Gen V season 1 has now come to an end – and The Boys spin-off certainly went out with a bang rather than a whimper. It was an action-packed final episode with plenty going on, so you'd be forgiven for missing a few details. After all, this episode sets the scene for The Boys season 4 (not to mention Gen V season 2, whenever that may arrive on our screens).
Want to refresh your memory on how things wrapped up for Marie, Sam, Cate, and co.? We've got you covered, with our guide to Gen V episode 8's ending explained, as well as breaking down how it might set up future installments of the Vought universe.
As you might expect, there are major spoilers for the Gen V finale ahead, so this is your warning if you're not up to date yet!
Gen V ending explained
The final episode of Gen V season 1 sees Cate (Maddie Phillips) convince Sam (Asa Germann) to help her free everyone from the Woods, the secret testing labs at Godolkin where young Supes (including Sam) are imprisoned and tested on.
Emma (Lizza Broadway), Marie (Jaz Sinclair), and Jordan (London Thor/Derek Luh) try to stop them, but by the time they make it to campus they realize that they're too late. After Cate gave a speech to the inmates of the Woods, telling them that they're superior to humans, they're riled up and on a mission, killing every human in their sights. Emma finds Sam in the performing arts center and tries to reason with him, but they argue and he tells her that she can never understand what he's been through. Cate uses her powers to numb his feelings, and Sam joins the rampage on campus, clashing with Andre (Chase Perdomo), who's come straight from visiting his father Polarity in hospital. It's not looking good for Andre, until he manages to use his magnetism powers to get hold of an unconscious security guard's taser and use that on Sam.
Meanwhile, Vought's Ashley Barrett (Colby Minifie) offers Marie a place in the Seven and asks her to stop the chaos on campus by killing Cate, promising Marie a meeting with her sister if she does their bidding. Marie confronts Cate (with no intention of killing her), but Cate won't budge in her mission. One of the Supes from the Woods attacks Jordan, and Marie runs over to help. She helps Jordan fight off three ex-Woods inmates and all seems well – until Cate approaches Jordan, reaching out to them. Marie panics and loses control of her powers, which causes Cate's arm off clean off below the elbow. Ouch.
And if all that wasn't enough, Homelander (Anthony Starr) suddenly arrives on campis. Marie tries to introduce herself, but he cuts her off. "What kind of animal are you?" he asks. "Do you like attacking your own kind?" Then, using his eye lasers, he blasts Marie and knocks her unconscious.
Cut to black, and a news report starts to play. The anchor tells us about the "Godolkin massacre", which is being blamed on Marie, Emma, Andre, and Jordan. Sam and Cate are being heralded as "the new Guardians of Godolkin." Homelander watches the report and smiles.
Marie wakes up in a hospital bed, with Andre, Jordan, and Emma with her in a white, clinical room. Marie looks around and notices that there are no doors in the room. "Where are we?" she asks, and the episode ends.
How does the Gen V finale set up The Boys season 4?
We already knew that Gen V would set the scene for the next season of The Boys, but co-showrunner Michele Fazekas also recently revealed that the finale would directly lead into season 4.
Homelander's cameo gives us our biggest indication of how things might cross over. With Vought framing Sam and Cate as the episode's heroes, could we expect one (or both) to join the Seven with Marie now out of action? With Homelander – seemingly – their ally, Cate and Sam certainly have the upper hand, for now.
And, of course, there's the Gen V post-credits scene, which sees a certain Billy Butcher discovering the Woods…
How does it set up Gen V season 2?
It's not just future seasons of The Boys that we have to take into account, either – Gen V has been renewed for season 2, so we're definitely returning to Godolkin (or what's left of it, anyway…).
The university for Supes is going to be looking very different in season 2, with Dean Shetty dead and plenty of students massacred (or locked up in mysterious, clinical facilities). We can expect Vought to hire someone new to run things at God U, and it seems unlikely that Marie, Emma, Jordan, and Andre will be returning to class. The outcome of Gen V season 2 is likely to be heavily influenced by the events of The Boys season 4, so stay tuned for more updates on that front.
For more on Gen V, check out the rest of our coverage:
