The fifth installment of INVINCIBLE might be the best one yet. It features the most intense fight scene since the pilot. Like the pilot, it also has some surprises that make this a fun episode. To top it off, it moves some of the subplots forward as well.
One of the show’s strengths is its cast of supporting characters. I actually tend to prefer them to Invincible himself. While he’s earnest and awkwardly charming enough, I often find him kind of bland. I can only stay on the ‘Mark is always late and he has a hard time balancing his love life with being a superhero’ for so long.
Thankfully, the rest of the heroes are more layered. Monster Girl struggles with looking like she’s 12. Rex Splode is a jerk, but a funny one. Robot is up to something. Atom Eve isn’t even sure she wants to be a superhero. But a show can’t be built on heroes alone, and this episode is one where the villains shine. The episode revolves around Invincible weighing teaming up with a bad guy who doesn’t seem so bad after all. The main villain of the show is more one-dimensional as a pure bad guy, but he’s hilarious. He has the best lines of the episode and the fact that he gets by with smarts sets him apart from most of the other characters on this show who basically smash people. We also check in on the blue baddie who clones himself and then fights over who is the clone. That’s so random and yet so perfect.
Now, back to the fighting. If you’ve seen the pilot, you know this show isn’t afraid to show buckets of animated blood. If you’ve felt like the show has been holding back for the past few episodes, you won’t be disappointed this time. It is less over the top gross than the pilot’s shocker, but it replaces some (well, a little) of the gore with cool choreography and power use.
This episode will probably land more if you’ve seen the prior episodes to establish the characters and what they are up to. With that said, there are some surprises and a cliffhanger in this episode, so try to watch it before your friends or social media can spoil it. In case you need a reminder, this show is for adults – in addition to the blood there is plenty of cursing.
The fifth episode of INVINCIBLE premiered on April 9th on Amazon Prime Video. Check back soon for my thoughts on episode 6 of the series.
Are you watching the series? What do you think so far? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!
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