Gen V Season 1 Ending Explained: Where Marie & Her Friends Are In The Final Scene (2024)

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Gen V episode 8 and The Boys season 4!

Gen V season 1 has finally come to a close, and here is the end of the exciting spinoff explained, including where Marie and her friends are in the final scene. Gen V season one raised a lot of questions and mysteries, but very few of them were answered, with all kinds of plot threads that set up The Boys season 4 and others than need to be resolved in Gen V season 2. The Gen V season 1 finale was packed to the brim with setups, cameos, and surprise reveals, and here is a breakdown of everything that happened in the exciting conclusion of Godolkin University's first arc.

Gen V looks at the world of The Boys through a new lens, with the series this time focusing on a college for supes known as Godolkin University. The series follows Marie Moreau, a young blood-bender who gets the opportunity to attend the prestigious Vought-run college. Upon arriving, however, Marie and her friends discover Vought's the Woods facility, with opinions being divided on how to deal with the conspiracy. As is shown in the finale, a boiling point is eventually reached.

Where Gen V's Heroes Are In The Final Scene

Marie, Andre, Jordan, And Emma May Have Been Captured By Vought

After being knocked out by Homelander, Marie wakes up to find herself in a mysterious facility. Andre, Jordan, and Emma are in the prison alongside Marie, but none of them seem to know where they are. They note that there are no doors anywhere, with the episode ending before this mystery is resolved. However, there are some theories as to where they could be.

It's possible that the gang is being held in a secure Vought facility, with them having a track record of containing supes. It could also be that Grace Mallory rescued the Gen V team, with her holding them in the same safe house as Soldier Boy. An even more interesting possibility is that the four friends are trapped inside of Cate's mind, which could explain the strange door-less layout of the room.

What Billy Butcher Is Doing In Gen V's Mid-Credits Scene

Butcher Knows About The Supe Killing Virus

The Gen V season 1 finale features a mid-credits scene which sees Billy Butcher searching through the abandoned Woods facility with a flashlight. Although it isn't explicitly explained, it seems likely that Billy Butcher is looking for something: the supe virus. A contagious virus that kills supes has been one of the biggest story elements throughout Gen V, but the series doesn't reveal the fate of the new weapon.

While Victoria Neuman does have a sample, Billy Butcher is already looking for it t something that becomes key in The Boys season 4. After all, Billy Butcher's comics ending involves him using a biological weapon to kill supes.

Why Homelander Sides With Cate & Sam In Gen V's Ending

Homelander Is Starting To Rebel Against The Human Elements Of Vought

Gen V surprisingly ends with Cate and Sam releasing all of the prisoners in the Woods, causing them to led a revolution against the humans at Godolkin University. The freed supes begin indiscriminately killing humans, forcing Ashley to call Homelander for help. Homelander arrives, but instead of helping out Marie and her friends, he sides with Cate and Sam.

Homelander did this because Cate and Sam are supe supremacists by the end of Gen V, a far-right ideology that is at the core of Homelander's The Boys season 3 political movement.

Are Cate & Sam Gen V Season 2's Main Villains?

When Gen V Returns It's Unclear Who The Antagonist Will Be

Gen V featured all kinds of villains, but after the finale many viewers are asking if Cate and Sam are the season's main villains. The answer is that its complicated. Cate and Sam as well as Shetty and Cardosa are all villains, although their villainy is reacting to each other.

Shetty is vengeful towards supes, leading her to want to start a genocide, whereas Cate and Sam believe that they are superior to humans, leading them to want to start a genocide. The evil from both sets of villains is a reaction to the villainy from the other sides, although they are all undoubtedly evil.

Why Emma Shrinks Without Throwing Up

Emma's Powers Seem To Be Evolving

After Emma's confrontation with Sam, she shrinks to an incredibly small size. Throughout Gen V, Emma has only been able to shrink by throwing up, with this being the first time that she does so without vomiting. It's possible that Sam's harsh words towards Emma hurt her so bad that she felt physically sick, leading to her shrinking.

