After an earth-shattering betrayal, and in the face of apocalyptic threats, Mark discovers new allies and wrestles with his greatest fear – that he might become his father. The final episodes of Invincible Season 2 are streaming now on Prime Video. Watch it here.
Note: Spoilers for Invincible Season 2’s currently-available episodes to follow.
It’s hard to believe it’s already almost time to say goodbye to Invincible again. After a massive first season of the Amazon Prime adaptation of Robert Kirkland’s comic series of the same name, season 2 of Invincible came to us in a “one-two-punch” fashion. If you’re curious about which parts of the first half of season 2 we found most shocking, we of course have you covered right here, but with the backend of the show’s sophomore run coming to a close, we figured now would be the perfect time to reflect and revel in the chaos of episodes five through seven before the season finale drops later this week.
In Invincible, we follow the arduous superhero journey of Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun), the titular Invincible, as he navigates the highs and lows of using his alien heritage to defend Earth against all manner of threats. Following season 1’s shocking turn of events that saw Mark, and the rest of humanity’s finest heroes, betrayed by his father, Omni-Man (J. K. Simmons), season 2 has pumped the breaks and instead given us a season focused on the daily dramas of our now expansive ensemble cast. There is still a fair share of explosive moments (we’ll get to those, don’t worry), but season 2’s shocking moments rocked us for their emotional depth as well as their bombastic action.
Nolan’s Grief
At the time of writing our first Invincible season 2 list, we hadn’t had a chance to see the concluding episode of part 1 so you’ll forgive us for taking this moment to yell from the rooftops about its most shocking choice. In the closing episodes of Invincible season 2 part 1, Mark, and the audience, were shocked to discover that Omni Man had returned and was now living a new life on a planet of insectoid aliens known as the Thraxans. It was hardly the reintroduction we imagined and Invincible’s answer to our questions was a shockingly poignant montage, and subsequent plotline, that focused heavily on Nolan’s grief. Having comatosed his own son in the name of his Viltrumite mission, Nolan found himself completely adrift in the galaxy. Too conditioned by his mission to stop but too horrified by his actions to continue, we wrapped the first half of the show’s second season with a sympathetic, if wary, look at the broken heart of the show’s scariest antagonist.
We opened on a quietly reflective montage in which we see Nolan, having fled Earth so fast his son’s blood literally burned off his hands as he breached the atmosphere, adrift in the cosmos to the dulcet tones of Nick Cave’s “Avalanche”. The show has a long history of using licensed music to great effect, but this scene culminates in Nolan seemingly ready to end it all, letting go while hovering near a massive blackhole that threatens to be the one thing that could finally take down Omni-Man. Instead, he is interrupted by a Thraxan ship in danger, saving the aliens aboard in an act that rekindles something deep inside the former hero. The following plot is so packed with revelations and touching moments (from Nolan’s turn against the Viltrumites to the introduction of his new son) that it’s easy to forget just how dark things had gotten for Nolan.
The Missile Room Beatdown
But okay, let’s say you’re looking for something a bit brasher for your shocking moments from season 2 part 2. Well, look no further than the gut-wrenching turn of events for the B-squad of Guardians who, during what they imagine to be a routine takedown of some C-tier villains, are brutally overpowered and suffer one of the worst beatdowns the show has ever made us witness. Everyone’s favourite scaly folk, the Lizard League, get it into their heads to break into a nuclear missile facility and hold the United States at ransom with their ill-gotten new toys. It’s such a basic set-up for an easy win for the Guardians, with Rex Splode (Jason Mantzoukas), Dupli-Kate (Malese Jow), and Shrinking Rae (Grey DeLisle) being the only heroes left on Earth while Mark and co head back into space to deal with some loose threads from season 1’s Martian plotline. Never would anyone, including the heroes, imagine just how bad things would turn when the fight with the Lizard League kicked off.
