Gen V accomplishes many things in Season 2, but it most notably does not shy away from the tragic loss of series star Chance Perdomo, who passed away after Season 1 in March 2024 at the age of 27.

The Boys spinoff returned to Prime Video Sept. 17, almost two-and-a-half years after its debut, and Perdomo’s absence from the show is inescapable. Picking up months after the events of Season 1, the Season 2 premiere wastes no time in explaining what happened to Andre Anderson when he, Marie (Jaz Sinclair) and the others were imprisoned at the Elmira Adult Rehabilitation Center.

As the show explains it, Andre’s bright future was tragically cut short when he tried to use his metal-bending abilities in a desperate attempt to break them out of the facility. Andre suffered a fatal stroke; a result of the same condition that his father Polarity (Sean Patrick Thomas) kept from him, exacerbated every time they use their abilities.

“I think the writers, and the producers, and the showrunner did a fantastic job of honoring Chance and Andre, and you can really feel him throughout the entire show for sure,” Sinclair told DECIDER ahead of the Season 2 premiere.

Production on Season 2 experienced delays as the series writers rewrote Season 2 to “honor Chance and his legacy,” instead of recasting his role. In the end, the loss permeates the entire season as the stars mourn Perdomo in real time and give his character, who was seemingly set up for a major role in Season 2, the sendoff he deserves.

But few on the show are as impacted by Andre’s death as his father, who turns to drinking to cope with his grief. It’s ultimately Lizze Broadway‘s Emma who pulls him out of his stupor and asks him to step up as part of their resistance against the fascistic hold gripping Godolkin University, telling him it’s what Andre would have wanted. It also sparks a hilariously unlikely alliance between Polarity and Emma that, in a way, heals them both.

Thomas told DECIDER that he felt “the show handled Chance’s absence beautifully.”

“I think that the show decided that this character is too important to the canvas of the show, and he’s so important to these actors and these real human beings in real life, to not give him his full breadth of what he meant to all of us on- and off-screen,” Thomas said. “I think they did a wonderful job in doing that. I think all of us in front of the camera, behind the camera, we all felt a responsibility to make sure that we give Chance the best sendoff we possibly could because he deserved it.”

Thomas added, “He was one-of-a-kind and a brilliant individual. Brilliant actor. And, hopefully, we did him justice.”

Broadway, who plays the size-shifting supe Emma, also shared that she was glad she got to honor Perdomo, whose passing left “a profound void in my heart,” she wrote in her tribute to the star after his passing.

“Chance was my hero,” she said ahead of Season 2. “So the fact that I got to say that was really, really, really beautiful.”

The first three episodes of Gen V Season 2 are streaming now. New episodes of Gen V drop Wednesdays on Prime Video.