No animated show has quite made the waves like the superhero hit “Invincible.” Episode eight, “I Thought You Would Never Shut Up,” broke the record for the highest-rated animated TV episode of all time with a score of 10/10. The season starts on a high note with Invincible, aka Mark Grayson, seemingly living his best life. However the series delves right into a side story involving time travel, something the show does often. The show tries to balance these types of side stories as the main overarching threat for the heroes in the season evolves: the return of the Viltrumites.
In the second episode, “A Deal With The Devil,” a conflict that has long been teased by the producers finally occurs. Cecil, head of the Global Defense League and Mark fight over different perspectives on how they should protect the world. The conflict divides them into two ideas, with Cecil believing that they need to protect the world by any means necessary and Mark believing that lines have to be drawn. The writing in the season focuses more on developing the story and drawing viewers into the universe rather than individual characters. In past seasons, viewers learned about the type of man Cecil was by his actions rather than his words. In season three, it has seemingly flipped with Cecil staying out of the fighting and standing back as his words do the talking for him. Personally, I find this shift in narrative intriguing–after two intensive seasons of action, it was the correct move for the producers. We had only gotten attached to the characters in the show thus far due to their actions rather than their internal beliefs. It’s a refreshing change that allows viewers to connect with characters on a more profound level.
The two eventually fight and split, setting the stage for the rest of the season with the two working separately. The situation ultimately reflects what the show tries to do this season: create more nuance for the viewer to interpret and pick sides on. The way the series presents the conflict leaves it up to the viewer to choose sides. I love the way the show handles the nuance, it’s perfect. At the end of the season and the aftermath of both the Invincible War and the later conflict with Conquest, it’s insinuated that Cecil might have had a point.
While the season focuses on Earth, there are brief follow-ups with Omni-man and Allan the Alien, who are stuck inside a Viltrumite prison in space. It’s in episode four that Omni-man and Allan get the attention. We see their prison break and team-up, which finally solidifies the two as allies. It is implied that Omni-man is finally willing to join the cause against the Viltrumites and ultimately return to Earth. The team-up captivated me, and the new alliance and redemption arc for Omni-man kept me excited to see the next season.
This setup is quickly interrupted in episode seven, where a villain from season two, Angstrom Levy, returns and launches an attack on Earth. The episode pays homage to comic fans by centering the entire episode around a previously published comic, and entices non-comic fans by making the episode both thrilling and stressful to watch. The episode shows superheroes all over the planet dead or injured, the destruction of multiple cities worldwide, and hundreds of thousands of civilians dead.
The casting throughout the series thus far has been extremely underrated: Steven Yeun for Invincible, J. K. Simmons for Omni-Man, Gillian Jacobs for Eve, and so many more. All of these choices were very purposeful, and some might argue a risk, but none of them come close to the risk it took to pick Jeffrey Dean Morgan for Conquest. A former co-star to Steven Yeun from The Walking Dead, Morgan was uneasily received by the wider fanbase when it was first announced. But after episode eight, all of those doubts disappeared into the air. Morgan’s performance was above expectations.
The season finale picks up right where episode seven ended. As Mark and Conquest lunge at each other to fight. Conquest has come down to Earth to see if Mark has prepared the planet for Viltrumite invasion, which he has not. Episode eight ironically, titled “I Thought You Would Never Shut Up” likely due to Conquest’s excessive talking during the fight, is currently rated 10/10 on IMDB. The story building and fight scenes in this season very much validate this rating. Nearly the entire episode surrounds the fight between the two. The episode features incredibly brutal scenes that show the innocent character we had gotten to know over two seasons finally coming to terms with the reality of the responsibilities he has due to his strength.
The cinematography in season three has its ups and downs. Many were critical of the initial episodes as it seemed to be lacking in the fighting animation. However, many were theorizing it was because the animators were prioritizing a big fight at the season finale, and they were proven right. The anticipation for the final fight was well worth it. We were treated to one of the most intense and visually stunning animated battles. The final fight between Mark and Conquest led to comments on the IMDB ranking saying that it’s one of the best animated fight scenes they’ve seen. And the fight doesn’t leave room to argue. The brutality of the scene left viewers shocked but also deeply invested in the long-term repercussions that this could have for Mark.
The end credits of episode eight leave fans with a lot to look forward to: multiple storylines teased and the return of older characters. In what proved to be a season of moral transformation for Mark, the season also packed massive animated action scenes. After much worry over how the season would pan out after complications with season two, and worry over whether it would be able to live up the prior seasons’ hype, the season’s records and viewership numbers show it did not disappoint.
“Invincible Season 3:” ★★★★★
