【eroticizing pain】

To say a lot happened in episode 7 of Gen Vwould be eroticizing painan understatement.

Cate (Maddie Phillips) murdered Dean Shetty (Shelley Conn). Sam (Asa Germann) became radicalized by supe supremacists. Vice-presidential candidate Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) is back to her head-exploding ways. But perhaps most shocking of all are two major connections to The Boysthat completely change the game at Godolkin University.

Up until now, Gen V has kept its connections to The Boys mostly limited to a few cameos, like Ashley (Colby Minifie), Adam (P.J. Byrne), and even Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles). However, episode 7 of Gen V, titled "Sick," takes that connection up a notch with these two reveals.

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Dean Shetty hates supes because of a devastating moment from Season 1 of The Boys.

Shelley Conn in "Gen V." Credit: Brooke Palmer/Prime Video

Despite being the dean of a university for budding superheroes, it's clear Dean Shetty despises all supes with a burning passion. She tortures them in the secret laboratory known as The Woods, and she's been secretly developing a virus that could kill all supes should it become contagious.

But just why does she hate supes so much? Well, it all ties back to Season 1, episode 4 of The Boys, titled "The Female of the Species."

"The Female of the Species" features one of the most well-known — and most horrifying — sequences from The Boys to date. Homelander (Antony Starr) and Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott) try to stop the hijacking of Transoceanic Flight 37, only to irreparably damage the cockpit. Instead of making an effort to save the passengers onboard, Homelander decides to leave them all to die. That decision remains one of his most monstrous moments yet, and it's had lasting consequences throughout The Boys— and now Gen V.

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Once Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair) realizes Shetty's up to no good, she and Jordan (London Thor and Derek Luh) sneak into her office to learn more about The Woods. There, they discover documents and newspaper clippings about Flight 37. The flight manifest reveals that Dean Shetty's husband and child were both onboard when it crashed, explaining why Shetty has a vendetta against supes. Gen V has teased this motivation throughout the season, with Shetty telling Marie early on that she had a daughter who died. The Homelander connection does prove an intense twist, though, and one of Gen V's most overt links to the plot of The Boys so far.

Marie Moreau and Victoria Neuman have the same powers.

Claudia Doumit in "Gen V." Credit: Brooke Palmer/Prime Video

If you thought the Flight 37 reveal was the biggest trick "Sick" had up its sleeve, think again. Armed with the knowledge of The Woods, Marie tries to get word to Victoria, who is holding a town hall on campus. What she finds is way more than she bargained for.

Victoria seems to know more about Marie's powers than even Marie does, telling her that she should be able to sense key information about people by reading their blood. Thanks to this advice, Marie determines that Victoria is a supe as well — but not just any supe! She's a supe with the same powers as Marie.

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We see this when Victoria cuts open her hand and creates a tendril of blood, just like Marie tends to do. This moment is huge news in both the world of Gen Vand The Boys. Gen V-wise, it finally tells us who Marie's mysterious benefactor is, andit gives us a hint at just how far Marie may be able to push her powers. In terms of The Boys, it clues us into the extent of Victoria's powers. Throughout The Boys, we've only seen her blow up people's heads (and sometimes other body parts). Now we know that she's capable of other kinds of blood manipulation — and she's not the only supe with this set of powers.

Victoria seems friendly enough with Marie, bonding with her over their time at the Red River Institute and insisting that they stay in touch. But this is head-exploding, power-hungry Victoria Neuman we're talking about here. Is she really going to let a supe with her skills continue to run free in the world? Will she attempt to manipulate Marie and take her under her wing, or try to eliminate her entirely?

On the flip side, what does this reveal mean for Marie? Will she follow in Victoria's footsteps and start blowing up people's heads? Could she become just as powerful as Victoria, or even more so? Who knows — maybe the Gen V Season 1 finale will treat us to a blood-bending battle between the two.

Gen V is now streaming on Prime Video.

Topics Prime Video Streaming