GEN V Season Finale Recap: (S01E08) Guardians of Godolkin

Melody McCune

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Jordan (in their female form), Marie and Emma stand in the basement of a building that looks like a lab/prison in Gen V Season 1 Episode 8, "Guardians of Godolkin."

DISCLAIMER: This recap of Gen V Season 1 Episode 8, “Guardians of Godolkin,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril. 

It’s season finale time on Gen V, and sh*t has effectively hit the fan. We get a handful of delightful (but expected) The Boys cameos, for starters. Cate decides to kickstart a genocide with her new pal Sam, who’s inexplicably Team Cate despite everything she did to him. That said, I can understand why Cate and Sam make terrible decisions in “Guardians of Godolkin.” Their trauma fuels both of them.

Cate is also going through withdrawals from the medication that suppressed her powers. She’s also reeling from the fallout of Shetty manipulating her for years. Both are teenagers suffering at the hands of adults who failed them. I’ve seen people complain about some of the decisions made in this outing, and I feel the need to remind everyone that our main characters and most folks at Godolkin are teenagers — Marie included. They’re not making sound choices. 

“Guardians of Godolkin” is action-packed, ultraviolent madness from beginning to end. In that respect, it feels more like The Boys than any episode. My gripe is with the choppy editing, abrupt ending and shortened runtime. It feels like the creative team removed a ton of content. And while Homelander’s cameo makes sense, Butcher’s feels too much like a wink-wink to the audience. Even his line seems like a fourth-wall break, like, “Look! I’m here on this other show!” instead of something he’d say to himself in response to what he saw. 

That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it. As a whole, the episode is entertaining as hell, potentially sets the stage for The Boys Season 4 and lays the groundwork for Gen V Season 2. 

Ready to delve into “Guardians of Godolkin”? Let’s get to it. 

RELATED: Check out our recap for Gen V Season 1 Episode 7, “Sick” 

We open with Cate (Maddie Phillips), hearing the inner thoughts of Marie (Jaz Sinclair), Jordan (Derek Luh) and Emma (Lizze Broadway) in her head as they panic over Dean Shetty’s (Shelley Conn) death. Their voices clash spectacularly. Marie can’t believe that Cate killed someone. Jordan thinks they should devise a game plan. Cate claims she was merely trying to protect her friends. What Shetty, Brink and the others did was reprehensible. Abhorrent, even. Cate feels they deserve justice. Sam (Asa Germann), who’s been mostly silent, states he wants to be a hero like Cate. Emma tries to stop him from joining her. 

Jordan (in their female form) make out with Marie while they stand in the basement of a building that looks like a lab/prison in Gen V Season 1 Episode 8, "Guardians of Godolkin."
GEN V Season 1 Episode 8, “Guardians of Godolkin.” Photo courtesy of Amazon Studios.

However, Sam reassures her it’s okay. He wants to save her for once. Jordan transforms into their female form (London Thor). They attempt to prevent Cate and Sam from departing Shetty’s house. Cate admits Jordan could stop her, but can they take down Sam? Probably not. Marie silently nods, signifying that they should step aside. After Cate and Sam leave, Jordan calls campus security. Marie vetoes it, claiming they should leave everyone else out of it. They can stop Cate and Sam themselves. 

Meanwhile, Andre (Chance Perdomo) sits outside his father’s room in Seven Tower. The doctor shows Andre a scan of Polarity’s brain. All the shaded areas represent tissue damage. While they can’t reverse said damage, they can mitigate or slow it. Polarity’s doctor advises that he take anti-seizure medication, undergo physical therapy and refrain from using his powers. His powers are endangering his life. 

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Later, Andre reunites with Polarity (Sean Patrick Thomas), who’s awake in his room. Polarity wants his costume refitted for Andre. Andre must take on the superhero mantle now. Polarity advises his son to keep his head down and do as he’s told. Sure, Polarity knew about The Woods and should’ve done something, but he was trying to protect Andre. He asserts that Andre keeping his family out of danger takes precedence over being a “hero.” Andre tells his dad that their powers are killing them, though. Shouldn’t they stop? 

Next, Ashley (Colby Minifie) meets with the Vought board at Godolkin University to discuss the next steps. She wonders aloud where Shetty is. So far, everything has fallen flat — the latest failure being Victoria Neuman’s town hall. What if they immediately inducted someone into The Seven? Andre’s name comes into the conversation. 

Cate places a hand on Sam's face while he closes his eyes in Gen V Season 1 Episode 8, "Guardians of Godolkin."
GEN V Season 1 Episode 8, “Guardians of Godolkin.” Photo credit: Brooke Palmer/Prime Video.

