School is finally back in session: The second season of “The Boys” spinoff “Gen V” debuts Sept. 17 on Amazon’s Prime Video with a three-episode batch to start.

Since it’s been almost two years between the show’s freshman installment and this sophomore year, fans might need some supplemental reading materials to refresh their memories about important characters and plot points before heading into Season 2. But preparing for the return of “Gen V” requires more than just recapping fiction, since the real-world death of star Chance Perdomo before Season 2 began filming has had a heavy impact on production, and thus the show’s plot, moving forward.

The first season finale of “Gen V,” titled “Guardians of Godolkin,” ends with Godolkin University students Marie (Jaz Sinclair), Andre (Perdomo), Jordan (Derek Luh/London Thor) and Emma (Lizze Broadway) trapped inside some kind of hospital room with no doors and no clue how they got there, following a massive battle on the God U grounds.

The fight at Godolkin took place when Cate (Maddie Phillips) persuaded Sam (Asa Germann) to join her in turning on the non-supe humans and looking to exterminate them as retribution for the ways Cate, Sam and other supes have been treated by non-supes beause of fear of their powers. Cate does all of this after first killing her mentor, God U’s Dean Shetty (Shelley Conn), when Cate discovers Shetty is trying to spread a virus to kill off supes.

(Dean Shetty’s grudge against supes was revealed to stem from the fact that her husband and daughter were killed when Vought’s star supes Homelander and Queen Maeve abandoned them, and all the other passengers on Transoceanic Flight 37, to die when they botched a rescue mission of the hijacked plane on “The Boys” in Season 1.)

Cate is the girlfriend of Golden Boy/Luke Riordan (Patrick Schwarzenegger) and Sam is his brother, who had spent years hidden away from his family and society due to the destructive nature of his powers. Golden Boy killed himself earlier in the season, upon finding out there were nefarious dealings at Godolkin tied to him.

Prior to Golden Boy’s death, Andre and Jordan were good friends with Golden Boy and Cate, and the four were among the most popular and beloved of the students at God U. When Marie and Emma came in as freshman at the start of the season, they quickly fell in with Jordan, Cate and Andre in the wake of Golden Boy’s death, unaware that Cate was using her powers at different points to make them each forget about things — including Andre not knowing and he and Cate were having an affair while his best friend Golden Boy was still alive.

As the gang tries to uncover the mystery of why Golden Boy killed himself and what’s going on at God U, Marie and Jordan develop romantic feelings for one another. Emma and Sam fall for each other, too, after she rescues him from his life in captivity under God U, but he turns on her when his rage over his own treatment and his brother’s death pushes him to join Cate in her mission against the non-supes.

“Gen V” Season 1 concluded in November 2023, with Marie surviving a fight with Homelander during this larger battle over the virus, only to be locked up with Andre, Emma and Jordan with no idea where they were being held or why.

That was the plot the “Gen V” writers were working off prior to Perdomo’s sudden death in a motorcycle crash in March 2024. At the time of his death, Amazon confirmed his role would not be recast and the planned storyline for Season 2 would be adjusted and production would be delayed accordingly.

While much of what has been changed won’t be known until “Gen V” Season 2 has aired, Amazon’s teases for the new batch of episodes offer some clues about the direction it’s taking, including the addition of Hamish Linklater as God U’s new dean.

Per Amazon’s description for “Gen V” Season 2: “As the rest of America adjusts to Homelander’s iron fist, back at Godolkin University, the mysterious new Dean preaches a curriculum that promises to make students more powerful than ever. Cate and Sam are celebrated heroes, while Marie, Jordan, and Emma reluctantly return to college, burdened by months of trauma and loss. But parties and classes are hard to care about with war brewing between Humans and Supes, both on and off campus. The gang learns of a secret program that goes back to the founding of Godolkin University that may have larger implications than they realize. And, somehow, Marie is a part of it.”