What starts as your typical mid-episode action break quickly sours as this new Lizard League, under the guidance of King Lizard, proves far more formidable than expected. Komodo Dragon in particular causes three of the show’s more shocking moments in quick succession; the untimely death of Dupli-Kate, overpowered and unable to produce more versions of herself in time, the horrific crippling of Shrinking Rae, who Komodo eats and crushes inside his massive form even as she tries to break free, and finally chomping Rex’s hand clean off, only then stopped by its residual explosive energy. We were completely stunned by this turn of events, the show never being shy about surprise violence, but this instance was truly shocking. It all culminates in Rex taking a bullet to the head, though thankfully his thick skull means he’ll fight another day, though forever changed by this mission gone awry.
Allen!
We bloody love Allen. Seth Rogan’s affable, one-eyed goober of an alien rocketed to fan favourite status back during season 1 but after the fantastic “This Missive, This Machination!” episode that claimed a whole spot on our previous most shocking list, we collectively held our breath waiting to see if he would survive his encounter with the Viltrumites. In the aftermath of the missile room beat down, we cut to a post-credits scene as Allen, last seen having his life support turned off by secret-Viltrumite Thadeus (the goat, Peter Cullen) , waking up in a healing tube. As he fumbles his way out of the pod, we’re reintroduced to the lad now sporting a huge muscular frame and newfound powers unlike anything he had before.
But the most shocking moment of his return was yet to come as it turns out this was all part of a risky plan by Thadeus, who calculated the odds of Allen’s mutation without the support of the life-saving machines. In one of the funniest moments of the show so far, when asked why he would do this, Thadeus literally rips the beard from his face, revealing the classic Viltrumite moustache and proceeds to tell Allen he is but the first step on the road to a full-blown rebellion against his own people. With a now super beefed-up Allen on his side (who we see later in the season absolutely dominating a Viltrumite, go off king), the pushback against the series looming threat is seemingly starting to take shape. Maybe sometime soon we’ll get to see Allen, Invincible, and the recently turned Omni-Man take up arms against the Viltrumites. We can only hope, at least. But for now, it’s just so damn great to have Allen back.
“I can’t live in your world”
Six little words and a whole spiral of emotions begins. Throughout both seasons of Invincible we’ve watched Mark Grayson try to have it all— the good grades, friends, family time, hero stuff, and of course, love. It’s the classic superhero quandary, how do you possibly maintain relationships while at any moment you could be called upon to save the world? For Mark and his long-term girlfriend Amber (Zazie Beetz), the answer was always to just try their best and take it from there. But as season 2 part 2 comes to a close, one of its most shocking moments saw this power couple finally call it quits in one of the show’s most emotionally mature moments yet.
Having told her the truth about his identity already, much of season 2 has focused on how both Mark and Amber feel as if they are failing one another in some way. For Mark, he can’t be there for her, and for Amber, she feels increasingly small in his newly expanded world (well, galaxy really). After some angsty back and forth, it seems as if these two kids are gonna be alright, having found a pocket of time for just each other. But this is Invincible, a show without easy answers and even rarer happy endings. When date night is interrupted by the arrival of yet another Viltrumite who threatens to kill Amber, the last threads of their relationship finally unravel and a bruised and beaten Mark returns to Amber’s dorm room as the two fall into a heap on the floor having decided enough is enough.
Invincible is often heralded as tackling the superhero genre with a deft touch and this scene, along with Nolan’s slow turn back toward his own humanity, solidifies season 2 as the show’s most mature yet. While Mark initially tries to bargain his way to a happy relationship, Amber snaps into focus, explaining that in Mark’s life she has no agency or control and that her sense of self has been lost. It’s a beautifully shocking moment, a totally raw look at the emotional toll of being “the girlfriend” in these stories, warts and all. Love isn’t enough sometimes, and as Amber puts herself first, so too does Invincible in Mark’s life, one of the few remaining shreds of his normal existence giving way and setting up Invincible to go new and exciting places in seasons to come.
The final episodes of Invincible Season 2 are streaming now on Prime Video. Watch it here.
