While the first season finale of Amazon Studio’s Gen V might have a divisive impact on the fans—on the one hand, some consider it to be bonkers, a gratifying end in sync with the universe’s subversive take on caped crusaders, while others consider it predictable, edgy fan service—there’s no denying the fact that it serves the primary purpose of world-building pretty well. There being a two-year gap between the third and upcoming fourth seasons of The Boys, the showrunners needed a filler series to expand the universe, and Gen V successfully did that by venturing deep into the rabbit hole of supe and anti-supe conspiracies.
Throughout the first season, Gen V left a trail of proverbial breadcrumbs of clues to explore the connection with The Boys, which ranged from cameos to clever plot twists. Some of these additions, like Soldier Boy’s cameo or the inclusion of Translucent’s equally perverse son Maverick, didn’t serve much purpose. Instead, the later incorporation of Grace Mallory, Victoria Neuman’s connection with Indira Shetty’s arc, Homelander’s actions, and the finale’s post-credits scene with Billy Butcher added substantial plot points that will be explored in the fourth season of The Boys.
Spoilers Ahead
What Does Billy Butcher’s Appearance Mean?
The finale of Gen V saw a vengeful Cate and Sam breaking out the deranged Supe teenagers from the Woods, which resulted in a bloody, chaotic situation as, under Cate’s provocation, they went after the human authorities of Godolkin University and started butchering them. The timely intervention of Marie, Emma, Jordan, and Andre put a stop to the bloodshed and stopped the psychos in their tracks, and they were later indicted by the cunning fascist, Homelander, for doing so. As the post-credits scene began, viewers were once again taken to the underground prison facility of the Woods, which seemed to be completely empty. A shadowy figure ventures through its corridors, and it turns out to be Billy Butcher, whose appearance indicates the anti-supe team’s knowledge of the entire situation. Looking around, Butcher gets a hint about the vile business that took place in the woods and expresses his frustration with his trademark use of c-word with a devilish smirk.
The appearance of Butcher inside the Woods was a direct result of The Boys’ chief, Grace Mallory, instructing him to keep a close eye on God U Dean Indira Shetty’s machinations. Previously, after successfully synthesizing her anti-supe virus, Indira, who had a personal vendetta against the supe population of the world, went to Grace Mallory and sought her help in orchestrating a supe-genocide. Mallory, realizing the viciousness of Indira’s schemes, refused to support her endeavors and decided to monitor her activities instead. Under her command, Butcher arrives at the Woods, but he is seemingly too late, as not only have the captive deranged supes escaped by then, but the anti-supe viral compound is no longer there. Which brings us to the vital part of the situation, which will be one of the focal points in the fourth season of The Boys.
Victoria Neuman’s Role And Homelander’s New Recruits
As viewers know, opportunist Congresswoman Victoria Neuman already possesses the anti-supe viral compound that she gained from Dr. Cardosa, whom she murdered as well to remove any loose ends. Mallory remaining unaware of the fact puts the boys in a major disadvantageous situation, as a number of the team members, like Butcher and Hughie, have become supes themselves after injecting Temp V repeatedly, and they can be hunted down by Neuman. Additionally, Neuman has the opportunity to set up the all-controlling Vought International as well. None of the Vought representatives were aware of Indira’s secret experiments; therefore, quite obviously, they were oblivious to the existence of the virus to begin with. Using the compound, Neuman can climb her way through Vought’s command, just like she used her powers to fulfill her political ambitions. This time, even the person she fears most, Homelander, cannot stop her either, thanks to her obtaining the supe-deterrent.
On the other hand, the situation is getting really interesting on both sides as the battle line is already being drawn. After expertly framing Marie and her friends as the culprits of the Godolkin massacre, Homelander is likely to take Cate, Sam, and other deranged supremacists like them under his wing, and as they are most likely to join the Seven as well, Homelander will have someone trustworthy to confide in as existing members Deep and A-Train are not really on his level of moral degradation. Similarly, on the other side of the equation, an alliance is likely to be forged sooner than expected. Granted, Mallory and her operatives don’t have any idea about the situation revolving around Marie and her friends—the fact that they know everything about Vought’s God U-related conspiracies—but we are assuming that the legacy hero Polarity, who has surely assessed the situation in the aftermath of the massacre and framing, will go to Mallory to seek help in breaking out his son and proving his innocence. All this will bring Butcher, Hughie, and others into a direct connection with the four framed students, and working alongside them, they might turn out to be a formidable opposition against Neuman, Vought, and the Seven.
Except for the aforementioned central plot connection, there are some plot points in Gen V that will be addressed in the fourth season of The Boys, like the introduction of Tek Knight in the universe, who had already been introduced as an exceptionally skilled yet lecherous detective. While his inclusion does not seem to hold that much importance narrative-wise, his abilities of deduction might be a trump card for the Seven in breaking down Victoria Neuman’s secret. To confirm all these speculations, fans have to wait for the fourth season of The Boys, a release window for which hasn’t been provided yet, but anywhere in the next year would be a safe guess.
