Folks we have made it to the end of the final episode of Invincible. Just before the episode dropped, Amazon announced that the show would be returning for a second season. This initial season though has set a high standard, I think it compares well to standout series like Batman: The Animated Series and the 90s Spider-Man series. The hope is that Invincible can change the landscape even half as much as those two shows did.

Invincible season 1 episode 8
it’s been a day

Before we break down the episode and season we have to talk about the source material that the show draws faithfully from. Invincible wouldn’t be this amazing without the comics on which it is based, I’d argue that ignoring or twisting the source material beyond all recognition is the go-to mistake of a lot of modern superhero TV shows.

The show itself makes the effort thanks in no small part to the author team being involved as well as an incredible cast and crew. The animation team bring the characters to life and the violence into almost uncomfortable levels of realism.

Invincible Prime Video
He really said pet

When we open the episode Mark is reeling after seeing Nolan kill the Immortal right in front of his eyes. It is crazy to remember that up to this point Mark has seen nothing from his father that would seem suspicious that couldn’t be put down to him hallucinating. To absorb all this at once is a hell of a thing.

That Viltrum Life

The explanation of Viltrumite culture is horrifying and feels like a war cult on a planetary scale. The things he says about humanity and Debbie not just in the initial talk but once the fight begins is hard to hear and brushes against the extremism of the real world a bit too closely.

Invincible S01E08 Where I Come From
Honestly a white uniform seems an unwise choice

The fight scene as several parties watch is brutal and unrelenting, this episode probably needs its own special warning for violence and gore. I think that subway scene may well pop up in my nightmares. All the carnage from when Invincible and Omni-man’s fight moves to Chicago feels almost real like the fallout from a natural disaster.

Mark’s powerlessness during that whole “fight” is palpable which given the knowledge of how much of an age difference there is between them it seems like a featherweight taking on a super heavyweight. Nolan’s flashback leaves me in two minds I’ve heard some describe him as a sociopath but I don’t think it is that simple, he’s a member of a cult and it looks like he is struggling with their programming.

Invincible Season Finale
Guardians of the Globe

That The Earth Stood Still

Seeing the fallout of the fight after Omni-Man’s departure from those multiple perspectives and the Guardians of the Globe assisting in the clean-up conveyed that this literally changed the world. It is also interesting to see that Mark experiences his own memories of his hero journey. He always wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and now he has some small idea of what that means.

The final talk with our illiterate alien gave us a nice taste of things to come integrated into the episode. It was a nice touch especially now that we know that is a taste of things to come and not just a hope. I really can’t express how happy I am that this show is sticking around in the medium turn and I can only hope that now people will tell their friends to watch and those friends will tell their friends.

See you for Season Two.

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