Invincible Season 2 is over, but it doesn't feel like it. I was enjoying the season overall, but once we got to the finale, I didn't believe it was over. Like, I thought there was another episode on the way because the episode that served as the season finale did not feel like it should've been the way to close things out.
Needless to say I have issues with the Season 2 finale, and after re-watching the Invincible episode with my Prime Video subscription, I didn't feel any better about these things. To be clear, I'm still loving the series overall, and the exceptionally long wait for it was still worth it. Still, I think we could've gotten a better season finale than the one we received for the following reasons.
The Ending Scene Felt Like A Midseason Finale
When I first watched the Invincible Season 2 finale, I had no idea that it was the wrap-up to the season. Only after being informed by CinemaBlend's Adam Holmes did I learn the truth, and then I became angry over what I saw. Is the ending of Season 2 going to end with Allen sitting in a jail cell talking to Omni-Man telepathically? We're not going to see them escape?
I couldn't help but feel there was at least one more episode that could've better set the stage for Season 3. To me, this season finale felt more like they made the entirety of a season and then decided to split it in half to try and have more time to work on future seasons, and use the second half of the season as material for an upcoming season. I don't know if that's true, but considering Season 2 had such a wide gap between episodes that Robert Kirkman acknowledged it was "not the best," it does have me wondering if there aren't more unreleased episodes being held ahead of Season 3.
Angstrom Levy's Death Didn't Really Hit Me As Hard As It Did Mark
When Mark finally snaps and kills Angstrom Levy, he's riddled with guilt and essentially broken because of what he did. It was a moment that felt really weird to me, especially considering everything that led up to it. It wasn't like he killed Levy in cold blood, and the villain gave him just about every reason to after he hurt Debbie and Oliver.
I can understand Angstrom Levy's hate toward Mark given his knowledge of the multiverse variants. At the same time, I don't think that justifies what he did to the version of Invincible who did nothing wrong. While Mark could've probably stopped in that one moment, Levy made it clear he wasn't going to stop until he was killed. I'm not sure what else Mark could've done in that situation, so the whole moment of his guilt just fell flat with me.
Dupli-Kate's Return Lessened The Impact Of The Lizard League Fight
I'll admit, I was given the heads up that while Dupli-Kate was brutally killed episodes prior in Invincible Season 2, the prime version of herself was likely still alive. Still, when she showed up to The Immortal in the midst of his mandatory vacation, I couldn't help but think of how much it took the teeth out of the devastating fight with the Lizard League before.
While it initially seemed like Dupli-Kate and Shrinking Rae died, and Rex was left with a permanent brain injury, we now know that really the only thing that stuck was Rex's brain injury. In fairness, we're not entirely sure how Rae will bounce back from all of her bones breaking, but it seems like the heroes in this show are pretty resilient. I agree with CinemaBlend's Corey Chichizola that I like that Invincible avoids the pet peeve of showing undamaged heroes, though this felt like a step backward.
We Don't Really Feel The Threat Of The Viltrumites Coming To Earth
Perhaps the most disappointing part of the Season 2 finale for me is that Invincible just kind of ends without us feeling like Earth is in any danger of the Viltrumite threat. As mentioned, we're just left with Mark's guilt about killing Angstrom Levy and his feeling that he lacks the self-control to be one of the world's strongest heroes. It's interesting, but not the threat we've been waiting on.
Invincible is beholden to its source material, so I can't fault it for not pressing the issue on a Viltrumite invasion. Even so, we probably could've gotten some sort of bigger tease that the threat of them coming to Earth and conquering it is still very real. Ending on the hours ahead of Omni-Man's execution, which I have to assume will end up not happening now that Allen is there to help him escape, didn't really make it feel like anyone should be worried about the show's biggest threat.
I Think Mark Should've Told Eve How He Felt
I think Mark technically did the right thing by not talking to Eve about his feelings for her, or lack of, as it kept the timeline from being interfered with more than necessary. At the same time, there's another part of me that felt it was selfish on Mark's part not to tell Eve how he felt. I wondered if maybe his breakup with Amber made him apprehensive to say he had any feelings, out of fear a relationship of any kind between them would be too soon.
I guess I shouldn't blame Mark too much either, as he was put in an impossible situation. He should've never known that Eve had feelings for him, and it certainly was a violation on Future Eve's part to tell him about it. Still, it would have been nice to see some sort of development toward a future romance from Mark before the end of the season rather than the cliffhanger we left on.
Invincible Seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream on Prime Video right now, and word right now is that Season 3 is scheduled to arrive in 2025. Here's hoping the wait isn't any longer than that, especially for those of us who felt like the ending of Season 2 wasn't as satisfying as it could've been. For those looking for something new to watch, check out our 2024 TV premiere guide.
