History YMMV / GenLock

** The nature of [[spoiler:Cammie [[DrivenToSuicide effectively committing suicide]] via [[AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Ascension]] (with a PublicServiceAnnouncement even being made on the topic of suicide in the episode it occurs in making it seem like it was being treated as a ''very'' bad thing), only for said suicide's impact to be negated when it's the very reason she returns as a powerful {{Technopath}} over nanotechnology in time to save the day, as well as Ascension being treated as a good thing when it becomes the team's answer to stop Project Twilight and a solution provided to the ''whole world'']] in Season 2 is another hotly mentioned unfavorable aspect of the show whenever it's brought up in conversation nowadays, with many people agreeing the show's portrayal of suicide is both very disgusting and sends an outright harmful message by treating it as a positive solution. Not helping this is when another [=RoosterTeeth=] series, ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', had similar usage of plot-and-character-progressing suicide throughout Volume 9[[labelnote:Explanation]]The Paper Pleasers killing themselves when Jaune was trying to force them to stay alive only to be reincarnated via ''RWBY'''s own form of Ascension as better people, Ruby being tortured into killing herself via Ascension only to effectively get an enlightening self-discovery chat out of it, and Neo willingly committing Ascension for the sake of finding herself[[/labelnote]], detractors of either or both webseries immediately drew negative comparisons to what ''gen:LOCK'' did.

** The nature of [[spoiler:Cammie [[DrivenToSuicide effectively committing suicide]] via [[AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Ascension]] (with a PublicServiceAnnouncement even being made on the topic of suicide in the episode it occurs in making it seem like it was being treated as a ''very'' bad thing), only for said suicide's impact to be negated when it's the very reason she returns as a powerful {{Technopath}} over nanotechnology in time to save the day, as well as Ascension being treated as a good thing when it becomes the team's answer to stop Project Twilight and a solution provided to the ''whole world'']] in Season 2 is another hotly mentioned unfavorable aspect of the show whenever it's brought up in conversation nowadays, with many people agreeing the show's portrayal of suicide is both very disgusting and sends an outright harmful message by treating it as a positive solution. Not helping this is when another [=RoosterTeeth=] series, ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', had similar themes in a subplot in Volume 9, detractors of either or both webseries immediately drew negative comparisons to what ''gen:LOCK'' did.

** With how bleak the second season was, people have chosen to consider it non-canon, citing the production being handled by [[OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight HBO Max was the blame]]. A couple of months after its release, a new volume of {{WebAnimation/RWBY}} released and shared similarities with Gen:LOCK's second season, namely being "more about the characters" and [[spoiler:a subplot regarding a main character being DrivenToSuicide, to the point where it's even worded as Ascension]]. The kicker? That volume was handled ''by'' the same production crew that has handled RWBY the whole time, meaning that the same excuse that Gen:LOCK's second season got couldn't apply.

* OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight: This has become the case with the vast level of criticism regarding Season 2. While Season 1 was not perfect by any means, nevermind the controversy surrounding it and series creator Gray Haddock, but several fans would rather have Creator/RoosterTeeth remain in charge of the series, though whether these sentiments remain after [[https://twitter.com/KdinJenzen/status/1581450708477300736 it's revealed by one of Rooster Teeth's former employees]] that the company was in on how bad Season 2 was gonna be but did nothing to change it remains to be seen.

** "I'll buy it off you for $10."[[labelnote:Explanation]]When it was announced that ''Creator/RoosterTeeth'' would be shutting down in 2024, many news articles would have a notice that several of the shows the company was working on (Such as ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' and ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue''... Along with ''gen:LOCK'') would be sold to other companies. Given how ''gen:LOCK'''s reputation has gone down the gutter after the second season, many people joked about the show not being purchased at all, or random people purchasing it for a ComicallySmallBribe.[[/labelnote]]

