I can’t imagine anyone with a Prime Video subscription went into the first episode of Gen V thinking it would be on a completely different wavelength from its predecessor The Boys, but it certainly wouldn’t have taken long for such assumptions to get punched right in the crotch. Already a winner with critics, Gen V jumped right into delivering the same kinds of thought-provoking and gag reflex-inducing twists and turns that co-developer Eric Kripke made such a signature flair for The Boys’ own live-action journey. (Never forget it earned an award nomination for its giant prosthetic penis prop, at least in part.)
With a celebratory toast to comic creators Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson — I can only hope that’s champagne — let’s take a Deep-er dive into the most bonkers and WTF moment that stands out from each Season 1 episode.
Episode 1's Most WTF Moment: Emma's Size Matters Sex Scene
In a scene that kinda-sorta mirrored Termite’s introduction in The Boys Season 3, just in a far less lethal way, viewers were given a (no pun intended) nutshell-understanding of the mental duress and self-esteem issues that plague Lizze Broadway’s Emma Meyer. It was already clear that she wasn’t 100% comfortable and confident with her Cricket persona on social media, and her enthusiasm took a further tumble when her bland AF sex partner dude requested she shrink down to itsy-bitsy size and hang off of his dong.
Which would have been all good and fine had it just been discussed and went unseen, but this is Gen V, people! The discomfort from Emma’s purge and shrinkage was quickly juxtaposed by the holy-shit moment of seeing Broadway with her arms and legs wrapped around the penis head of what I assume was a physical prop built specifically for the scene. The acting didn’t even completely match up with what was happening, and it was weird for this show not to end that scene with a messy orgasm, but I’m not sure any visuals from Season 1 will be quite as one-of-a-kind as Emma sliding down and landing on his pube-covered nards. The lesson here was either "go big" or "go small and go home."
- Honorable Mention: Marie Accidentally Killing Her Parents With Period Blood
A truly horrifying origin story for any kind of special ability, and I already dread all the flashbacks to that bloody chaos that are still on the way.
- Honorable Mention: Naked Golden Boy Blowing Himself Up
I know I'm not the only one who expected to see Patrick Schwarzenegger's Luke Riordan making it through at least one episode without turning into a rainstorm of scorched guts. Similarly, I cannot believe Gen V so quickly had Golden Boy killing off the always stellar Clancy Brown. Maybe that was really the most WTF moment.
Episode 2's Most WTF Moment: Harper Sucking Her Own Dick-Tail
The second episode, titled "First Day," didn't hit the same extremes as the premiere, as there was quite a bit of story-lifting to get through for each of the main characters. But you can bet there was at least one WTF scene that involved some kind of phallic shape, and some kind of suggestive action being performed on that phallic shape.
In this case, it was the magnificence of Dream Scenario's Jessica Clement as the tailed student Harper (who's apparently dating the dude that cricket-shamed Emma in Ep 1) fulfilling a request to suck on her dick-tail for a social media video being recorded by the likes-obsessed Justine (Maia Jae Bastidas). Sure, it's worth questioning the ethics of the scene, not to mention Harper's own value center notwithstanding, but I think we can all agree that this probably wasn't anything more serious than the kind of...gags...that The Boys is known for. I'm just happy the tail wasn't hairy, because blech.
- Honorable Mention: The Hazmat Team Mopping Up Golden Boy’s Blood And Flesh
It was to laugh as soon as the episode showed how the clean-up process was being handled in the aftermath of Golden Boy's midair eruption. They might as well just build over that entire area. You can't just mop up that much viscera.
- Honorable Mention: Cate Draining Her Powers For A Flashlight Oral Sex Joke
Though it wasn't clear in the moment, Maddie Phillips' Cate revealed that using her empath powers saps her energy. So why did does she expend so much of that effort to make people perform psychotic sexual acts or self-abuse? Seems like she could have put both of those guards to sleep rather quickly without taking the extra effort to set up faux fellatio with a flashlight.
Episode 3's Most WTF Moment: Emma Going Through A Guard's Head
Emma is clearly shaping up to be a WTF MVP within the world of Gen V, and Godolkin is lucky to have her as a student. At least, assuming she’s allowed to stay enrolled in the college after she broke the rules by shrinking down and paying a visit to the very much still alive Sam Riordan (Asa Germann) within the underground sanctums that nobody wants to talk about or acknowledge, where what we can presume to be “The Woods” are located.
Not only did she use her powers to slip past all the security, but Emma made the decision to trust her tiny gut and save Sam from being electrocuted by the guards. How did she accomplish such a feat? Why, by making a reality-breaking leap from a bookshelf into the ear canal of said guard, who rather quickly succumbed to a particularly icky death caused by the tiny Emma making her way through his skull innards and out through the other ear. I love the surreal quality of seeing the crimson-soaked Emma poking out of the dude’s head, though I guiltily wish we could have seen what she actually did while inside.
- Honorable Mention: Sam Uppercutting That Guard Right Through His Mouth
As brutal a melee maneuver as any we've seen in The Boys or Gen V so far. It's possibly my favorite evolution of the old "Jason Voorhees punching through victim's sternum" move from one of the Friday the 13th sequels. But it's all the more devastating in my eyes, since Sam's fist had to take a pretty specific route upwards to burst through the mouth so cleanly. Well, not totally cleanly.
- Honorable Mention: Marie And Emma's Sweet Moment On The Toilet
Thankfully, Gen V didn't set up any permanent rifts between roommates Marie and Emma, and they reachieved friendship goals in the least platonic setting possible: a bathroom stall, while Marie was trying to figure out how to pee while donning a fancy and restrictive dress. If you can't count on someone to hold your dress up as you try to pee without looking them dead in the eyes, are they really a friend?
There are still plenty of gore-splattered WTF moments yet to come, as new episodes of Gen V are available to stream every Friday with an Amazon Prime subscription.