Forcing herself to throw up makes Emma feel sick and worthless, and it seems like Sam's conversation with Emma had that same effect on her. Although this is sad, this reveal could help Emma use her powers more efficiently in the future of Gen V.

What The Public Thinks Happened At Godolkin

Vought Convinced The World That Marie Was Behind The Supe Uprising

At the end of Gen V episode 8, a Cameron Coleman newscast is shown, revealing how Vought has spun the events at Godolkin Univeristy. Vought has caused the public to believe that Marie, Andre, Jordan, and Emma were the ones who led the supe uprising, with Cate and Sam being the ones that stopped it.

The broadcast also confirms that Godolkin University will continue to exist after the riots, although the Billy Butcher mid-credits scene makes it seem as if the Woods is completely abandoned. Without the Woods, Godolkin University doesn't serve much purpose for Vought, as Shetty previously revealed that it was a cover-up for the virus.

Andre Losing His Powers Sets Up His Gen V Season 2 Arc

Andre's Narrative Has Paralells With Butcher's Temp V Storyline

One of the side stories in Gen V episodes 7 and 8 follow Andre as his father Polarity has a medical episode. The season 1 finale reveals that Polarity's use of his powers have caused dark spots to form in his brain, with the doctor advising Andre to not use his powers anymore as a precaution.

However, Polarity wants Andre to take up the Polarity mantle, causing a conflict for Andrew that will be continued in Gen V season 2. Andre will have to decide wether he wants to die with powers or live without them, paralleling the Temp-V arc from The Boys season 3.

How The Gen V Ending Played Into The Boys Season 4

Season 4 Of The Boys Followed On From Gen V More Than Season 3

The ending of Gen V set up The Boys season 4 in multiple ways, and it's clear that Amazon was operating under the assumption that fans of one would also follow the other. This relationship is so close that Gen V almost acts as The Boys season 3.5. The most obvious way is, of course, the Supe killing virus. As the mid-credits scene of the Gen V finale with Butcher hinted, the virus is a key plot point throughout season 4 of The Boys.

Much of the narrative of the latest season focuses on Butchers attempts to weaponize the virus to use it as a weapon against Homelander. Since the virus didn't factor into The Boys season 3 at all, this aspect of season 4 would have felt like a leap to those who hadn't followed Gen V. Neuman's involvement was also a key part of her character arc, and when The Boys returned her narrative continued on from where it left off in Gen V.

However, the virus wasn't the only way that Gen V set up The Boys season 4. Homelander siding with Cate and Sam also foreshadowed an important development for his character. The latest season of The Boys explored more of Homelander's early life, including an incredibly gory sequence where he took vengeance on the Vought scientists who raised him. It seems that he both felt empathy with the Supers imprisoned in the God U facility, and their rebellion also inspired him to seek his own vengeance.

Finally, it was revealed in The Boys season 4 finale that Cate and Sam had been deputized by Homelander and were now working for him and the U.S. government in his war against the "subversive elements" he viewed as a threat to America. It's entirely likely that this will factor into both Gen V season 2 and The Boys season 5.

Gen V

TV-MA

Action

Comedy

Drama

Superhero

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A spin-off of The Boys, Gen V is based on a story arc from the original comic series set in the TV series universe. Gen V follows a group of college students starting at a Vought International-created school for superheroes, where students compete in increasingly dangerous challenges to win a hero contract in the highest-paying and most coveted city locations. This happens as these young adults try to understand their powers as they grow up and figure out where they fit into society.

Cast

Lizzie Broadway , Jaz Sinclair , Chance Perdomo , Maddie Phillips , London Thor , Derek Luh , Asa Germann , Shelley Conn , Patrick Schwarzenegger

Release Date

September 29, 2023

Seasons

1

Streaming Service(s)

Prime Video

Franchise(s)

The Boys