** The nature of [[spoiler:Cammie [[DrivenToSuicide effectively committing suicide]] via [[AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Ascension]] (with a PublicServiceAnnouncement even being made on the topic of suicide in the episode it occurs in making it seem like it was being treated as a ''very'' bad thing), only for said suicide's impact to be negated when it's the very reason she returns as a powerful {{Technopath}} over nanotechnology in time to save the day, as well as Ascension being treated as a good thing when it becomes the team's answer to stop Project Twilight and a solution provided to the ''whole world'']] in Season 2 is another hotly mentioned topic when it comes to the show's unfavorable aspects whenever it's brought up in conversation nowadays, with many people agreeing the show's portrayal of suicide is both very disgusting and borderline to outright harmful. Not helping this is when a subplot in Volume 9 of another [=RoosterTeeth=] series, ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', had similar themes, detractors of either or both webseries immediately drew negative comparisons to what ''gen:LOCK'' did.

** The nature of [[spoiler:Cammie [[DrivenToSuicide effectively committing suicide]] via [[AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Ascension]] (with a PublicServiceAnnouncement even being made on the topic of suicide in the episode it occurs in making it seem like it was being treated as a ''very'' bad thing), only for said suicide's impact to be negated when it's the very reason she returns as a powerful {{Technopath}} over nanotechnology in time to save the day, as well as Ascension being treated as a good thing when it becomes the team's answer to stop Project Twilight]] in Season 2 is another hotly mentioned topic when it comes to the show's unfavorable aspects whenever it's brought up in conversation nowadays, with many people agreeing the show's portrayal of suicide is both very disgusting and borderline to outright harmful.

** Leon's blatant BusCrash in the first episode of Season 2 was a somewhat amusing statement that disgraced creator Gray Haddock would not be returning. It became less amusing when the rest of the season witnesses CharactersDroppingLikeFlies, with the characters chosen to kill off coming across as nothing so much as the show getting rid of some of its more expensive voice actors. The jab at Haddock becomes even harsher than ''that'' with 2022's revelations that his abusive directorial practices were more the fault of Rooster Teeth corporate culture in general rather than his alone and were very much still going on after his firing.

** The nature of [[spoiler:Cammie [[DrivenToSuicide effectively committing suicide]] via [[AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Ascension]] (with a PublicServiceAnnouncement even being made on the topic of suicide in the episode it occurs in), only for said suicide to be negated when she returns as a powerful {{Technopath}} over nanotechnology, as well as Ascension being treated as a good thing when it becomes the team's answer to stop Project Twilight]] in Season 2 is another hotly mentioned topic when it comes to the show's unfavorable aspects whenever it's brought up in conversation nowadays, with many people agreeing the show's portrayal of suicide is both very disgusting and borderline to outright harmful.

** The nature of [[spoiler:Cammie [[DrivenToSuicide effectively committing suicide]] via [[AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Ascension]], with a PublicServiceAnnouncement even being made on the topic of suicide in the episode it occurs in, only to return as a powerful {{Technopath}} over nanotechnology, as well as Ascension becoming the team's answer to stop Project Twilight in Season 2]] is another hotly mentioned topic when it comes to the show's unfavorable aspects whenever it's brought up in conversation nowadays, with many viewers considering it a very disgusting and borderline harmful way to portray something as serious as suicide.

** The nature of [[spoiler:Cammie [[DrivenToSuicide effectively committing suicide]] via [[AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Ascension]] only to return as a powerful {{Technopath}} over nanotechnology, as well as Ascension becoming the team's answer to stop Project Twilight in Season 2]] is another hotly mentioned topic when it comes to the show's unfavorable aspects whenever it's brought up in conversation nowadays, with many viewers considering it a very disgusting and borderline harmful way to portray something as serious as suicide.

** The nature of [[spoiler:Cammie [[DrivenToSuicide effectively committing suicide]] via [[AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Ascension]] only to return as a powerful {{Technopath}} over nanotechnology, as well as Ascension becoming the team's answer to stop Project Twilight in Season 2]] is another hotly mentioned topic when it comes to the show's unfavorable aspects whenever it's brought up in conversation nowadays, with many viewers considering it a very disgusting and unhealthy way to portray something as serious as suicide.

