Invincible Season 2 Part 2 Early Review

The following is a spoiler-free review of the last four episodes of Season 2 of Invincible (Part 1 review here), airing weekly starting March 14th on Prime Video

Almost everything seems to come in multiple parts nowadays for a multitude of reasons. Many recent ones could be attributed to the pair of strikes occurring for much of the back half of last year but in the case of Invincible, the added wrinkle of animation makes it that much more complicated, especially under an accelerated timeline as a means to reduce the gap between seasons. Now while the first half of Season 2 bowed out at the end of last November, the final half of the season is now upon us. Picking up where the first half left off, the focus continues to be on the Grayson family but more importantly, Mark as he continued his journey to come into his own as an individual and as Invincible. And just like the first half, everything else more or less lagged behind. Expectedly ramping the action, intensity, and brutality as the story reaches its climax, the result of that may leave some viewers unsatisfied once the finale comes to an end. Technically speaking, the level of animation, be it characters, environments, or action, goes without saying as does its performances with Steven Yeun and Sandra Oh still leading the way.

As mentioned, picking up where the first half left off, Mark/Invincible took some time to recover while helping Thraxa recover from the Viltrumite attack that left the planet badly damaged and Omni-Man abducted. Doing all he could to help, he eventually needed to go back to Earth but this time, he wasn’t alone. Upsetting the Grayson family dynamic once more, it wasn’t something they couldn’t handle. On a personal level, missing months from school left his educational prospects in jeopardy. Nevertheless, William and Amber did their best to hold it down in his absence. The latter, in particular, was tested as she learned to adjust to her position as the girlfriend of a superhero and whether or not that kind of life was worth it. Though that introspection went both ways as Mark had to learn to balance what he wanted against what was in Amber’s best interest, having witnessed the relationship between his parents firsthand. Meanwhile, the Guardians of the Globe encountered a fair share of adversity and drama of their own as they found themselves faced with an identity crisis. Taking some hits, they needed to forge a way forward as a threat they believed to be vanquished followed them back to Earth.

In the meantime, speaking of threats that remained, Angstrom was also around on top of everything else. Seemingly pushed to the side until the writers remembered to finish off his part in the story, serving no other purpose but to push Mark further over the edge in his journey to carve his own path outside of the shadow left by his father. As that played out, the endgame was slowly being shaped. The thoughts of what had happened to his father still bothered Mark though he had a clue he left behind before he was taken. Delving into Nolan/Omni-Man’s past went in some interesting directions though at the end of the day, it was only a matter of time until the universe caught up with Mark as it was nowhere near done with him. Regardless of his state of mind, he would have to answer that call one way or another. However, the answer as to the fate of Mark, Omni-Man, other key characters, and the universe as a whole will have to wait as the series looks to tackle that and more next season.

Building on the strong character work from the first half, anything having to do with Mark was easily the best part of the second half and the season as a whole while Debbie made some strong headway of her own, on a similar path to find purpose and a path forward post-Nolan. A surprising standout came from an unlikely source as a consummate side character found themselves pulled to the forefront and another made a welcomed return. As it became clear that the season had one foot in the present and one foot in the future, its disjoined narrative was a little disappointing as some will be left with what feels like an incomplete season with plenty of unfinished business. In the end, being the second half of a season, one can’t help but want at least some sense of finality.

Going back to the performances, Yeun and Oh continue to bring it and more than capable of carrying the emotion weight of the series. The former takes Mark Grayson to yet another level, showing off more of his range as he was tasked to go even deeper when faced with some big decisions while contemplating his life moving forward. As anybody who watched the first half of the season knows, Omni-Man made his triumphant return be wasn’t the Viltrumite everyone remembered as the confident, bordering on arrogant, figure became a shell of himself. Showing remorse and coming to terms with his actions towards his family and the human race, he was resigned to his fate once captured and that defeat showed in Simmons’ subdued performance. But as a whole, everyone was on their game.

At the end of the day, the back half of Invincible Season 2 sees a disjointed season come to an end in the same way it started. While strong moments of character development still shone through. Narrative issues aside, the series remains unparalleled on a technical level animation wise. Though not without action and few other surprises, it is sure to leave many wanting more as they will have to wait for next season for resolution.

still courtesy of Prime Video

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.