Invincible is back and boy, was it worth the wait.

Amazon aired the first four episodes of the second season of Invincible last November before returning with the season’s fifth episode on March 14. The show will air weekly for the next three weeks.

This long-awaited return addresses many of the cliffhangers from the mid-season finale and lays the foundation for what is to come for the remaining three episodes.

Before we breakdown “This May Come As A Shock,” be sure to check out our past season 2 reviews of the first, second, third, and fourth episodes that aired in November. You can also check out our recap of season 1 for further context.

Spoiler warning: We will discuss what happened in the “This May Come As A Shock” and some of the events prior to this episode.

Synopsis: There and Back Again (Invincible’s Version)

Mark and the Thraxans seek to rebuild after the Viltrumites attack the planet. Mark takes a big part in this before agreeing to take his half-brother back to Earth since his father Nolan is in Viltrumite custody.

Mark seeks to pick back up his life after spending two months away in space, reconnecting with Debbie, Cecil, Amber, and William. Cecil, in particular, takes umbrage with Mark defying orders and going to space. Debbie and Mark seek to care for Nolan’s son, but emotions are still raw surrounding Nolan.

The Guardians of the Globe have had their hands full on Earth while Mark is gone. After a mission, the team fully learns about Shapesmith’s true identity as a Martian as a ship full of the sequids heads to Earth because of Shapesmith’s actions in season 1.

Cecil gathers a team that can resist the brain control power of the sequids and sends them to intercept the spacecraft. This team includes Mark and Atom Eve, who Rex Splode convinces to come after she still feels sorry for herself.

The team encounters complications as they try to subdue the sequids and their fate is unknown as the episode ends.

While the team is away, Rex Splode, Dupli-Kate, and Shrinking Rae fight against the Lizard League with disastrous results. Also, Donald fully realizes what he is in the wake of his alleged death.

The episode ends with Allen the Alien awaking and embarking on a new mission to retrieve Mark.

Analysis: Soaring to New Heights

One of my biggest complaints, albeit a rather small one, about the first half of the season was how many different plot threads were going on and the amount of juggling each episode had to do to address them all.

This episode seems to have begun the consolidation of those plotlines.

Mark, Atom Eve, and the Guardians are all addressing the Mars issue. That’s four lines consolidated in a major way with other plotlines now becoming layered portions of the story.

Take Rex and team. While the majority of the Guardians are away, they are forces to take care of the planet. This is a separate plotline, but within the realm of the major one.

Because of this, the episode felt a lot more cohesive rather than segmented bits. Whether the shows keeps on this approach is yet to be seen, but it helps coming off of a months-long break.

What’s also great to see is how Mark’s time in space has changed him. He left still upset with his dad and clearly not grieving properly. After taking time to help the Thraxans and care for his half-brother, he returned to Earth changed.

This was fully apparent when Mark and Debbie are discussing what to do with Nolan’s son. Mark comes across really mature in this situation as you can just tell his feelings are still bitter toward Nolan, but that is no fault of his younger brother.

Mark isn’t the only one. Surprisingly, Rex Splode showed a lot of maturity and growth in this episode.

His talk with Atom Eve to help her feel better and to get her to help on the Mars mission was really heartwarming. This is crucial because of his unknown fate at the end of the episode, setting up a fantastic connection with the audience and Rex.

Rex continues to be such an interesting character because he’s clearly the comic relief, but he’s much more deep than that at times.

The return of Atom Eve was a welcome sight. She’s always been one of my favorite characters in the show just because of the layers to her.

In many ways, Invincible is a coming-of-age story, at least up to this point. The first season centered on Mark learning to be a superhero and now Eve is learning as she deals with mistakes.

I’ve always loved how human Invincible can be, which makes it surprisingly relatable for a superhero show. It’s to a point where when any of the superheroes die, it’s a lot more impactful than others because you can relate to them, even the smaller characters.

Lastly, I won’t go into details on the end scene with Allen the Alien, but the end reveal was a lot of fun and invites a lot of questions.

Final Score (4.5 out of 5 stars)

Invincible returned in a remarkable way that consolidated plotlines and set up the back half of the season. Of course, it couldn’t address everything — Angstrom Levy is still missing though he does appear in the promotional art.

Still, character growth continues to be a solid part of the show, particularly with Mark and Rex. The episode also left us with a lot of questions, particularly surrounding the Viltrumites.

Donald’s subplot is interesting but seems to have reached an end. I’m sure we’re not done with his identity crisis, but the way forward isn’t obviously clear yet hence the questions surrounding him.

I am interested to see how Debbie and Nolan’s son plays out as she is vehement on Cecil and the GDA not getting ahold of him.

In the end, you couldn’t ask for a better return after a months-long break and I have a lot of excitement moving forward.

Featured Image: Prime Video (via AIPT)