Invincible Season 2 Part 2 review: A bloody thunderclap of TV

Invincible strikes again with Season 2 Part 2, a harrowing, edge-of-your-seat back-half that’s almost unbearably exciting – but that comes at a cost.

“With great power, comes great responsibility,” may be the most iconic comic quote in history; its one-size-fits-all resonance is a key part of that. It very much applies to Robert Kirkman, Invincible’s creator and overseer – and, amazingly, he’s transformed his cherished, once-niche source material into the best superhero show on television.

After its astonishing, heart-breaking debut, the second season started incredibly strong. It picked up with Mark (Steven Yeun) and Debbie (Sandra Oh) in the mental and physical aftermath of the calamitous brawl with Omni-Man (JK Simmons). Its brutal violence is undoubtedly an appeal, considering the MCU‘s softcore attempt at TV-MA fun – but Invincible understands that substance is a necessity, making each gut-churning blow have just as much emotional impact as it is visceral.

Part 2 maintains this tight grip on character-driven, jaw-dropping action (one moment is on a harrowing par with Omni-Man’s beatdown) with a well-spun story. But, after being forced to wait – admittedly, this is a fortunate problem to have – there just isn’t enough of it.

Don’t worry, this review is spoiler-free.

Invincible Season 2 Part 2 tries to distract itself

We open on Mark’s blood, spilling out onto the ash-covered landscape of Thraxa after the Viltrumite invasion. Nolan has been taken away for “execution”, and General Kregg (Clancy Brown, the runaway MVP of Part 2 with his smooth-as-ice cadence and menacing delivery) left him with a daunting task: continuing Omni-Man’s mission of preparing Earth for the Viltrum Empire, or else millions will die.

That’s pretty much where we left off in Part 1 – and to say anything more would verge on serious spoiler territory. We’ll tease this much: Mark (and the series, gratingly) seems to put this at the back of his mind, instead helping the Guardians combat larger, alien threats and trying to reserve time for Amber (Zazie Beets). The latter thread is surprisingly moving; the opening batch smartly avoided the naggy girlfriend trope, and the new episodes maturely navigate the “ethical” conflict of dating a superhero.

Earth’s ragtag supes are still the least interesting characters; Rudy (Ross Marquand) and Amanda’s (Grey Griffin) dynamic is nice but tiresome, and Black Samson (Khary Payton) and Bulletproof (Jay Pharoah) have little to do this time around. However, due to… events, things do become quite a bit more compelling, particularly with Rex Splode (Jason Mantzoukas) and the Immortal (also Marquand). Ben Schwartz also delivers another amusing performance as Shapesmith, the chameleonic Martian who infiltrated the group.

Part 2 isn’t perfect – but it’s still amazing

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Here’s the thing: Part 2 carries over many of the merits of its first half, whether it’s Oh’s sublime voice acting, Yeun’s born-to-play performance as Mark, galvanizing fight scenes, or John Paesano’s grin-inducing score (it needs to be on Spotify).

The show’s sheer entertainment value and heart outweigh its flaws – there are notable ones to mention. Firstly, the animation can be choppy, with noticeable character-dragging and not enough expression on their faces. Secondly, echoing Episode 3’s cringy narrator, there’s other moments of shoe-horned humor (one multiversal sequence aside) that don’t land, including one that even comments on animator shortcuts.

Thirdly, and this is the big one: the four episodes barely approach any sort of resolution, dangling hype-worthy plot threads and introducing fascinating characters (again, no spoilers) that lead to nowhere… yet. The Viltrumite threat isn’t foregrounded enough, nor is Angstrom Levy, considering he’s meant to be Mark’s nemesis – however, when the foe does make an appearance, he leaves a mighty impression. Sterling K. Brown’s performance is phenomenal, painting a painful portrait of a once-great man lost inside himself; one scene evokes the threat of Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Negan in his Walking Dead debut… make of that what you will.

You may find yourself thinking, “How is the season nearly done already?” And that’s the problem: I’ll begrudgingly admit it, but Part 1 was well-structured and paced like a mini-season of TV. It felt like a good place to stop. When Part 2 ended, the groan wasn’t just out of impatience for what’s next: it felt like I was halfway through another season, and this time, it’ll be another year before the story continues.

Invincible Season 2 Episode 2 review score: 4/5

Invincible Season 2 Part 2 is dynamite television. But, despite its brilliance, the fact we’re now condemned to an even longer wait after the frustrating break feels like a pretty raw deal; perhaps that’s the price to pay for greatness.

Invincible Season 2 Part 2 will start streaming on March 14. You can find out more about when to tune in for Episode 5 here.