After nearly two decades of Marvel movies, we’re starting to see dissections of superhero stories come to the forefront and get the attention they deserve. Prime Video seems to be at the center of that shift, with live-action series like The Boys and Gen V and animated series like Invincible offering complex deconstructions of the genre. In addition to this commentary, Invincible Season 1 brought us a star-studded cast and some of the most brutal violence ever brought to life in mainstream animation. The season ended with protagonist Mark Grayson fighting his father, Nolan/Omni-Man, to protect Earth from a Viltrumite invasion. The first four episodes of Invincible Season 2 pick up in the aftermath of that chaotic showdown.
Omni-Man, once the protector of Earth, revealed himself as an operative of an alien race called Viltrumites, forcing Mark to choose between his father and protecting Earth. After a chaotic battle ended in a stalemate, Omni-Man left his son Mark and his wife Debbie behind as he flew off into space to bring Season 1 to a close.
Throughout Part 1 of Season 2, which consists of four episodes, we get a surprising amount of time with Mark’s mother, Debbie. We see her as she grieves alone in her house, we see her as she tries to deny the hurt and get back to her job as a real estate agent, and we see her as she goes to a support group for spouses of superheroes. She’s allowed to be alone, just feeling her feelings, whether they emerge as drinking too much wine or slamming a loose cabinet door until the dishes inside shatter. On the surface, Invincible is a show about a half-alien superhero fighting the most brutal villains in existence, so these lonely moments feel especially unexpected and devastating.