After its massive success, you’d think Gen V would be guaranteed another season.
Well, apparently, it simply functioned to tee up the last season of The Boys.
To be fair, I could see why the show had to end after the final battle with Godolkin.
(Courtesy of Prime Video)
But given how Gen V truly stood on its own, even outside the world of The Boys, it’s such a shame that its potential was wasted.
To make things worse, I’m heartbroken about losing Jordan and Marie, and about the ambiguous note their relationship ended on.
Marie Deserves To Be More Than Just A Plot Device
(Prime Video/Screenshot)
The most frustrating part of Gen V Season 2 was watching the show blatantly use the GodU characters to set up The Boys Season 5.
At least for Gen V Season 1, the series intentionally made the characters well-rounded, especially Marie.
The show handled her backstory and rise to power with such skill that I honestly felt more compelled by that season than by any recent season of The Boys.
Look, I understand that it’s exciting to theorize about whether Marie can defeat Homelander.
But only focusing on the bigger picture means losing sight of what really matters: character development.
(Prime Video/Screenshot)
Gen V Season 2 felt too concerned with setting up the inevitable downfall of Homelander instead of actually demonstrating character growth.
More often than not, the series turned to reiterating these characters’ trauma rather than considering how they might heal from everything they’ve been through.
Even though Marie gets most of the screentime in Season 2, she barely gets an opportunity to emotionally reflect as she did in Gen V Season 1 while figuring out her powers.
For example, the storyline of Marie and her relationship with her sister, Annabeth, felt extremely rushed.
The show only briefly touches on how Marie and Annabeth’s relationship has changed after their uneasy reunion and primarily focuses on the flashy fact that Annabeth has powers.
(Prime Video/Screenshot)
For the most part, Gen V never really addresses how they could mend their fractured relationship before throwing them into another distressing situation to move the plot along.
As a result of treating character development as secondary, many of the central relationships suffered, namely that of Jordan and Marie.
Marie and Jordan’s Breakup
I refuse to accept that the last time Jordan and Marie talked about their relationship, they agreed to break up.
Out of all the relationships in The Boys universe, I had been most invested in theirs (but also to be fair, I usually adore any and all queer relationships on TV).
(Prime Video/Screenshot)
The show has been setting up a romance between Marie and Jordan since the very beginning.
So, the lack of payoff feels like a punch to the gut, even though the series itself had shown us that they’re meant to be endgame.
Jordan’s reasons for wanting to stay friends instead of dating are valid, but they also didn’t really get to say everything because they got interrupted.
It’s incredibly frustrating that Jordan and Marie’s relationship ended on such a sour, short note.
Again, I keep returning to the phrase “wasted potential” because Jordan and Marie had such a fun dynamic.
(Prime Video/Screenshot)
I adored their enemies-to-lovers relationship, especially how their competitiveness added a vibrant spark to the will-they-won’t-they tension.
I hate that Gen V completely sidelined it after devoting so much time to teasing their romance.
But the fact that Marie and Jordan’s story didn’t wrap up cleanly in the Gen V Season 2 finale makes me wonder if the show even had an overarching plan for them in the first place.
Maybe we’ll get a snippet of them appearing on The Boys, but that doesn’t feel like nearly enough to make up for losing them forever.
I’m still mourning Jordan and Marie and probably will be for a very long time.
(Courtesy of Prime Video)
It’ll be a while before we get a relationship like theirs again. You never know what you’ve lost until it’s gone.
How are you feeling about the Gen V cancellation?
Is it enough that the characters you grew to love are going to continue on The Boys finale season, or were you hoping for them to develop in their own time?
Please join me in commiserating in the comments below.
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I wanted Gen V to get another season solely for more of Jordan and Marie – and I’m left with nothing but disappointment.
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