Invincible follows the story of Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun), a half-alien teenager with superpowers who fights for justice as a superhero while also dealing with the typical obstacles faced by many teenagers. Episode 1 of Invincible season 2 explores the following themes: living with trauma and acclimating to new environments.
The main plot of the episode follows Mark Grayson as he readjusts to normal life after the trauma he experienced at the end of season 1 at the hands of his father. In another storyline, a new character who is on a humanitarian mission is introduced. The character is named Angstrom Levy (Sterling K. Brown). The episode also features familiar characters from season 1, known as the “teen team”, who are led by Robot (Zachary Quinto). In the episode they experience the hardships of working as a unit. Mark’s mother Debbie (Sandra Oh) is also given a fair amount of screen time and her plot line is similar to her son’s as she learns to cope with the pain inflicted on her by her husband.
Angstrom’s story stands out the most in the episode as it features some of the most high concept science fiction ideas that the creators of the show have explored so far. Mark and Debbie’s stories serve as the emotional cores of the episode and help rekindle the love that these characters received from the audience in season 1. Teen team’s storyline delivers on the action that the other plot lines lack which helps give the episode a good balance of emotion and entertainment.
The most notable performances of the episode come from Steph Yeun and Sterling K. Brown. Yuen is able to successfully convey the trauma of his character in a way that immediately attracts empathy from the audience. Brown’s performance feels charming and he is able to make his character likable in a way that inspires the audience to root for him.
Despite its slower pace the episode overall serves as a strong way to start the season as it reconnects the audience with the characters they already cared for while also introducing new interesting characters and storylines. If the intention of the episode was to breathe new life into the series as whole, then it has without a doubt succeeded.
Rating 9/10