Tech / Technology

8 burning question we have for ‘Gen V’ Season 2

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Prime Video’s “Gen V” has already been renewed for Season 2, which is great because Season 1 left us with several big questions.
Three college students standing in the woods.

After eight episodes of superpowered college shenanigans, memory wipes, and exploded penises, Gen V‘s first season has come to a close.

The good news? The show has already been renewed for Season 2. The bad news? We’ve been left on a pretty intense cliffhanger, with Marie (Jaz Sinclair), Emma (Lizze Broadway), Jordan (London Thor and Derek Luh), and Andre (Chance Perdomo) trapped in some unknown facility. Not only that, but they’re officially on Homelander’s (Antony Starr) bad side, having tried to stop Cate (Maddie Phillips) and Sam (Asa Germann) from killing every non-supe at Godolkin University.

So, what’s next for our new band of supes? And when will we get to see them in action again in Season 2? Here are eight burning questions we have for the future of Gen V.

1. When is Gen V Season 2 coming out?

Two college students at a desk in a large office.

Jaz Sinclair and London Thor in “Gen V.”
Credit: Brooke Palmer/Prime Video

There’s no release date yet for Gen V Season 2, meaning we’ll have to wait a while to see Marie and co. again. We can definitely expect it after The Boys Season 4 finishes its run, as The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke told Entertainment Weekly that the finale for Season 4 would feature a “handoff” to Gen V Season 2. The Boys Season 4 doesn’t have a set release date either, but a 2024 release seems likely.

2. Where are Marie, Emma, Jordan, and Andre being kept?

You can’t end a season with our heroes trapped in a doorless room and expect us not to wonder where said room is, right? From the looks of it, Marie and her friends are in some kind of high-tech research facility, but Gen V gives us very few clues as to what it actually is. Could this be the much-dreaded adult facility for wayward supes that Marie has always worried about? Is it a sinister Vought laboratory? Or has Marie’s benefactor Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) pulled some strings to get Marie sent elsewhere? And speaking of Victoria…

3. What is Victoria going to do with Dean Shetty’s supe virus?

A woman in a blue suit standing in a parking garage.

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

Last we saw Victoria in Gen V, she had blown up Dr. Cardosa’s (Marco Pigossi) head and taken off with the virus he and Dean Shetty (Shelley Conn) created to target supes. With both Dr. Cardosa and Dean Shetty dead, Victoria is officially the only person in the world with knowledge of (and access to) the virus. So, what’s next for The Boys‘ resident head-popper? Will she try to destroy the biggest threat to supe-kind? Or will she attempt to weaponize it in some way… perhaps against Homelander? Granted, Victoria is a supe herself, so the latter plan comes with a huge element of risk. But we wouldn’t put it past her to try to engineer an antidote so she can weather the incoming storm.

4. How will Godolkin University recover from Sam and Cate’s massacre?

A young woman in leather gloves in a club.

Maddie Phillips in “Gen V.”
Credit: Brooke Palmer/Prime Video

Cate, Sam, and the imprisoned students from The Woods led a wave of carnage across God U’s campus. How will the school and its student body deal with the fallout? Based on the very end of Gen V, we know that Sam and Cate are being hailed as the new Guardians of Godolkin. Does that mean their line of pro-supe and pro-Homelander radicalization will continue to spread? How will that power affect their already fragile mental states? And what was Vought’s thought process when it came to declaring Sam and Cate — the perpetrators of a college campus murder spree who tried to kill several Vought employees — the heroes of the day?

5. Will Emma learn to control her powers in a different way?

A young woman in a sparkling pink dress.

Lizze Broadway in “Gen V.”
Credit: Brooke Palmer/Prime Video

Throughout the season, Emma has struggled with the ways in which disordered eating impact her powers: She has to purge food to shrink and binge it to grow. However, in the Season 1 finale, she shrinks without purging. The change comes after a fight with Sam, when he declares she’s not a hero. Suddenly, much to her surprise, Emma finds herself getting small.

