Invincible S4 Ep 8 Review
The Viltrumite War is over! The most important arc in the story of Invinicible has come to an end, but no one is in the mood to celebrate. Mark and his Dad did help their allies end the war by destroying the Viltrumite homeworld, but it came at a high cost. Thaedus is dead, Mark and Nolan almost died, and Oliver got his jaw and arm ripped off, all by the same guy: Thragg. With the Viltrumite leader having beaten the fraud allegations, he has taken his people to who knows where. Mark is convinced that they’ve gone to Earth, and his trauma has reached the point where he’s got full-blown PTSD. But you know what? He’s also right! But the show doesn’t reveal that until the very end of the season and in one of the biggest departures from the comics to date.
Mark, You Need Therapy!
The universe will not give Mark Grayson a break, will it? Over the last four seasons, he has had the idealistic outlook about superheroes beaten out of him. He has lost friends, had his reputation ruined, and come close to death more times than anyone his age should have to experience. And as we see throughout this episode, he is dangerously close to completely breaking as he is having PTSD-hallucinations of the Viltrumites.
Like in the original comics, we see Mark imagining all the destruction Thragg and his followers are inflicting on Earth, killing heroes and civilians alike. Unlike in the comics, though, these visions continue throughout the episode, with Mark repeatedly hallucinating the Viltrumites murdering his loved ones. And it was honestly painful to see poor Mark have to deal with this. His life has been an almost non-stop rollercoaster of trauma and suffering, and no matter how strong he is, he just can’t seem to do anything to stop it from happening. It gets to the point where he even flat-out asks Cecil to ask him to set him up with some help. He completely forgets to ask him why Conquest was still alive or call him out on that decision! The fact that he’s still capable of functioning is an absolute miracle.
It also doesn’t help that Mark is now isolated from his immediate family for the foreseeable future.
So, Debbie Still Leaves with Nolan?
In the original comics, it didn’t take long for Debbie to let Nolan back into her life, but the Amazon Prime series takes a more realistic approach. As soon as she learns that Oliver almost died, she chews Nolan out for not keeping him safe and leaving him on another planet. Even if she knew that Oliver was at fault (he was told not to fight Thragg), it wouldn’t matter to her since Nolan, as his dad, was supposed to keep him safe. So when she hears that Nolan plans to return to Talescria to look for the remaining Viltrumites and keep Earth safe, she isn’t having any of it. She’s going with him.
At this point in the comics, Debbie had broken up with Paul, and the same holds true here. The only change is that their mutual break-up happened off-screen, with them remaining friends. And it’s Paul who tells Debbie that despite how she thinks of herself, she’s not a normal person anymore. She’s tough enough to handle all this superhero nonsense, and it’s this realization that motivates her to go to space to see Oliver. She still doesn’t forgive Nolan, but…she recognizes that he is trying to improve and softens a little bit. Time will tell if they ever reconcile, though.
Speaking of reconciliation, Nolan talks to Cecil for the first time since season one. Cecil isn’t happy to hear that so many Viltrumites are still at large, and he tears Nolan a new one for it. However I don’t think he has any room to talk: his Invincible Reanimen could’ve been a huge help in the war, and it was his fault Conquest was still alive. But the fact that Nolan is apologizing tells Cecil that he’s trying to do better. He still refuses to let him stay on Earth to look for the Viltrumites, though. No amount of goodwill can erase the PR nightmare that would bring.
And then, we have Atom Eve. She…has been through it.
One of the Most Controversial Moments of the Series
So, as Eve explains, not being to use her powers meant she couldn’t burn enough calories to keep her slim figure. Combined with her stress-eating worrying about Mark, and it’s understandable why she’s gained some weight. I have no intention on commenting on this beyond saying I respect Mark for not making a big deal about it, and that stress can lead people to stop taking care of themselves. What’s more important is the moment where Eve tells Mark how she was pregnant, and how she chose to get an abortion.
I know how touchy the topic of abortion can be. I know I said that I think Eve should’ve told Mark about her pregnancy before he left, and I know I’m probably not the only one thinking this. Knowing that he could about to be a father could have given him that extra motivation he needed to take Conquest out faster. Or if he died, she would have someone to remember him by. But at the same time, she’s also young, scared, and with few people in her life that could help her if things came down to that. So she made the call on her own, and I have to say, major props to her voice actress for how emotional she made Eve sound. But the upside is that now that his family’s gone, Mark and Eve now have his house to themselves. In this day and age, getting your parent’s house is a huge win.
There’s just one problem: the Viltrumites really are on Earth.
The Viltrumites are Here! And they’re on Tiktok!
In the original comics, the entire scene where Thragg reveals the remaining Viltrumites have moved to Earth to rebuild their population in secret plays out very differently. It happens right as Mark and Nolan return, and it has a more optimistic, if cautious, outlook to it. The show, on the other hand, makes this out to be the lowest point of the entire series. Thragg and the Viltrumites are free to have kids with the human race. And in a few hundred years, they’ll be free to return to the stars like a plague to take revenge.
But I hate downer endings, so I’m gonna tell you what happens in the comics so you’ll know it’s not as bad as it looks.
An Unspoken Gamble
So, in the comics, Nolan is present when Mark confronts Thragg, and I believe that he is actually the one who agrees to this truce. Why does he do this? Because he’s making a bet on the future of his people.
Before Nolan came to Earth, he was fully committed to the Viltrumite way. But by living on Earth for those two decades and all the good and bad that went with it, Nolan unlocked the empathy that the Viltrumites tried so hard to eliminate. His people may not understand why he changed, but he’s betting that spending time living on Earth will make the other Viltrumites loosen up like him. Being parents in an environment where they don’t have to be constantly fighting can bring out the best in them. And you know what? I’ll take that bet! The old Viltrumite ways should die with Viltrum itself. Let the next generation of Viltrumites be more like Mark and Oliver!
Assuming, that is, Earth can survive.
Now, Comes the Awkward Parts of the Series
While everything is going down on Earth, Allen is trying to get a handle on being the new leader of the Coalition of Planets. Needless to say, his constituents aren’t happy about the Viltrumites getting away, and want nothing more than to wipe them all out. And as a final gift, Thaedus left a message revealing the existence of the improved Scourge virus. Now it’s so deadly that it won’t just kill the Viltrumites; it will kill anyone with similar genetics. In other words, it could wipe all of humanity. And Thaedus wanted Allen to do whatever it takes to stop the Viltrumites for good.
This is not good. If the Scourge virus is unleashed on Earth, most of its people are going to die. Genocide to kill around 37 people. I understand that Thadeus thought he had to release the virus the first time, but this is not the answer. And if the comics are anything to go by, then it’s going to be a major plot point for the next season. If you thought that things would settle down, then you haven’t been paying close attention to Invincible, because the chaos is only going to continue. And if I remember correctly, this is going to be the part of the story that is going to make a lot of people salty as they come. In other words, make some popcorn in advance. The animation may not be as good as it can be, but the story is still strong!
Also, it should be noted that in the weeks since the finale, I’ve seen people dressing up as the Viltrumites on Social Media and getting in on the news. They’re already saying Lucan is Steve Harvey!
