It’s Been a While
Episode 4 of Invincible Season 2 opens by filling in the gap of Nolan’s departure from Earth. He wandered about the cosmos and nearly drifted into a black hole. But instead, he rescued a few Thraxans about to suffer the same fate.
He stands before Mark again, as was seen in the previous episode. Mark is relieved but ultimately unhappy to see his father, staying only to help the Thraxans. Nolan has a new wife, Andressa (Rhea Seehorn), and a new child with her as well.
Debbie visits Nolan’s fake grave by walking barefoot across the city. The Mauler, half-burned and scarred, creates another clone. Donald (his clone, really) finds his glasses where he died. Nolan asks Mark to help him save his new family from the Viltrumites. They arrive before Mark can decide what to do. Eve rematches against Killcannon. Andressa explains to Mark that she only lives one human year. She had no intention of trying to replace anyone. Mark faces off against Lucan, a Viltrimute. Nolan saves him.
Eve’s fight with Killcannon does not go as expected. Eve causes collateral damage. Art comes to Debbie’s house and helps her see the strength in herself. Donald watches the surveillance footage of his death. Mark and Nolan fight two Viltrumites. Nolan tells Mark that he has to fight to kill in order to unlock his greater potential. Mark, fueled by anger at the death of so many innocents, unlocks more speed and power. Just when it seems they’ve won, Lucan returns. The Viltrumites take Lucan and Nolan away while giving them medical attention.
Eve reluctantly returns home, on a bus, not using her powers. Donald contemplates suicide in the bathroom. He cuts himself and discovers that while he can bleed, he is at least somewhat superhuman, confirming that he’s a clone. Viltrumite General Kregg tells Mark that Nolan will be executed. Kregg also intends to force Mark to make Earth part of their empire in Nolan’s place. King Mauler intends to build an army of clones but is killed by the other Mauler.
The Episode Review
“It’s Been a While” delivers the most advancement to the central plot of Invincible that we’ve seen this season. The first three episodes have delivered powerhouse moments, and done a lot to expand the world and scope. That said, it’s the smaller moments with Debbie that hold the weight of the central emotional struggle. The cliffhanger ending of the last episode marked the show approaching full speed.
It’s been incredibly easy to hate Nolan in his absence. When confronted with his sense of purposelessness and futility, especially to the tune of Nick Cave’s piano version of “Avalanche,” it’s hard not to empathize. It smacks of the grand apathy felt by Dr. Manhattan in Watchmen.
The cosmic animation is nothing short of gorgeous. It’s another example of how the show isn’t exactly original in its conception but feels like a meticulously stitched tapestry of the modern mythos of comics and cinema.
Debbie’s scenes continue to devastate. Mark Hamill as Art makes such a beautiful monologue; a love letter to single mothers or survivors of relationships with violent/sociopathic people. In line with the heaviness present in the show is Donnie’s existential crisis. Again, the nihilism associated with multiple selves is displayed similarly in Rick and Morty, but the break-neck pace of the show’s storytelling moves things to the next reference before it feels too derivative.
Until this episode, Mark’s struggle against his father was strikingly similar to Luke and Anakin’s in Star Wars. The developments in “It’s Been a While” give it a needed dose of originality and the stabbing pain of the show’s great dramatic writing. It was disappointing albeit understandable to see Eve sink as low as she did. There was a consistent undercurrent of depression to this episode that feels lived in.
Is Omni-Man more than he seems?
The real takeaway from this episode is a newly complicated view of Nolan. Despite being allowed to have children with humans, it seems Nolan’s sense of care for other species is uncharacteristic of Viltrumites. Rather than being completely resigned to his role, Nolan may be uniquely conflicted compared to his fellow conquerors.
A relatable gripe is a wonderful addition to any supervillain. There are modern takes on The Joker, sending up a modern society filled with apathy for its people. There’s Killmonger, feeling forgotten and abandoned. Omni-Man just became another good example of this. Ultimately, he is a product of his people. While he’s so far failed to see the light or redeem himself, it’s becoming clear that he struggles with the duties of a Viltrumite.
What this really does is make Mark’s struggle even more difficult. It’s always easier to fight against pure evil. The stakes are both as big as the galaxy and as small as a broken-hearted son. Now, Mark has to decide not only how to move forward in an incredibly precarious situation, being expected to take his father’s job as conqueror of Earth. He also has to decide if he should try and rescue the man who used him as a blunt object to kill thousands. Should he save the father that beat him to within an inch of his life, and called his mother a pet?
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