Gen V: What is The Woods?

Amidst super-powered passion and violence, Gen V centers on the enigmatic location called The Woods – but what secrets lie within? Let’s delve into what we’ve uncovered.

Gen V is a spinoff from The Boys, a show that treats superheroes as dangerous, often-rogue corporate IP who line Vought’s pockets and carry out countless dirty deeds, whether it’s bloody black-ops missions in the Middle East or the secret assassination of a mayor.

There’s no Homelander-level threat in the new series, but the stakes are stark. After all, Godolkin is basically a massive battle royale between the next generation of supes, some of whom might even be (un)lucky enough to join The Seven.

However, surprisingly, that elbow-jabbing competitiveness to be number one isn’t the main drive of Gen V – after the first three episodes, it appears to be The Woods. Spoilers to follow…

What is The Woods in Gen V?

The Woods is a secret facility underneath Godolkin University where volatile, abandoned supes become the subject of grueling experiments.

The Woods is first mentioned when Andre and Marie unwittingly prevent Sam, Luke’s brother, from escaping the campus. “I’m not going back to the f*cking woods,” he screams, before he’s apprehended and carried back to his cell through a corridor with trees painted on the walls, hence its name.

Later, we see Luke having a nightmare about his brother trapped in a place surrounded by trees. “Please help me,” he says.

After Golden Boy’s death, Andre and Cate find his phone, where he left a message. “It’s like this f*cked up hospital or something,” he explains. “They did messed-up things to him and to me, and [Professor Brinkerhoff] is part of this.”

Whatever’s going on there, it’s “potentially fatal” for the reputation of Vought, according to Ashley. When Andre mentions The Woods to his dad, he pulls him into a hug and warns: “Don’t say another f*cking word… you could get yourself killed.”

The aim of the experiments remain unclear, as we only briefly see a spike being hammered into Sam’s back, but we’re expecting to find out more in the coming weeks.

Gen V is available on Prime Video now, which you can sign up for here. You can check out our other coverage below:

Gen V review | When does Gen V take place in The Boys timeline? | What time is Gen V on Prime Video? | Gen V cast and characters | Gen V runtimes explained | Gen V release schedule

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