While the finale doesn’t unpack that moment further, this shrinking incident hints at development to come for Emma. Perhaps her powers aren’t just linked to her eating, but to her sense of self. Sam’s words cut pretty deep, after all — maybe enough to make Emma feel tiny. This moment suggests that Emma’s self-hatred can have a similar effect to her purging food, although relying on self-loathing would be just another painful method of controlling her powers. Still, here’s hoping Emma can use this one instance to unlock a less detrimental way of accessing her abilities. Little Cricket really deserves a break.

6. Will Andre have to stop using his powers entirely?

A father and son having a discussion.

Sean Patrick Thomas and Chance Perdomo in “Gen V.”
Credit: Brooke Palmer/Prime Video

As chaos rages on God U’s campus, Andre is dealing with an existential threat of his own. His father, Polarity (Sean Patrick Thomas), has undergone a major health crisis. As a doctor tells Andre, every time Polarity uses his powers, he experiences a micro-tear in his neural pathways, leading to severe brain damage. The only way to prevent further problems is for him to stop using his powers altogethers.

Given the news, Polarity wants Andre to take up his mantle. However, it seems as if Andre is already facing some brain damage symptoms himself. Will he keep using his powers even though they risk harming him? Or will he join his father in hanging up the figurative cape? Maybe there’s a third option: Could the mysterious facility where Andre is being held hold a key to curing his and his father’s condition?

7. What’s next for Gen V‘s romantic pairings, like Marie and Jordan?

Two college students kissing.

Jaz Sinclair and Derek Luh in “Gen V.”
Credit: Brooke Palmer/Prime Video

Part of Gen V being a college-set series means it delivers lots of college relationship drama. Marie and Jordan forged a romantic connection throughout the season, as did Sam and Emma. Meanwhile, it turns out that Andre and Cate had been hooking up behind Luke’s (Patrick Schwarzenegger) back for a while. How will these relationships fare in Season 2?

Based on the finale, not well! Sam and Cate’s radical pro-supe actions have alienated them from Emma and Andre, and given their bloody actions, it looks like reconciliation — if at all possible — is a long way off. Marie and Jordan are doing much better, having come down on the same sides of the God U conflict. But will their relationship be able to withstand whatever is going to happen to them in the strange new laboratory?

8. What was Billy Butcher doing at Godolkin?

Gen V featured several cameos throughout its first season, but it was saving its two biggest for last. First up was a disappointing appearance by Homelander, followed not long after by a mid-credits scene featuring none other than Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) himself. We see him exploring the abandoned Woods — but why? What will he do with his knowledge of Vought’s secret pet project? Guess we’ll find out in The Boys Season 4.

Gen V Season 1 is now streaming on Prime Video.

Tech / Technology

Perfect movie to kick off the Christmas season: ‘Anna and the Apocalypse’

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Directed by John McPhail, “Anna and the Apocalypse” is a musical holiday horror movie that deserves your attention. “Dickinson”s Ella Hunt stars.
A blood-spattered Anna, played by Ella Hunt, holds a large candy cane weapon.

Do you like Christmas movies, but wish they were gorier? Are you a fan of zombie flicks, but yearn for a zombie musical? Do you want every musical you watch to be full of holiday cheer? Perhaps with some high school drama tossed in the mix? Then, you’re going to want to witness Anna and the Apocalypse. Directed by John McPhail (Dear David) this Christmas-set zombie musical spectacular from 2018 is the perfect transition film to shift horror lovers from spooky season to Yuletide scares.

What’s Anna and the Apocalypse about?

Ella Hunt dances in school in "Anna and the Apocalypse."


