How GEN V Expertly Sets Up THE BOYS Season 4

Gen V’s seventh episode was a complete doozy with tons of new revelations and The Boys’ character cameos. And boy did that episode’s ending set up the season finale well. It’s enough to make your head want to, ahem, explode. There has been lots of small connective tissue between The Boys and Gen V, from Queen Maeve posters to Adam Bourke showing up as a professor. However, things between these series are a lot more intertwined than we originally thought. Gen V reveals that Victoria Neuman and Marie Moreau are more alike than we thought and Dean Shetty harbors a personal vendetta against all supes, specifically Homelander, which explains why she is creating a supe-killing virus. Let’s get into how Gen V is perfectly setting up The Boys season four through season one’s final two episodes.

Dean Shetty’s Motivations in Gen V and Her Ties to Homelander’s Cruelty in The Boys

At the end of episode six, we discovered that Dean Shetty wants to use Dr. Edison Cardosa’s virus to infect all supes. Of course, this is in direct conflict with Dr. Cardosa’s intentions, which aren’t totally clear but apparently are not this nefarious. We knew we’d get an explanation behind her motivations at some point. It did seem odd to want to kill supes considering she is the dean of a university for supes. Now, we know that Dean Shetty hates supes because her husband and daughter died in the Crash of Transoceanic Flight 37.

In case you forgot, this is the plane crash from The Boys’ season one, episode four where Homelander and Queen Maeve attempt to stop hijackers on a commercial flight. They kill three of the hijackers but when Homelander discovers a fourth in the cockpit, he recklessly kills him with his laser eye powers. This destroys the plane, causing it to start crashing. Despite Maeve’s pleas to save the passengers, Homelander doesn’t want any witnesses. So, he leaves with Maeve and they watch everyone crash and die.

Indira Shetty is very well connected and a smart human. So it is not shocking that she knows the truth about this flight. It also seems that she hasn’t been the dean at the school for very long. She previously told Marie that she was previously a behavioral therapist and reminded Ashley that Vought hired her because she’s a “problem solver,” hinting that she came along in recent years. We’d bet his happened three years ago and she came into this sham of a school to continue studying supes. But unlike her predecessors, she’s taking her experiments to a dangerous new level.

In episode seven, Shetty goes to Grace Mallory, the former CIA Deputy Director and the founder of The Boys. Or, as Soldier Boy calls her, Captain Lesbo. Shetty tries to convince her that they can work together. Grace obviously declines this offer and makes a phone call to a mysterious person. She asks if they “got that” and hinting that “they” are on to her.

We don’t hear the voice on the phone, but it seems to be Butcher on the other end. Dean Shetty’s goals threaten every supe in this universe—both good and terrible. The Boys are not on that wavelength, especially with Starlight on their team. They will have to deal with this virus threat next season among other things. Vought is aware of The Woods and experiments, they don’t know that Shetty wants to kill all supes. Godolkin University is a front to study supes to craft new abilities and keep their business going. 

Any hopes of Dean Shetty appearing on The Boys are gone before the end of the episode. Cate controls Dean Shetty’s mind and makes her admit the truth to her friends. Then, she exacts her revenge by making her former mom figure slit her throat. Cate also prevents Marie from saving her, sending the God U crew into shock. Loyalties become divided with Sam believing that Cate delivered righteous justice while Emma, Marie, and Jordan believing she made a terrible choice.

In episode 8, we get confirmation that Butcher was on the phone, thanks to his appearance in a brief mid-credits scene. He walks through the now-dark hallways of The Woods before calling everyone a cunt. Perfection. We know The Boys will take place very shortly after Gen V‘s events, so we will see them looking into the events at God U.

The Boys‘ Victoria Neuman Comes to Gen V and Changes the Game

Now, it’s time for the Victoria Neuman drama. The former (??) anti-supe (but actually a supe) activist turned Vice Presidential candidate is at God U hoping to win over its students. Predictably, things go awry and Victoria has to leave the stage. Meanwhile, Marie sneaks in to speak with her directly, hoping that Neuman can use her political power to expose The Woods. She’s shocked when Victoria willingly invites her into a room for a conversation. Marie gets more than what she bargained for after Victoria Neuman invites her to analyze her blood. She realizes that the political powerhouse is herself a Supe and Victoria reveals that she also has blood manipulation powers. This makes a lot of sense considering she blows up folks’ heads on the regular.

Victoria also reveals that she went to the Red River Institute and played a small role in helping Marie get into Godolkin. (RED. FLAG.) Marie divulges all the information to her and Victoria tells her that she will “handle” it. She also tells Marie to go back to being a student, lest she want to cause trouble that will end with Vought shipping her to an adult facility. Victoria says the first Black woman in the Seven would have real power politically and culturally. She tells Marie to choose a path and that they will “keep in touch.”

This complicates things greatly for Marie because she could risk ruining her entire life behind exposing The Woods. At the end, Victoria takes the virus and kills Dr. Cardosa, so she will likely take off with the virus vials and use them to her advantage in The Boys season four. So while Dean Shetty is gone, Victoria Neuman is taking up the mantle of stirring up drama in the supe world. 

We know that Gen V will get another season that will build on whatever goes down in The Boys season four. What will Victoria do with the supe killing virus? How will Marie, Andre, Emma, and Jordan get out of their all-white prison? What will Cate and Sam do next? The plot thickens, indeed. Bring on The Boys season four.

Originally published October 27, 2023.