You Call this a Viltrumite War? I’ve Seen Worse

Invincible S4 Ep 6 Review

You know, you would think that when the show reached the Viltrumite War Arc, Amazon would pull out all the stops. That they would want to put as much as their seemingly endless reserves of cash into making the Viltrumite War as epic as possible. And, admittedly, this episode was pretty dang epic. But you know what the biggest problem about it was? We barely got any time to deal with the actual war, with a good part focusing on the Grayson men bonding on a deserted planet.

Maybe all these years of Shonen Anime have just spoiled me when it comes to war arcs.

Let the War Begin!

So, as was established by the end of the last episode, Conquest is dead. Mark made sure of that this time, and Cecil wasn’t around to mess it up. The bad news? He’s left in a coma while his body heals from getting his intestines almost pulled out! Since it’s too risky to move Mark in his current condition and since they’re in Viltrumite territory, Nolan and Oliver have to spend the next two months looking after him. And this is where the show’s changes to the story start to come into play.

As previously established in my last review, unlike in the comics, Oliver in the show is mad at his dad when he returns. Both for not even bothering to come see him, and because he heard him call his time with Andressa a mistake. As I predicted, having your kid think they were a mistake is one of the worst things a parent can do to their kid, and Nolan knows this. He knows it, he knows he screwed up big time, and he spends the entire time they’re watching Mark trying to prove that he didn’t mean that. He even admits that he was lying because he was dumb and didn’t want Debbie to hate him anymore than she already did. In reality, Andressa saved him at his lowest point and gave him a reason to keep on living.

Like it or not, spending two months on a deserted planet will tend to make someone forget why they’re angry at a person. And as they both watch over Mark, Nolan and Oliver end up bonding together. I especially liked seeing them fish together and spar. Not so much the part where Oliver revealed he’s attracted to arthopods like his maternal family, but to each their own. Yet another reason why shipping him and Zoe won’t work. But eventually, Mark does wake up.

This is a nitpick, by the way, but the beard that Mark has in the show doesn’t do him any justice. The comics had him sporting a sweet beard making him look like Jesus!

The sad thing about this episode is that these slower moments with the Grayson men were the major highlight of the episode. Because, and I can be wrong about it, I don’t think the actual Viltrumite War hit as hard as it could.

Meh. I’ve Seen Better Wars

So, despite its three extra Viltrumites out of commission, Thadeus decides that the Viltrumites low numbers means now is the time to go to war. And with the likes of Allen, Battle Beast, Tech Jacket, and Space Racer, they are actually able to give the Viltrumites a run for their money. Over the course of a montage, we see the war play out across the galaxy as the Coalition and Empire clash in epic battles. We get to hear Peter Cullen deliver an epic speech while Thragg’s VA delivers an equally chilling one. And we see the true extent of what a galactic conflict is capable of. So why am I not that impressed?

Again, I think that it has to do with the sort of things I’ve been exposed to in the past. Many of the anime that I have enjoyed have had war arcs. We see the characters we know and love get thrown onto the battlefield and fight to survive, and not all of them may end up making it home alive. They have some real emotional stakes to them and can serve as a good way to give the supporting cast a chance to shine. Yet because the comic book didn’t put a lot of focus on the actual war until Mark and his family join the fight, we never get to see the full extent of everything the Coalition Heroes are going through. This is something that could have been told over an entire season, or at least half of it, but they’re largely rushing it in this one episode. And I don’t like that at all!

It does at least pick up in the final act, though, when Thragg launches a sneak attack on the Coalition’s homeworld. A sneak attack that is thwarted by the arrival of the Graysons, but at great cost. At least they get the mole who’s been feeding the Viltrumites info out of fear.

Do Better, Amazon!

With the war now turning against them, Thragg and the remaining Viltrumites have fallen back to Viltrum to regroup. In other words, the final battle is about to commence. And again, I wish that the show had given us more time to let this war play out. But I guess Amazon wanted to put more of its budget into The Boys for its final season. Not that I blame them; I won’t be satisfied until I see Homelander’s violent and unbearably painful demise.

By the way, I liked the way they pranked us at the end by making us think that Conquest was gonna rise from the grave. But no; he’s dead, and he’s not coming back. Negan isn’t coming back, people!

I Give “You look Horrible” a 3/5