Nolan is back and boy, is he a complicated character.

Invincible wrapped up the first half of its second season with the mid-season finale “It’s Been A While.” The show is set to return in early 2024 though Amazon has yet to reveal an official date.

Mid-season finales are always fun, but Invincible has crafted so many storylines over its four-episode Season 2 run so far, leaving myriad questions unanswered. It did set up what we can expect moving forward and even welcomed back Nolan/Omni-Man in an extremely complicated situation.

Invincible‘s a show about the tug-of-war between Mark and Invincible. This episode put that on full display but in a way that has not been obvious until now.

Editor’s Note: This review contains spoilers. Please check out our reviews for the first, second, and third episodes as well as our season 1 recap.

Synopsis: The Return of Omni-Man

After a brief recap of how Nolan made his way to Thraxa after saving some inhabitants, we get a reunion between Mark and his father. Mark angrily yells at his father for his actions on Earth and tries to fly away. Nolan tells him he has a new wife and child on Thraxa and Mark stays.

Back on Earth, Debbie’s depression is getting worse while Donald begins looking into his death. The Maulers return and it’s more obvious now who is the original clone thanks to the scars from the Angstrom Levy incident.

Nolan explains Viltrumites are coming to Thraxa because he left his post on Earth. He also explains the Viltrumites don’t approve of their own procreating with “lesser species” so the planet is in danger.

As the Viltrumites arrive, Mark takes Nolan’s new family to a safehouse only for a soldier to follow them. The soldier overwhelms Mark until Nolan seemingly kills him.

Eve engages in a fight ensues that puts civilians in danger. She attempts to save some but seemingly fails. Debbie visits with Art Rosenbaum, who tells her she never needed Nolan.

At the GDA, Donald watches a video of what happened to him and attempts to see what he is exactly by stabbing his arm. He sees blood but the blade is bent.

Nolan faces the death of the Thraxans and is upset and confused he feels for them. Mark tells him he should’ve felt this way about Earth. The two battle the remaining Viltrumites and defeat them. The third soldier thought to be dead returns to break Nolan’s back before finally dying.

A bloodied Mark watches the Viltrumites take Nolan away. As Nolan is leaving, he pleads with Mark to read his books back on Earth.

Debbie decides to move without further assistance from the GDA. She leaves Nolan’s books on the curb. Eve also returns home with a defeated look, suggesting she believes what her father said about her not being able to handle being an adult.

Viltrumite General Kregg tells Mark he proved himself a worthy and he is Earth’s new Viltrumite agent. The end credit’s scene shows the clone Mauler killing the original, meaning there will be no clear distinction on who is the original twin.

Analysis: A Good Episode Stretched Thin

I hate that they made me somewhat sympathetic to Nolan, but the question is if he’s changed. He’s not redeemed by any stretch of the imagination, but I think he may be trying. I’m just not sure if it will stick.

Mark’s anger is justified and we can’t just expect all to be forgiven so quickly, if ever. Mark initially hugged his father upon seeing him before verbally attacking him. This shows Mark is still processing that the man he idolized for his whole life is such a bad guy. That’s hard to handle for anyone.

This is where the battle between Mark and Invincible takes place. Mark is furious with his father and can’t forgive him. He tries to leave it all behind, but his Invincible side stepped in.

As much as Mark hates his father, he knew he needed to stay. He needed to protect people so he stayed. All season, Mark has ignored his human side in favor of his superhero side. In a lot of ways, that hasn’t been healthy for his recovery.

This time is different. How do you take care of yourself when doing so would put innocents in danger? It’s such a difficult decision but Mark will sacrifice of himself every time.

Not many superhero shows will explore this struggle as all heroes are presented as altruistic regardless of the sacrifice. Being this close to Mark, as a viewer, we have come to care for him and it’s hard to see him sacrificing his recovery in favor of being a hero.

It’s such a complex dynamic now between Mark and Invincible. This should be on full display moving forward as Mark now has to balance this even further.

As far as episodes go, I felt like the multiple storylines hurt this one a bit. Don’t get me wrong, each one is still really good, but this episode shows the dangers of stretching yourself too thin.

Mark and Nolan were clearly the most important arc this time. Every time we would cut away, I was frustrated because I wanted that storyline. That said, it would’ve been difficult if they didn’t address any of them so I think the show did the best approach but only because it had to do it.

There’s still several unanswered storylines including no Angstrom Levy. I was positive we’d see him again as the set up for the back half of the season but it looks like Kregg and the impending Viltrumite invasion is what’s the main focus moving forward.

There are so many compelling options that the invasion could take a back seat and Levy establishes himself as the main threat. We could also see Mark battling two fronts with Kregg and Levy jumping in.

Again, this is not a bad problem to have, but as this episode shows, stretching yourself too thin can pose a big challenge. While the episode had to address the other arcs, at least they chose some compelling ones.

Debbie’s story has been the most compelling this season and it’s nice to see her get a win. She’s suffered a lot and seeing her light up after Art told her she’s strong was heartwarming.

Donald’s story has recently come into focus and while interesting, it’s not one I’m clamoring for each week. I am wanting to see where we go with Eve.

I have always been a fan of Atom Eve and her story. She’s interesting and provides a good insight into a growing superhero. Her story was one that got lost in the crowd of other arcs. I hope she returns to the upper tier of stories in the back half.

It’s also worth noting that the animation continues to be amazing. The montage of Nolan flying through space was gorgeous. That’s really a strength of this show that often gets overlooked.

Final Score (4 out of 5 Stars)

Invincible has always been a show about the dynamic between Mark and Invincible. That was on full display during this episode as Mark struggles to grapple with the betrayal of his father while Invincible needs to save the Thraxans.

It really is an interesting dynamic given that the first season was all about Mark balancing his two lives, but now he has to grapple with an even hard balance. You could see that when he felt sympathy for Andressa and her kid while still being angry with his father.

It was a dynamic I wish could’ve played out more without the interruption of all the other storylines going on. While Mark and Nolan took up the main parts of the episode, other storylines demanded attention while others went completely unaddressed.

As far a mid-season finales go, “It’s Been A While” did a good job at setting up the back half of the season while furthering other storylines. Debbie’s future is fascinating while Mark’s facing a fascinating change in Viltrumite stature. I think Eve’s story deserves more attention in the future.

Still, Invincible has a lot of great storylines to pick from and only four more episodes to address them. I’ll be anxiously waiting Mark’s return to Earth.

Featured Image: Amazon Prime Studios (via Buy Why Tho?)

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