Invincible – Season 1 Episode 8 (Finale/Ending) Recap & Review

Where I Really Come From

Episode 8 of Invincible marks this season 1 finale with Mark learning the truth about his Father. It turns out Nolan lied about his home planet. He’s actually part of Viltrum’s elite task force; a group determined to conquer planets and make the Viltrum the greatest species in the universe.

Mark refuses to engage in his Father’s ideology, eventually resulting in Omni-Man making a bloody demonstration at his son’s expense. Mark is not happy and eventually goes toe to toe with his Father. It’s a brutal, nasty fight, one that sees Mark bathed in blood as the two square off. Nolan absolutely pummels his son, leaving him a bloody mess.

In doing so, this sparks memories of the past where Nolan watched his son play baseball. Nolan’s one weakness seems to be his affection for Mark, and now he starts to understand this too. Instead of fighting, Mark tells his Father that he’ll always have him when the world turns to dust. With tears streaming down his face, Omni-Man takes off and flies into space.

With the world rocked by the truth about Omni-Man, Mark is kept in hiding for now and taken in for treatment by Cecil and his team. The Guardians of the Globe symbolically head back to their base and wipe blood off the walls. In doing so, they unite as a team and start training.

As Omni-Man speeds away from Earth and takes off for somewhere far away, Cecil gently encourages Mark to take over. Debbie is obviously still torn up about what’s happened. In fact, she sits in bed and cries. Hearing Nolan liken her to a pet and that she’s insignificant has obviously hit her hard. Eventually she heads back to see Art and sits drinking with him, bemoaning her luck.

Meanwhile, Mark is called to an emergency. It’s Allen the Alien. Out in space, Mark sits with him on the moon as the pair discuss recent events. It turns out there’s a Coalition of Planets and they’re trying to unite a whole bunch of worlds together to fight back against he Viltrumites. Will Mark join them?

Back on Earth, there’s a whole wave of changes coming. From here, a slick montage shows a variety of different heroes and villains preparing for season 2. For now though, Mark heads back ready to finish high school.

The Episode Review

Invincible bows out its final episode with a great finale, and lots of unresolved plot points. Given this show has already been renewed for another 2 seasons, it’s easy to look past any shortcomings with this open ending.

The fight between Nolan and Mark was every bit as bloody and emotional as one may expect. The shocking way Nolan tries to teach his son a lesson is absolutely brutal. In fact, the most interesting part in all this is the way Nolan starts to see glimmers of humanity in himself. Could he be flying back to base? I’m sure we’ll find out next season!

In the meantime though, Invincible bows out its final episode with a brilliant final episode, one that tops off an impressive first season. The tone and action has been outstanding, and this has easily been one of the best shows of the year. Quite what’s next for our characters though, remains to be seen. Roll on season 2!