Gen V Directly Tied to The Boys S1’s Most Jaw-Dropping Event

Summary:

• The whole reason for Shetty's hatred of superhumans is rooted in a tragedy that occurred in the first season of The Boys
• Indira's plan is so horrifying that it leaves her without the support of one of the few people capable of standing up to the supes

The Gen V spin-off massively influenced the story of The Boys by introducing viewers to a sinister plan orchestrated by the Dean of Godolkin University, Indira Shetty, to get rid of every single superhuman on the planet.

In a clear reference to the final agenda of Billy Butcher from the original The Boys comics, created by Garth Ennis, she secretly developed a special virus that would only infect those with Compound V in their systems.

Throughout the show's storyline, we saw Shetty manipulate Dr. Cardosa, the head scientist at the secret facility underneath the university, to not only complete his project, but to make it even more deadly and airborne.

Fans wondered why the woman in charge of an educational institution dedicated to training young superheroes would hate them, including her own students, so much that she would resort to such radical measures.

After all, not all supes are evil from the start, as most of them are corrupted by corporate shenanigans and their own unlimited power later on, and some even avoid turning to the dark side and remain decent human beings.

Now, as the show nears the end of season 1, the just-released episode 7 provided a long-awaited answer to this lingering question and revealed that it is directly related to one of the most important events from the first season of the main series.

What Was Shetty’s True Motivation in Gen V?

Though Shetty appeared to show compassion for some of her students, it was a facade masking her true, deep-seated hatred of all superhumans.

However, her motivations are now quite understandable, as it all stems from a personal tragedy that changed the course of Indira's life.

Her husband and daughter were among the many victims of the crash of the Transoceanic Flight 37, which was caused by none other than Homelander himself and happened way back in episode 4 of season 1 of The Boys TV series.

Though it was an accident, as the reckless Superman lookalike destroyed the plane's controls while killing one of the hijackers, he and Queen Maeve left the poor passengers to die without even attempting to save them.

While this event has haunted Maeve ever since, Homelander didn't care that he basically murdered dozens of people, only that the true nature of the disaster was never revealed to the general public.

Without that terrible tragedy, the whole Gen V story would never have happened, and Indira would have simply continued as Dean of Godolkin University.

Surprising Parallels Between Gen V & The Boys

As Shetty gets closer to perfecting the virus, she meets with Grace Mallory, another familiar character from the main series, who is horrified by Indira's plan and draws clear parallels between her and Billy Butcher, who is also intent on destroying supes, no matter the cost.

Without Grace's support, Shetty is left with no allies, having developed the plan in secret from her Vought employers.

For better or worse, she soon meets her demise when Cate Dunlap, sick of being manipulated by Shetty and now aware of her intentions to commit outright genocide, uses her mind-control powers to make Indira slit her own throat.

The final episode of the first season of Gen V will be released on November 3, 2023, but since the show has already been renewed for a second season, it may not resolve all of the lingering storylines, leaving something for later.