Meanwhile, Cate and Sam return to The Woods to free everyone. Sam punches through a guard’s face while Cate convinces another one to open all the cells. Sam pokes his head into his old cell, where the ghost of Luke (Patrick Schwarzenegger) waits for him. Luke disapproves of Sam killing humans. He reminds his brother that murdering Brink drove him to kill himself. He felt immeasurable remorse. Sam tries to brush his brother off, claiming he’s not here. 

RELATED: Catch up on the diabolical madness with The Boys recaps!

The body of a virus-riddled supe takes Cate aback. She can’t believe how much damage the virus did. Cate gives a pep talk to The Woods prisoners, who are now free. They should exact revenge against those who harmed them. Those responsible should pay. One supe sees the sunlight for the first time in at least a decade. He spots Rufus (Alexander Calvert), who’s filming a clip for his fans. After confirming that Rufus is a supe, the man kills the first human he encounters. Rufus, now in hiding, films the gruesome murder for his followers. 

Next, Marie, Jordan and Emma arrive at The Woods to find it empty. Marie urges Emma to clear the Performing Arts Center while Jordan evacuates the student union. Jordan informs Marie of a red emergency lockdown button under Shetty’s desk. Marie will tackle that. Jeff (Dan Beirne), God U.’s resident social media extraordinaire, records a video for his fans. He’s free of crutches. It’s time for Hot Jeff Summer (HJS). 

Jordan (in their female form), Marie and Emma stand in the basement of a building that looks like a lab/prison in Gen V Season 1 Episode 8, "Guardians of Godolkin."
GEN V Season 1 Episode 8, “Guardians of Godolkin.” Photo credit: Brooke Palmer/Prime Video.

Jeff encounters one supe from The Woods who’s going on a rampage. He utilizes a sonic whistle to subdue the supes. Then, he places a chip in her mouth and explodes her head, Victoria Neuman style. We see campus security is aware of The Woods supes going on a killing spree. During the Vought board meeting, Ashley is informed of what’s transpiring. Cate makes Jeff the star of a clip for social media. She demands he put the chip in his mouth and explode his own head, which he promptly does. Ashley watches it live. Uh-oh. RIP, Hot Jeff Summer. 

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Then, Adam (P.J. Byrne) watches Liam (Robert Bazzocchi) deliver a monologue from Dawn of the Seven. Adam praises it for being the perfect audition monologue that compliments the director (him) without going into ingratiation territory. Sam tries to kill Adam, but Emma orders him to stand down. The rest of the students clear out of the room. After Adam flees, Emma confronts Sam for his actions. Why is he murdering folks willy-nilly? Sam claims Emma never wanted what was best for him. She merely does things for public acceptance. She wants people to like her. 

Sam states that what he’s doing is normal. He’s ensuring those behind The Woods get their comeuppance. He storms off the stage, leaving Emma to sob. Aw, my girl. She risked everything for him. Suddenly, while crying, Emma shrinks significantly. Interesting. 

Marie sits up in a hospital bed while wearing a blue hospital gown in Gen V Season 1 Episode 8, "Guardians of Godolkin."
GEN V Season 1 Episode 8, “Guardians of Godolkin.” Photo courtesy of Amazon Studios.

Meanwhile, Cate calls Andre, persuading him to meet her at the school. They can be together now. Sure, she killed Shetty, freed The Woods and those once-captive supes are on a rampage, but it’s all gravy. Andre leaves Seven Tower immediately. At the school, Sam sees Luke again. Luke’s ghost tries to convince his little brother to stop this. It’s not him. Killing humans indiscriminately won’t make things better. Sam asks Cate to erase it all — make him feel nothing. She zaps his emotions. He prefers it this way. Committing genocide is awful, and it’s not an excuse for Sam and Cate’s pain. However, I feel for what Sam has endured. 

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Next, Marie hits the emergency lockdown button in Shetty’s office. Justine (Maia Jae Bastidas) and Harper (Jessica Clement) panic because they’re stuck in their room without Wi-Fi. The horror! Ashley lets Adam into the boardroom after he almost outs what they did in the bathroom during a cancer event for children. Oh, we know what these two get up to. The sonic whistle keeps all the supes on campus under control, but not for long.

Ashley makes an executive decision — if a student stops the massacre, they’re automatically inducted into The Seven. She calls Marie and reveals the latter is under consideration to join The Seven. The only catch? Kill everyone responsible for the rampage. 

