Gen V (1×08) Guardians of Goldokin Review

For our review of the last episode of Gen V, click here.

After the twist ending that saw Shetty taken off the board in brutal fashion at the hands of Cate, all bets are off in terms of what happens next in the season 1 finale (and also the shortest episode of the season). The reveal that Goldokin University was merely a means to study supes and that her master plan was to use the virus to kill supes out of revenge against Homelander for killing her family in an airplane crash (callback to Season 1 of The Boys), her chance at revenge was no more. While she dropped the ball, Victoria Neuman definitely picked it up and ran with it. To whatever extent she goes with it remains to be seen but one thing is clear, she does what she does for herself. Marie’s mysterious benefactor, there is a reason for that as the two share the same powers though she was clearly not as far along with them.

The logical end of Cate’s misguided redemption trail following murdering Shetty was to free the captives held in The Woods. A good idea on paper, one would think, doing so presumably made for a pandora’s box scenario. The still-impressionable Sam, holding an understandable grudge against The Woods, tagged along as her muscle. However, as they went along, his conscience kicked in, represented by Luke. Meanwhile, Andre found himself caught in a complicated situation. With his father now hospitalized after a seizure, it came as a result of using his Polarity powers. Being pushed to become the new Polarity, that situation became that much more complicated. Ultimately, he would have to make a choice as he then found himself thrust into what essentially became a rather one-sided war between the release Woods captives and humans.

As pure chaos ensued, Ashley and other Vought representatives also happened to be there to see the statement Cate was making. Devolving into further chaos was equal parts tense and exciting but also sad that the episode did not have more as the choice of making this finale the shortest episode of the season was definitely a baffling one. In the end, it was up to everybody else to save the day but it appeared that Cate was beyond saving. Now it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone that from there, the cover-up was on to propel the main characters towards next season. While the end result of the chaos at Goldokin is unknown, that is the least of their concerns as Marie, Andre, Emma, and Jordan found themselves trapped in a mysterious room as they unknowingly have been set up as the culprits for the Goldokin massacre and Cate and Sam were proclaimed as those who saved the day.

As Goldokin is seemingly no more, Gen V has moved on to a new chapter. Putting the characters in the real world would certainly make for a different dynamic but as it looks to go in another direction, though as the season has shown, the writers know how to pull out of their bag of tricks. It will definitely be interesting to see where the Boys universe goes from here.

At the end of the day, Guardians of Goldokin is a chaotic yet kneecapped finale that delivers plenty of insanity as the season looks to turn the page but one can’t help but want more.

still courtesy of Amazon Studios

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.