After a literal planet-shattering penultimate episode last week, Invincible was sure to serve an episode that not only answers a lot of questions but leaves us with enough ideas to ponder in between the seasons as we wait for Season 5. While the show has always been just seconds away from gore, this episode features almost none of it and is primarily centred on the creation of life, not taking it, although it all comes with an enormous ‘but’. 

Season 4 has made the story more complex than ever for me, mainly because this is no longer a show where you hate Viltrumites, but now you see how, in fighting them, almost every other group has turned into the very thing they swore to destroy. And while the previously villainous group tries to find a haven, the rest of them are dead set on removing them from the face of the earth (literally!). 

The episode starts with all the surviving Viltrumites in space looking down at Earth. We, the less than 40 Viltrumites, descend on the planet and cause nothing but catastrophe. They create tsunamis, demolish buildings, commit senseless killings, and turn the planet into a literal hell. And just then, with a jump scare as Nolan wakes ‌Mark from his nightmare, it is revealed that it's all inside Mark’s head. 

We see Zoe on the ship alongside the father-son duo, and being the teenager that she is, she is full of energy and inquires if there are any plans they have in place in case the Viltrumites are actually on Earth. She suggests using her space station as a base, but is also quick to point out that maybe it is not even worth fighting for Earth, and they can just abandon it. As dark as she may sound, that right there is practical teenage talk! 

Elsewhere, we see Allen trying to fill ‌the shoes of Theadus. Made the leader of the coalition of ‌planets after Thaedus’ passing the Unopan is clearly struggling to hold the political and diplomatic position. Telia, being the voice of reason and a supporting partner, helps him understand that he is the best person to do what needs to be done. 

The trio of Nolan, Mark, and Zoe finally enters the Earth’s solar system, and even before Nolan can explain the plan, quietly lands on the planet, Mark ignores it all and rushes in. After scouting the entire planet, Mark realises that the Viltrumites are not here, but instead of being relieved, the young hero gets even more scared, thinking about what worse they could be planning.

After confirming that Earth is safe for the time being, Mark heads home to meet with her mother, Debbie. And as expected, she breaks down into tears, having been away from her sons for so long. She is quick to ask about the whereabouts of Oliver, to which Mark explains that he has taken very lethal damage and is being taken care of at Talescria. While all that is happening, Mark has a very haunting vision of Thragg coming face to face with him at his home, and killing his mother right in front of his eyes. We see this happen multiple times throughout the episode, almost as if the ghost of Thragg and the consequences of his own actions are haunting him. Before heading out to meet with Eve, Mark tells Debbie about Nolan, who is outside their house. 

We next see Debbie scolding and raging at Nolan for leaving a young kid like Oliver alone in space on an unknown planet. Nolan tries to reason with her, speaking about how it broke his heart to see Oliver and Mark struggle, and then Debbie drops the line that hurt Nolan more than any karate chop, “You need to have a heart to have it broken”. While Nolan tries to earn Debbie’s forgiveness, she refuses to give even an ounce of sympathy to the man who broke her heart into a million pieces.

We then cut to Tech Jacket a.k.a Zoe’s space station, where her father has spent months living in the same clothes, snacking, and worrying about his young daughter. While short, this scene really is one of the sweetest we have seen this entire season. 

And then we get to the most awaited moment, where Mark and Eve meet each other after months of being separated. Right off the bat, you can notice a very clear change in Eve’s body, where she has put on significant weight. She explains how she got her powers back but has not been able to go out a lot or even take care of herself, hinting at her weight gain, which Mark, being someone who was separated by the love of his life for months, clearly looks past. All that matters to him is her.

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Mark tells Eve about what happened and how the chances are that more Viltrumites might come to attack Earth. And although Eve tries to convince him that they have Cecil, The Guardians, and more heroes, Mark points out that if the Viltrumites come, none of them will matter. 

Following all these scenes of heroes returning to their homes, we see Cecil attempt for his own version of it alongside Donald and Sinclair, where they try to open a trans-dimensional portal to bring Robot and Monster Girl back, and it awfully backfires. And Cecil has to give up his plans to bring them back, saying they need to figure out their own way home. 

Back in Talescria, Allen has a hard time adjusting to his new role as the leader of the Coalition of Planets. While the entire room throws questions at him, he struggles to find fitting answers for the same. And when one member says that the Viltrumite race needs to be eradicated so the rest of them can flourish, you get the first hint that slowly they have become the same violent, hungry entities that they set out to defeat.

Allen points out to them that there are good Viltrumites as well, naming Theadus as one of them, which the room just brushes off as an exception. And when Allen mentions Nolan, Mark, and Oliver, they call them nothing but weapons that Theadus was using to defeat “their own kind”. And when the leader from Battle Beast’s home world reminds him of his own race’s extinction, Allen finally assumes the role of the leader and silences the room by saying that when they do find the Viltrumites, he will decide what to do with them. 

