This evaluation comprises spoilers for Invincible season 3, episode 4, "You Were My Hero"
After a propulsive three–half premiere, Invincible’s third season takes a small step again with “You Were My Hero.” It’s removed from a foul episode, however it’s shackled by a few of the sequence’ most irksome tendencies: its occasional lack of ability to steadiness its dueling narratives, and its tongue-in-cheek strategy to intimacy. By the time Nolan (good to see you once more, Omni-Man) drops a bombshell concerning the coming Viltrumite invasion, the plot has moved ahead – however it comes on the expense of some emotional resonance.
“You Were My Hero” is split into three distinct components. While the third performs like a completely totally different episode – extra on that in a second – the primary leads neatly into the second. Rex and Ray’s grocery run permits them to mirror on their early maturity, earlier than a villainous interruption yanks us again to Guardians HQ, the place Mark/Invincible is investigating the explosive drone that almost killed his household. We know this to be the work of Angstrom Levy, however the paranoid hero nonetheless suspects Cecil and the GDA. So, he acts rashly and violently in response – a shot of him floating recollects his godlike father – and he assaults the GDA on the Pentagon earlier than flying off for his second date with Eve. Or relatively, it’s his “second first date” because the final one was interrupted when obligation known as, although he doesn’t have a lot better luck this time.
It all feels a bit of rushed. Mark is whisked away to an apocalyptic future by a returning Dropkick and Fight Master, who beg him to take care of their despot king, who’s shortly revealed to be a future Immortal. However, it seems Immortal was positioned in cost by none aside from a future model of Mark, recalling final season’s alternate model of Invincible, who stood alongside Nolan and went full fascist dictator.
This confrontation finally ends up barely limp, even when it recollects the way in which Nolan almost killed the immortal in the sequence premiere. Mark and Immortal don’t have a lot of a relationship within the present’s major timeline, so being compelled to dispense with the aged hero doesn’t tug on the coronary heart strings. It does, nonetheless, result in the beginnings of an existential tailspin when he returns to the current and asks Eve if she believes he’s a very good particular person. But “You Were My Hero” doesn’t let that sink in, both, shortly switching into date-montage mode as an alternative. Even if Mark can stifle his disaster by means of his romance with Eve,it’s not one thing we’re allowed to see or really feel – particularly because the present brings again the juvenile operating joke of reducing away from a intercourse scene. (Some awkward narration hangs a lantern on the gag, however that doesn’t make it any higher.) Invincible is so brazen with its violence, however it may well’t muster the identical boldness with something sexual.
This results in a second half set completely in house, the place we lastly get extra Nolan this season. “You Were My Hero” pulls the set off on Allen the Alien serving to the reformed Viltrumite escape (with some shock assist from Battle Beast), although this prolonged motion sequence is, as soon as once more, buoyed by extreme, verging on numbing, bloodshed. The present’s earlier episode used its gore to focus on some main impending conundrums for Mark and his youthful brother, Oliver/Kid Omni-Man, who’s taken to murdering his opponents, which components into Mark’s Immortal dilemma this week. Unfortunately, Mark’s declare that he doesn’t kill folks slams into one other scene the place the violent extra lacks which means, and that’s a bit of deflating. (The picture of Nolan and Allen punching the top of Viltrumite guard into pulp on the identical time is cool as hell, although.)
The tag on which the episode ends is a enjoyable one, with Nolan revealing that his kingdom’s obsession with blood quantum is as a result of “pure blooded” Viltrumites are stronger, whereas these with blended lineage are simpler to defeat. And, with solely 50 or so “pure” Vultrumites left, that offers them a combating likelihood – particularly with Nolan lastly on board, and eventually on his method to accepting Allen as his pal.
