The only Gen V Season 1 recap you need before the second season premieres this September

Prime Video's Gen V is returning this September. A spin-off of The Boys, the series follows young superheroes in training at Godolkin University/God U. Simply put, the series is an early 2000s college story blended with the raunchiness of The Boys. In doing so, people involved in the show deal with the darker storylines involving colleges.

The series follows Marie Moreau, Andre Anderson, Cate Dunlap, Jordan Li, and Emma Meyer/Little Cricket as they deal with the mystery of fellow student Luke Riordan/Golden Boy's suicide. The answer lies in a conspiracy involving Luke's young brother Sam. The synopsis for Gen V Season 1 reads:

"Set in the diabolical world of The Boys, Gen V expands the universe to Godolkin University, the prestigious superhero-only college where students train to be the next generation of heroes—preferably with lucrative endorsements. You know what happens when supes go bad, but not all superheroes start out corrupt. Beyond the typical college chaos of finding oneself and partying, these kids are facing explosive situations … literally. As the students vie for popularity and good grades, it’s clear that the stakes are much higher when super powers are involved. When the group of young supes discover that something bigger and sinister is going on at school, they're put to the test: Will they be the heroes or the villains of their stories?"

Content warning: Portions of this recap include graphic descriptions of blood. Reader discretion is advised.

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Gen V Season 1 recap

As we wait for Gen V Season 2, it is high time that we get a refresher of the events of the first season. So, here's what happens in Gen V Season 1:

• Marie Moreau's tragic past

The Gen V premiere in 2023 opened with a young Marie Moreau at the center. Much like puberty kicking off the mutant gene in the Marvel Universe, Marie's powers manifest during her first menstrual period. She possesses the power of hemokinesis, meaning she can bend blood to her will. Young Marie accidentally kills her parents with her blood, which her young sister Annabeth witnesses.

The scene then shifts to an adult Marie in the Red River Institute, who is waiting to hear from Godolkin University. After a practice session, Marie finds out she has been admitted to God U. There, she befriends the rest of the protagonists, Emma/Little Cricket, Cate, Jordan (who can change forms to male and female forms), and Andre.

• Marie is almost expelled immediately

As mentioned above, we learn Marie's backstory and that she is admitted to God U in the opening minutes of the first episode of Gen V Season 1. After that, the episode follows her on her first day in college. She befriends her roommate Emma, who can shrink her size, and thus her hero moniker is Little Cricket. She also hangs out with the favorite students, Cate, Andre, Luke, and Jordan.

While partying, Andre accidentally injures a woman, causing her to bleed out. However, Marie saves the woman, suddenly boosting her popularity amongst the public. But Andre is one of Professor Brink's favorite students, meaning Marie is blamed for Andre's actions and is unjustly expelled. As Marie attempts to confront Birnk in his office in the closing minutes of the season 1 premiere.

However, as she opens the office door, she finds Luke burning Brink alive, and he turns on Marie as well. As he tries to kill Marie, Jordan and Andre try to calm him down. Jordan's superpower enables them to shapeshift between male and female forms. In the male form, Jordan is indestructible, and in the female form, they possess energy blasts, superhuman strength, and much more. Thus, they can hold their own against Luke.

But Andre manages to calm Luke down, and after that, the latter whispers to Andre to look for a recording. After doing that, Luke uses his powers to self-immolate, killing himself instantly, ending the episode on a shocking note.

• Andre uncovers Luke's secret

Andre manages to find the phone, in which Luke reveals that his younger brother Sam, who was believed to be dead in the beginning, is alive, and he is held hostage in a facility inside God U called "the woods". To rescue Sam, Andre enlists Emma's help, which she does. But there are some problems, as one of their own knew what was happening all along.

• Cate's betrayal

Episode 5 of Gen V Season 1 reveals that Cate was wiping Luke's memories of Sam and made him believe that his young brother was dead. Cate herself reveals the truth to the protagonists in the closing minutes of the fifth episode. She was wiping Luke, Andre, Marie, Emma, and Jordan's minds under Dean Indira Shetty's instructions.

• Dean Indira Shetty's nefarious plan

Indira Shetty introduces herself as a friend to both Cate and Marie and as a mentor, but she is anything but that. She harbors hate for supes in her heart (except Cate) because of Homelander. She lost her daughter and son to Homelander, as they were passengers on the flight that Homelander and Queen Maeve doomed in The Boys Season 1.

For revenge, she even enlists the help of Dr. Edison Cardosa to create the virus that can kill every supe. Cardosa created the virus at "the Woods", where Sam was imprisoned, but it wasn't exposed to him. Ultimately, Cate, Andre, Marie, and Emma learn about the virus from Shetty herself. After learning this, Cate instructs Indira Shetty to kill herself.

For those who don't know, the virus that Cardosa created is the same one that Billy Butcher possesses and plans to unleash at the end of The Boys Season 4.

• Cate and Sam cause a riot

After learning about the virus, Cate heads to "the Woods" and breaks out all the imprisoned supes. Sam, who is disillusioned with Emma and the others, joins her. The two lead the formerly imprisoned supes to kill the non-supes across the Godolkin University campus. Marie, Jordan, Emma, and Andre try to stop the chaos. As Cate attempts to touch Jordan to control them, Marie uses her powers to explore the former's hands.

As that happens. We have the wildest cameo in the Gen V Season 1 finale.

• Homelander enters the fray

Homelander crashes in and uses his heat vision on Marie for attacking "her own kind." After that, we learn that the riot is blamed on Marie, Andre, Emma, and Jordan, and Cate and Sam are heralded as the Guardians of Godolkin. However, the closing minutes reveal that Marie is still alive, meaning she can withstand Homelander's laser. Jordan, Andre, and Emma are all surprised at her survival.

The mid-credit scene of the Gen V Season 1 finale also shows Billy Butcher visiting "the Woods" to acquire the supe-killing virus, setting up The Boys Season 4.

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Something similar is expected to happen in the Gen V Season 2 finale as well, because it will set the stage for The Boys Season 5. Are you excited?