TV Review: Invincible Season 4 Finale Breaks Mark and Changes Everything Forever
The war is over, but the damage has just begun
Without a doubt in my mind, Invincible just hit the next level of its story. Everything feels like it’s both grown and changed, and there are some major reveals in this finale. Suffice it to say, it’s all just incredible, must-see TV.
Honestly, seeing what happens after the war feels reminiscent of old World War II films. Moments where victory is achieved, and the battles feel over, but the cost is only beginning to surface. Take then, for instance, The Lord of the Rings, another traditional fantasy epic inspired by post-war stories.
There’s a moment that never makes it into The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, when the Hobbits return home to the Shire—only to find it overtaken and unrecognizable, now corrupted under Saruman’s rule.
See… metaphorically speaking, though in this case also quite literally, whether or not they knew it or not, the war followed them home. And that sort of energy and consequence? That’s what this episode is getting at.
This is the return home moment of the Hero’s Journey. One where the hero gets back to where they started and has to live with what they’ve become and how they’ve changed. Reveals are big, but what matters more is the fallout. Everyone is different in the months that followed… especially Mark Grayson.
Mark is deep in PTSD. I know, because, well, I’ve been there. Having worked in careers where my own safety was on the line. I think the show did a great job showcasing Mark stuck in survival mode, constantly expecting the worst-case scenario, and the brutal ways that the people around him would die.
It’s intense and uncomfortable, and the show lets the audience stay in that discomfort, playing with that fear for the point of a payoff; Thragg’s imposing strength hanging over Mark like something that can’t be beaten.
It’s strange… Thragg could have ended the entire war in the blink of an eye, yet chose not to. That high-threat level pretty much haunts Mark. Especially after earlier in the season, Mark questioned everything and was being pushed through war. Making hard choices while the guilt bothered him.
Killing for the greater good, and the difficulties of making that choice.
Now, that struggle all makes sense. The point wasn’t the war itself, nor was it killing people for the greater good… It was really what those choices would do to him after. He made the hard calls. Yes, Mark killed. He also helped destroy Viltrum. Now Mark has to sit with it.
That weight is catching up in this episode, and Mark’s slipping as he starts to realize he finally has something big to lose. That fear takes over. Living with all that death guilt and the expectation that at some point, death will come for him as recompense as well, and feeling that at all times wears him down. He falls back on the same reasoning that he didn’t have a choice…
And maybe he didn’t. Omni-Man and Thaedus pushed things forward. Mark had to intervene or else suffer what worse may come out of war. Yet, despite all that, Mark still carries that guilt, even after the destruction on a massive scale. That ability to feel bad with it is what keeps him human.
The episode frames the coalition victory as one in name only. They made it out alive, yes, but that’s only really because the Viltrumites let them go, more like a warning than a mercy.
The Earth is exposed, and as Cecil Stedman puts it, the remaining 37 Viltrumites are basically “super-Nazis,” built on domination and strength above all else… sort of like what I talked about last week.
So, with Thaedus gone, Allen the Alien steps into leadership. He has the power and the empathy, but strategy isn’t his strength, and that shows. It leaves things feeling unstable going forward, even with Mark’s allies in hand… which, again, leads to a shocking stinger I’ll let you see for yourself.
There’s also some very good developments in the Debbie and Nolan department that I’d love to get into, but again… spoilers. Embargoes. Etc.
Anyway, what stands out is how focused this episode is on the aftermath. The season stayed locked into the Viltrumite War, but what we see in this one is the aftermath of where we left off just months later.
Because that’s the reality. Life will always keep moving while everything is falling apart. It doesn’t slow down for anyone. And Mark finally understands the cost of what he’s done, not just physically, but mentally.
Like in actual war, no one really wins out in the end. We only make it through.
Invincible feels like it’s entering its next phase. This writing of this arc had real stakes, real consequences, and real damage that sticks. The animation is really leveling it up for this final episode and right now, this stands as the best superhero ensemble on television. With maybe The Boys as its only real competition.
I think just about everyone should be watching this show right now.
All episodes of Invincible Season 4 are available to watch on Prime Video streaming right now.