between storylines. However, these cameos should be precisely that, cameos; that means a way to reward superfans and inspire curiosity in casual viewers. Unfortunately, by making every chapter of the franchise essential to understanding it, The Boys risks alienating part of its public instead of keeping them engaged.