Credit: Orion/Vertigo/Kobal/Shutterstock

Christmas is just around the corner in the small Scottish town of Little Haven, and Anna (Dickinson‘s Ella Hunt) is at odds with her father (Mark Benton) about her post-high school plans. Before university next fall, she wants to travel the world. But her dad thinks that would be a waste of time. Unfortunately, the zombie apocalypse doesn’t care about family squabbles. It hits right before Christmas — and right before Anna and her father can reach any kind of resolution.

To save her dad and make it out of town alive, Anna teams up with her devoted best friend John (Malcolm Cumming), snarky student activist Steph (Sarah Swire), plucky aspiring filmmaker Chris (Christopher Leveaux), and school jerk Nick (Ben Wiggins). What follows is a mad scramble for survival with a healthy dose of Broadway flair.

Anna and the Apocalypse is a comedy that takes its musical numbers seriously.

Ella Hunt wanders among zombies.


Credit: Orion/Vertigo/Kobal/Shutterstock

The musical numbers are the highlight of Anna and the Apocalypse, launching an already-enjoyable Christmas horror movie into the stratosphere. Take the earnest and angsty “Hollywood Ending.” Sung by students in their school cafeteria and complemented by lunch tray choreography, this tune with High School Musical vibes reminds us that life is not at all like the teen movies — something that Anna and the Apocalypse‘s ending takes to heart.

Also of note is the cheerful, poppy “Turning My Life Around.” In this chipper song, Anna and John walk/dance to school, earbuds in and singing their hearts out —oblivious to the zombie carnage playing out all around them. It’s a delightfully ironic scene, one that calls to mind a similar sequence of apocalyptic unawareness from Shaun of the Dead.

My favorite song on the whole soundtrack has to be Nick’s “Soldier at War,” an epic zombie-killing anthem reminiscent of “Eye of the Tiger.” The number is Anna and the Apocalypse at its most fun. Nick and his fellow bullies kill zombies using everything from bats to watermelons to video game controllers. On the one hand, it’s an absolute banger of a song that will no doubt get stuck in your head. On the other hand, it’s a ridiculous example of posturing in the face of death — with Wiggins selling the arrogance with charismatic gusto. However, Anna and Steph’s unimpressed expressions are an excellent contrast to Nick’s musical bragging.

Anna and the Apocalypse has fun with holiday horror — and gore.

Ella Hunt as Anna Shepherd and Malcolm Cumming as John in "Anna and the Apocalypse."


Credit: Orion/Vertigo/Kobal/Shutterstock

This being a zombie movie, there’s plenty of violence to go around — only here it comes with a Christmas twist. Anna and John encounter zombies dressed as snowmen and Santa. The undead crash the school’s holiday concert and invade a Christmas tree emporium. Anna’s weapon of choice in the final act is a big, sharpened prop candy cane, because why not? It’s a gleefully unhinged way to get into the holiday spirit.

In addition to all the genre-melding, Anna and the Apocalypse makes a real effort to examine how teenagers on the brink of adulthood come to terms with the apocalypse. Turns out the sudden arrival of zombies really puts your life in perspective. Anna worries about her future and her relationship with her father. Meanwhile, John struggles to admit his romantic feelings for Anna in what ends up being a solid subversion of the Nice Guy trope.

These more dramatic emotional beats don’t always land. For instance, a subplot involving a control freak teacher (Paul Kaye) escalates unbelievably quickly. But Anna and the Apocalypse certainly gets points for trying. Using a zombie apocalypse, Christmas, and catchy tunes to tackle teenage anxieties is no small feat, and the movie sometimes falters as a result of its own ambition. Fortunately, you’ll be too distracted by fun set pieces and the cast’s fully committed performances to care that much.

So sharpen your candy canes, warm up your vocal cords, and start your December off right with Anna and her friends. And zombies.

Anna and the Apocalypse is now streaming on Shudder, and is also available on Apple TV+, Amazon Prime, Vudu, and more.

UPDATE: Oct. 31, 2023, 10:47 a.m. EDT This post has been updated to reflect Anna and the Apocalypse’s current streaming availability.