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Vikor, the pompous, rancid viking, finally meets his match in this week’s episode of Gen V, and it’s none other than Victoria Neuman’s own daughter, Zoe Neuman.
The Boys character, played by actress Olivia Morandin, seemingly comes out of nowhere in Season 2, Episode 6, after Vikor ambushes Marie (Jaz Sinclair) and her friends when they’re hiding out at the library. But Zoe has the element of surprise on her side when she arrives with a polite, “Excuse me.”
It’s none other than the little girl fans saw Victoria (Claudia Doumit) inject with Compound V in The Boys Season 3. The painful transformation she underwent ultimately paid off. Fans already got a glimpse of what she’s capable of in Season 4 when she used her powers against Kimiko and Frenchie. But this face-off with Vikor is far more brutal and well-deserved.
Vikor’s instinct is to, of course, underestimate and condescend to her by telling her to “run along.” The peaceful moment only lasts a second until she unleashes her tentacles on him, reminding viewers, Oh yeah, this is totally Victoria’s daughter. And this is not a supe you want to mess with.
Zoe is far more lethal than her looks would suggest. She goes straight for the eyes and decapitates him with her tentacles, ripping his head clean off his body. When she turns back to tell her grandfather – the former Vought CEO Stan Edgar (Giancarlo Esposito) himself – that she found Marie, her smug, blood-soaked smile is a stark contrast from the fact that, just weeks ago, Marie and her classmates failed to take Vikor down themselves in Dean Cipher’s class.
But the shock of her epic entrance wanes as the episode goes on. Zoe’s story is tragic, and her timely reintroduction just as Marie learns she and Homelander were both products of Project Odessa highlights that there are likely thousands of stories like theirs in a universe where something like Compound V exists.
Zoe is surprisingly chipper and in much brighter spirits than the rest of the gang when her grandfather escorts them to his underground bunker. She reveals that she spent months in Red River Institute after her parents died until her grandfather came to rescue her. She seems sheltered but surprisingly brave in the way she proudly embraces her powers, despite only recently developing them.
Her horrifying abilities do not seem so terrible when you listen to her reflect on her life.
“I wish there was something I could have done to protect them,” she tells Annabeth of her parents. “That’s why I’m here, to make sure nothing happens to grandpa.”
Who is Gen V star Olivia Morandin?
Morandin is quite the newcomer. Zoe Neuman marks her first major role; she began acting in 2020 with appearances in Supergirl and Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist before she began appearing as Victoria’s daughter in The Boys in 2022.
Seeing Morandin appear in Gen V Season 2 was a welcome surprise and bodes well for the character’s future on The Boys. Will she get revenge on Butcher for killing her mother? Will she join Marie in her increasingly inevitable rematch against Homelander?
Only time will tell.
How To Watch Gen V
New episodes of Gen V drop Wednesdays on Prime Video.