Back on Earth, we see Debbie talking to Paul about the events that happened in space. To which he suggests that she should go see Oliver, so what he is in space. Paul points out that Debbie has always been like that, even though she has no power; her world has always been built around it, which is also the reason they broke up. 

Back at Mark’s place, we see him sitting with Eve. She is about to tell him something really big when Mark once again sees his nightmare, where Thragg kills Eve right in front of his eyes. Shaking it off, Mark asks Eve what she was saying, and Eve reveals the big news that glitches her powers. She was pregnant, and she got an abortion.  

While Eve struggles with her own emotions, Mark also curses himself for not being there for her when she needed him the most. I have to say, Mark has to be one of the most mature and sensible boyfriends I have seen in any comic book media. He and his girl deserve the entire world! 

Elsewhere, we see Nolan visit the ghost of his own relationship with his son as he lands at the same mountain where he beat Mark up back in Season 1 of the show. Cecil arrives at the place and lands some really witty but powerful words on him. 

While he is clearly afraid of him, he also does shy away from drawing boundaries, when Nolan tried to apologise for all he did and suggested he could stay back to help, Cecil quickly turns it down, pointing out that Earth is not his therapy couch. The GDA director also demands quick and powerful assistance in case the Viltrumites attack Earth. 

Back at Mark’s home, we see him beating himself for leaving Eve while also pondering that he didn’t even fix what he set out to fix in the first place. While Eve tries to calm him down, he points out that all they did was give the Viltrumites nothing to lose by destroying their home. Eve talks him down and promises that they will figure it all out together. 

Right after this, we see Nolan coming up to Mark and telling him that all the defence systems are in place, and he will be leaving for Talescria. And just as he mentions returning to Oliver, we see Debbie walk out with her bag and announce that she will join him. Even though Mark tries to convince her otherwise, Debbie is clear that she would have done it for Mark, and Oliver is no different. 

Cut to the spaceship, Nolan shows Debbie the view of Earth from space, and there is a hint of him trying to reconnect with her. Although not right now, I do expect we will see the power couple have a rather intriguing relationship in future seasons. 

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Back on Earth, we see Cecil and Mark talk all about the war. Cecil asks if he can have a debrief with Nolan about it, so they can at least prepare some defences for what is coming. And right there, Mark once again sees Thragg in front of him, killing Cecil. Shaking off the vision again, Mark finally asks Cecil for help and the professionals he can talk to and process his trauma.

Following all this, we see Eve trying to get Mark to let off some steam and suggesting they should go for a flight outside. Although denying it at first, Mark does go out to get some fresh air. Flying through the different landscapes of the planet, it is almost like he is finally at peace for the time being. 

However, happiness and Mark Grayson are not a match made in heaven. He once again sees Thragg floating over the horizon, thinking it is once again just a vision. Mark tried to shake it off, but it was all in vain as it was revealed that it was actually Thragg right in front of him. Mark tries to attack him, throwing punches left and right, but they hardly tickle the Grand Regent. 

Instead of fighting back, for the first time, we see Thragg be someone who wants to resolve conflict by diplomacy and adjustments. Thragg offers that all 38 living Viltrumites will not harm even a single living creature if they are allowed to live and reproduce with humans. Since Mark is a living example of Viltrumites and Humans being biologically compatible, they will use humanity to repopulate the Viltrumites. Thragg announces that Earth is their new home now, since Mark destroyed their original planet.

Thragg continues his list of demands, stating that if Mark, the Coalition of Planets, or anyone tries to remove them from the planet, they will destroy the entire Earth. While initially Mark says no, a moment of hesitation is ended with a resounding yes from the young hero. Mark is trying to avoid any kind of loss of life ‌having been so close to so much bloodshed. The trauma has taken its toll, and all he desires is peace. And just before he flies off, Thragg points out how Mark has just become their savior. 

The mid-credit scene starts off with Allen being buried and bored under paperwork as his girlfriend and key soldier of the Coalition, Telia, walks in with an encrypted message from Theadus that he recorded for Allen in case he dies in the battle.

Allen plays the video message, and we see Theadus starts by saying he trusts Allen a lot and that is why he has made him his successor. And then gives out the main information, he tells Allen about the Scourge Virus, which killed millions of Viltrumites back in the day, and now Theadus has been working on it and has finally made an improved and lethal version of the virus. 

The now dead Viltrumite himself echoes the same tone that the Coalition Members had, where he says that as long as even a single Viltrumite is alive, no one is safe. Theadus highlights that even Nolan knew about it, but he didn't know that this improved version can kill species that are genetically similar to Viltrumites, which means even humans can be killed while using this.  

The final scene of the season ends with Theadus telling Allen to use the virus. Thus committing a genocide, which they were fighting against from the beginning. It will be really fun to see how the story progresses in the coming seasons, as Invincible Season 5 is already in the works with an expected release date of sometime in early 2027.

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What did you think about Invincible Season 4? Let us know in the comments.