Thursday, April 11, 2024

The Book of Rannells: Invincible: Season 2, Episode 4 – “It’s Been a While” (2023)

*A major spoiler from the end of episode 3.*

Strong, emotional episode. Mark is put through the wringer here, both physical and mentally. And while the action is largely off-planet this time around, we also get some important scenes back on Earth.

In the last episode, an alien came to Mark begging for help with a catastrophe on his home planet. The episode ended with Mark arriving on the planet and being presented before their emperor: his dad! Episode 4 picks up where we left off, with Mark feeling bewildered and angry as Nolan tries to convince him that the people here really do need his help. Back on Earth, Eve is grappling with moving forward after an unknowing error had grave consequences, and Debbie wrestles with still caring about Nolan despite the atrocities he’s committed.

Needless to say, Mark is really going through it, and his emotions are all over the place. Once he gets past the initial shock of seeing his dad, his first reaction is to hug Nolan, then explode with anger over the pretense that brought him here. “Why would you think I’d ever want to see you again?” he demands. “You called Mom a pet.” He’s wary of Nolan’s claim that things have changed, and he doesn’t see why he should get roped into fighting a threat that’s only coming because of his dad. He’s giving head-spinning news in the most indelicate way possible. At the same time, he doesn’t want an innocent race to pay for Nolan’s behavior.

The episode features two really great wordless sequences, leaning on the soundtrack and the animation as we really get into the characters’ state of mind. First, we back up to the end of season 1 and follow what happened with Nolan when he left Earth. Then, we see Debbie at possibly her lowest, struggling to find anything worth clinging onto.

A couple guest stars of note here. Rhea Seehorn, who played Kim on Better Call Saul, appears as Andress, one of the aliens Mark is asked to help. And in Debbie’s storyline, we get a very welcome appearance from Mark Hamill’s Art. Great to see him again!

William shows up, albeit briefly, at the start of Eve’s storyline. As she’s reeling from her recent costly mistake, she heads to campus looking for Mark, where she finds Amber and William instead. They can tell something’s wrong and try to offer what support they can, but Eve plasters on a mask of “okay” and does her best to deflect.

Just the one scene, so there’s not much for Andrew Rannells today. But before Eve arrives, I enjoy this little exchange as William extolls the awesomeness of college professors not caring about attendance.

Amber: “You know you’re paying to be here, right?”

William: “You sure know how to take the fun out of skipping classes.”

 

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