** With how bleak the second season was, people have chosen to consider it non-canon, citing the production being handled by [[OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight HBO Max was the blame]]. A couple of months after its release, a new volume of {{WebAnimation/RWBY}} and shares similarities with Gen:LOCK's second season, namely being "more about the characters" and [[spoiler:a subplot regarding a main character being DrivenToSuicide, to the point where it's even worded as Ascension]]. The kicker? That volume was handled ''by'' the same production crew that has handled RWBY the whole time, meaning that the same excuse that Gen:LOCK's second season got couldn't apply.

** With how bleak the second season was, people have chosen to consider it non-canon, citing the production being handled by [[OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight HBO Max was the blame]]. A couple of months after its release, a new volume of {{WebAnimation/RWBY}} and shares similarities with Gen:LOCK's second season, namely being "more about the characters" and [[spoiler:a subplot regarding a main character being DrivenToSuicide, to the point where it's even worded as Ascension]]. The kicker? That volume was handled ''by'' the same production crew that has handled RWBY the whole time, meaning that the same excuse that Gen:LOCK's second season couldn't apply.

** With how bleak the second season was, people have chosen to consider it non-canon, citing the production being handled more by [[OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight HBO Max as the blame]]. A couple of months after its release, a new volume of {{WebAnimation/RWBY}} and shares similarities with Gen:LOCK's second season, namely being "more about the characters" and [[spoiler:a subplot regarding a main character being DrivenToSuicide, to the point where it's even worded as Ascension]]. The kicker? That volume was handled ''by'' the same production crew that has handled RWBY the whole time.

* MagnificentBastard: [[TheSmartGuy Dr. Rufus Weller]] is a brilliant scientist within the Polity's Experimental Science Unit and creator of the titular [=gen:LOCK=] project which he presents to them as a way to combat [[TheEmpire The Union]]. The project involves having Weller's pilots minds control [[{{Mecha}} Holons]], with Julius Chase being the first successful project where Weller reveals that he copied Chase's conscience prior to The Union stealing Chase's original mind, a secret that Weller kept from Chase. Having recruited five others to [=gen:LOCK=] with one of them being a spy and who demands that Weller uploads him onto a Holon, Weller seemingly complies to his demands only for him to fry his brain and kill him, which Weller uses as a lesson on what happens to those who aren't [=gen:LOCK=] compatible. When The Union led by Nemesis attacks the Anvil, Weller sacrifices his life so that everyone can escape, taking several Union soldiers with him, while downloading his knowledge of [=gen:LOCK=] onto [[RobotMaid Caliban]] so [[ThanatosGambit Weller]] can still help them fight, allowing them to defeat the Union and destroy Nemesis.

* HarsherInHindsight: Leon's blatant BusCrash in the first episode of Season 2 was a somewhat amusing statement that disgraced creator Gray Haddock would not be returning. It became less amusing when the rest of the season witnesses CharactersDroppingLikeFlies, with the characters chosen to kill off coming across as nothing so much as the show getting rid of some of its more expensive voice actors. The jab at Haddock becomes even harsher than ''that'' with 2022's revelations that his abusive directorial practices were more the fault of Rooster Teeth corporate culture in general rather than his alone and were very much still going on after his firing.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: Surprisingly, a vocal number of parents have come out to express their complaints against Season 2's HotterAndSexier scenes as this means they can no longer watch the show with their young children. While ''gen:LOCK'' does have the ''outward'' appearance of a brightly colored Franchise/PowerRangers-esque {{Mecha}} cartoon, the show never hid the fact it was made for older audiences with WordOfGod citing that the series was envisioned first and foremost as a MilitaryScienceFiction inspired by the works of Franchise/{{Gundam}} and Creator/TomClancy. The first season alone featured graphic violence and a mass-casualty incident in the form of the Union's terrorist attack on New York, dark humor, profane language, and thematic elements exploring various philosophical, political, and social issues that wouldn't be considered appropriate for children. The fact that gen:LOCK would eventually air on Creator/AdultSwim's Creator/{{Toonami}} block only reaffirms that it was meant for older audiences.