The Book of Rannells: Invincible: Season 2, Episode 7 – “I’m Not Going Anywhere” (2024)

Penultimate episode of the season! Peeking at IMDb, it’s also the last episode with Andrew Rannells in it, so it’ll be my last Invincible review for now. It’s a good one, although it of course ends with quite a bit unresolved going into the finale.

Mark is still trying to get the elements of his ordinary life back on track after his two-month hiatus in space, and what he’s struggling with the most is his relationship with Amber. He’s anxious to figure out how to prioritize her and not be a “bad boyfriend” while also balancing his responsibilities as Invincible. Rick is having a hard time adjusting after his traumatic experiences last season, and he’s still dealing with the GDA “putting [him] back together] afterwords. William, desperate to help him, reaches out to a GDA agent for assistance. An unexpected visitor throws a dangerous wrench into everything.

The Mark-Amber plot is well done, although pretty much any time those two have issues, my “Black Midgame Love Interest” spidey senses start tingling. In this episode, both of them are aware that their relationship isn’t in a great place, and neither knows how to fix it. In a lovely scene, Mark winds up talking to his mom about it, trying to imagine her early dating experience with Nolan and what that was like for her.

Oh, and there’s a scene where Mark and Amber go on a date at Comic-Con. Which, one, neat. Two, Mark has to deal with seeing Invincible cosplayers running around. And three, we get a fun bit of meta where Mark is meeting one of his comic book heroes, and they get to talking about how animated superhero shows “cut corners” in subdued scenes to save their resources for the big fight sequences. Hee!

I won’t get into the details of the unexpected visitor, but this character tests Mark both physically and emotionally, and he has to dig deep to make his stand. Throughout their scenes together, I also like the dynamic of Cecil in Mark’s earpiece, trying to guide him from afar.

This time around, Andrew Rannells does get some nice material to work with, even if it’s fairly short. While he’s not really the focus of his scenes, William provides lovely support for Rick, and he does a good job as a college student trying to deal with a situation that’s way over his head. Seeking help from Donald at the GDA turns out to be the best thing William could do, because unbeknownst to him, Donald has been dealing with his own issues this season that are very similar to what Rick is going through.

Side note: the villain that hurt Rick last season was voiced by Eza Miller, but this season, he’s been replaced by voice actor Eric Bauza (who just so happens to be the current voice of Bugs Bunny,) which is great to see hear!

The Book of Rannells: Invincible: Season 2, Episode 6 – “It’s Not That Simple” (2024)

*Spoilers from episode 5.*

I’ll be honest, this one had a little trouble holding my attention. Much like episode 5, it doesn’t seem to fulfill the potential of its preceding cliffhanger. As a result, it’s fine but feels kind of anti-climactic.

Mark, Shapesmith, and a handful of other Guardians have flown to intercept a Martian ship taken over by Sequids, a parasitic hive mind race looking to hijack humanity. They fight to stop the invasion and then deal with intervening fallout back on Earth. As Debbie considers logistics for raising Nolan’s son, who she’s christened Oliver, she’s determined to keep Cecil and the Global Defense Agency out of it.

Toward the tail end of episode 5, the characters learned about the Sequid invasion force, and the episode ended with them on the ropes, fighting for their lives. As such, it surprised me that this part of the story wraps up fairly quickly, and even a personal crisis in the middle of the fight is addressed without too much fuss. Maybe it’s me, being supremely creeped out by the Sequids, but I thought more time would be spent on this.

There’s quite a bit of heaviness here. While Mark and co. were dealing with the Sequids, major stuff was going down with the rest of the Guardians on Earth. No one’s really in a good place mentally right now, and they’re all dealing with a lot.

As I said last week, it’s hard for Debbie to wrap her head around the idea of raising Nolan’s alien baby, but once she decides to take in Oliver, she’s serious about it. She’s already concerned about Cecil’s influence over Mark, and she doesn’t want him getting anywhere near the baby. There’s a guest star in this plotline, a nanny applicant named April, who’s played by Calista Flockhart, so that’s cool!

We get a little more of William than we have in previous episodes this season, although Andrew Rannells still doesn’t really have anything of substance to do. There’s an intriguing loose thread brought back today in the form of Rick, William’s crush from season 1 who was brutalized in a supervillain attack. When he returns in this episode looking pretty much unscathed, Mark’s spidey senses start tingling, but William is too thrilled to suspect anything could be amiss.

Other than that, I smiled at this line, in which Mark gets his signals crossed while seeking privacy in the dorms. After an intense discussion with Allen the Alien, we hear knocking at the door and William calling, “Hey Mark, are you and Amber done yet? That sock’s been on the door for hours, and I really need to go to bed!” Hee!

The Book of Rannells: Invincible: Season 2, Episode 5 – “This Must Come as a Shock” (2024)

*Spoilers for episode 4.*

I’m watching it all together, but season 2 originally aired with a months-long hiatus in the middle. This was the first episode back after the intense, bloody fourth installment. Personally, I don’t think it quite hits as an anticipated follow-up to that one, although it gains momentum as it goes.

In episode 4, the Viltrumites come for Nolan, raining hell down on the planet where he’s been living since leaving Earth. Despite his anger at his dad, Mark helps to fight them for the sake of the innocent aliens who’ve gotten caught up in this. Nolan is brutalized within an inch of his life and taken back to Viltrum. Now, Mark is back on Earth with a little surprise: his half-brother, who Nolan fathered while he was away. As Mark tries to pick up the pieces of his dad’s mess yet again, a major disaster is headed for Earth.

I’d say Mark and Debbie are handling all of this about as well as can be expected—which, really, isn’t all that well. Debbie, who hadn’t even known if Nolan was still alive, gets slapped in the face with the realization that he started a new family, and now she has to figure out how to take care of her murderous ex’s alien toddler. And because Mark’s “quick trip” to space wound up being two months, all kinds of trouble has piled up for him at home: he’s on academic probation at school, he missed being there for Amber through some tough stuff, and it looks like he may be heading for a power struggle with Cecil.

By the way, in the midst of everything she’s going through right now, Debbie manages a bit of top-shelf shade against Nolan in this exchange:

MARK: “He’s my brother, I can’t just abandon him!”

DEBBIE: “You must get it from my side of the family.”

Debbie Grayson, nothing but net!

The first half of the episode is pretty character-driven and talky, but the action gears up in the second half. There’s more than one big threat going on here. The biggest calls back to a loose thread from season 1, when Mark was sent on a mission to Mars to rescue some human astronauts. An unresolved issue from that mission has come calling in a massive way, and Mark and Eve need to team up with Martian-in-disguise Shapesmith, along with the particular Guardians who won’t be susceptible to the deadly foe that’s coming for them.

Another episode where William is in just one short scene, so not much Andrew Rannells again. He’s pleased but startled when Mark reappears at college after his long absence, and he’s the one to break the news that Mark is on thin ice with the dean. When Mark protests that William had promised to cover for him, William replies, “I did! For a while. Two months, Mark—that’s more excuses than anyone can make up!”