Then, a helicopter descends to whisk the Vought board away to safety. Cate sends one of the supes flying to damage the helicopter while it’s midair. Thankfully, Andre arrives in time, utilizing his powers to ensure it lands safely. Marie claims they should become the Guardians of Godolkin for real this time. They find Cate leaning against a sign while struggling to collect herself (undoubtedly a side effect of stopping her medication cold turkey). Andre tries to persuade her to stand down. Maverick (Nicholas Hamilton) removes his glasses and hat and attempts to fight Marie while Andre chases down Cate. 

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Of course, Marie can’t see Maverick. She recalls what Victoria Neuman told her. She closes her eyes and senses Maverick’s presence through his blood. Suddenly, we see his veins and heart materialize. Then, Marie knocks him unconscious. We finally see what he looks like when he’s not invisible. While Andre chats with Cate, Sam takes the latter out. Andre and Sam duke it out. Andre gives it his best effort, but Sam is considerably stronger.

However, Andre gains the upper hand when he uses his powers to catch a baton, which he uses to shock Sam. It takes a hot minute, but Sam falls unconscious eventually. Marie tries to appeal to Cate, claiming she only wanted to be a hero for her sister. Cate states she’s not a hero. She’s not even a human — she’s a product. Vought will only see her as a product. After telling Cate to eff off, Marie assists Jordan. Jordan transforms into their male form to take a particularly brutal blast from one woman. Marie kills her by giving her a heart attack. Damn. 

Homelander stands outside Godolkin University during the day while looking serious in Gen V Season 1 Episode 8, "Guardians of Godolkin."
GEN V Season 1 Episode 8, “Guardians of Godolkin.” Photo courtesy of Amazon Studios.

Then, another supe makes a break for the helicopter, where Ashley, Adam and the Vought board are now hiding, thanks to Jordan. Marie closes her eyes, summoning the blood from the dead bodies around her. She morphs the blood into blades, sending them flying toward the errant supe. The blood blades stab him. Badass. (Not the murder per se, but Marie’s powers are blossoming.)

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After Jordan kills another supe, they smile at Marie. Marie reminds them that they’re good together. Unfortunately, Cate moves toward Jordan, hellbent on asking them to do something dangerous. In a panic, Marie makes Cate’s arm explode. Just like that. Pop. Cate screams. As she sits there in tears, a certain someone soars onto campus. You guessed it; it’s Homelander (Antony Starr). He looks at all the carnage around him. Marie tries to address him, but he puts up a finger to stop her. 

Then, Homelander asks Marie if she’s an “animal.” (This has racial overtones.) Why does she want to kill her own kind? Even though he has maybe a minute of screen time, Starr utterly commands this scene. He’s absolutely terrifying. You don’t know what he’ll do next as Homelander. Well, the next thing he does here is unleash the lasers … at Marie. 

Later, Cameron Coleman (Matthew Edison) delivers a news segment regarding “The Godolkin 4 Massacre,” which pins the blame for the bloodshed on Marie, Andre, Jordan and Emma. Cameron also incorrectly crowns Cate and Sam as the “heroes.” Homelander watches from Seven Tower, smiling when Cameron hails Cate and Sam as shining examples of American heroes. Ew. It looks like a move by Homelander to retain his white supremacist fanbase. I guess Vought lets him make PR decisions now. 

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Meanwhile, Marie wakes up in a white room with no doors. She’s in a hospital bed and gown. Jordan, in their female form, greets them. Emma drinks a slushie in a corner while Andre congratulates Marie for taking Homelander’s lasers like a champ. Something tells me Homie controlled their intensity, modifying them to stun, not kill. Anyway, Marie wonders where the hell they are. The screen cuts to black.

Billy Butcher stands in the basement of a building that looks like a prison cell while holding a flashlight and smiling in Gen V Season 1 Episode 8, "Guardians of Godolkin."
GEN V Season 1 Episode 8, “Guardians of Godolkin.” Photo courtesy of Amazon Studios.

In the mid-credits scene, we see none other than Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) scoping out The Woods. He walks into one room, saying, “What a bunch of c*nts,” before smiling at the screen. So, Grace was chatting with him after her convo with Shetty. I figured as much. I wonder what he found down there…

RELATED: Catch up on the collegiate supe shenanigans with our Gen V recaps!

Where do you think our heroes are — trapped in a cell in Seven Tower? Stuck in Cate’s mind? What did Butcher find in The Woods? Is Godolkin going out of business? We’ll find out in Season 2

Gen V drops new episodes every Friday on Prime Video. 

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Melody McCune
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