Could Gen V's Huge Episode 6 Revelation End The Boys Series?
Contains spoilers for "Gen V" Season 1, Episode 6 — "Jumanji," as well as the comic book series "The Boys," from which the Amazon Prime series are adapted
As "Gen V" soars toward its final two episodes, we've finally learned the endgame of Dean Shetty (Shelley Conn) and Dr. Cardosa's (Marco Pigossi) scientific research in the Woods — and it will almost certainly evoke strong reactions from fans of "The Boys" comics.
For reasons we have yet to learn, Shetty is keen to make their Supe-killing virus contagious, which would seemingly lead to a manufactured, concentrated pandemic that would rid the world of Supes for good. In short, she wants to commit Supe genocide. If that plan sounds like it would be appealing to one Billy Butcher (Karl Urban's Supe-hating antihero from "The Boys"), that's probably because his comic book counterpart comes dangerously close to enacting something similar himself.
Without getting too deep into spoilers, comics Butcher decides to unleash a biological weapon that would kill every single Supe — including the Boys themselves, who use Compound V in the comics. In theory, "Gen V" introducing its own Supe-killing biological weapon could be laying the groundwork for a similar finale as that of the "Boys" comics down the road. However, it's more likely that this instead signals yet another welcome departure from their plot.
Billy Butcher becomes an irredeemable villain by the end of the comics
Though both iterations of Billy Butcher are morally dubious, to say the least, the comic book version's planned genocide of Supes sees him devolve rather abruptly into full-blown villainy. Even ignoring the fact that killing an entire race of people is objectively bad, Butcher goes as far as murdering Frenchie, Kimiko, and Mother's Milk to ensure his plot is successful. Such a drastic moral descent on the TV series, especially at this point, would feel like a betrayal of its central themes, as well as its fan base.
Luckily, the "Gen V" reveal likely means that fans can rest assured that the showrunners are planning on resolving the series in a different fashion. Major plot developments on "The Boys," such as the introduction of Ryan Butcher (Cameron Crovetti) and the death of Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell), have already made an exact adaptation of the comics' finale largely impossible, and this continued deviation from the plot on "Gen V" is a wonderful sign that no one will be able to predict whatever diabolical ending the writers have in store.