AMAZON Studios knows Invincible is one of its strongest media properties, yet certain decisions it made for the adult animated show’s new season raise some eyebrows, particularly in the animation department.
In theSun’s review of the second season, we pointed out despite a strong narrative, the season had a weak, downright comical moustache-twirling primary villain. However, as a whole, it was elevated by solid writing and great animation, be it during the fights or standard conversations.
On the animation front, Invincible’s second season is almost the exact opposite – at least for the first six out of eight episodes.
Superhero morality tested
Once again weaving several plot threads at once, the new season gets down and dirty on the morality and ethics of superheroes, particularly for those who with powers that could easily decimate entire cities.
Mark Grayson/Invincible (Steven Yeun) continues to face the repercussions of his father Nolan/Omni-Man’s (J.K. Simmons) actions in the first season. This time around, he is also burdened with setting a good example for his half-brother Oliver/Kid Omni-Man (Christian Convery).
A babbling baby in the second season, the young superhero has aged to around 10 years old in a matter of months due to his half-Tharaxan genetics. Further complicating matters is the emerging bloodlust within Oliver due to being half-Viltrumite.
In the background, several other developments take place, particularly Cecil Stedman’s continued research into developing anti-Viltrumite weapons to protect Earth through morally dubious means, Allen the Alien (Seth Rogen) attempting to break Nolan out from a Viltrumite prison in space and Angstrom Levy’s return.
As said before, there is a lot more going on in the story with the supporting characters. These plot threads – seemingly inane and sometimes pointless – all culminate and intersect with the final two big events in the season’s last episodes.
Animation woes drag season down
The definitive and strongest connective tissue in this season is Mark’s growth, along with the relationship between him, Oliver and
their mother.
For the half-brothers, a large aspect of their relationship and growing familial bond, which grows throughout and bookends the season, is where do they, as heroes, draw the line when it comes to killing “bad guys” who deserve it and whether the act of taking another’s life is warranted.
His development as a character and the Grayson brothers’ growing relationship bloom in the final two episodes, which is also the high point of a strong season bogged down by poor animation.
Possibly due to budget or time constraints, every shot, scene or action sequence from the first episode up to the sixth looks like it was done by an amateur animator – or animation team – on YouTube.
Scenes are often poorly shaded. Faces regularly lack dynamic expressions. There is a weird lack of depth in relation to the shadows cast. The worst by far is how any form of movement, particularly the flying or action-heavy ones, looks like still images that are poorly animated to give an illusion of motion.
To illustrate this, look at a picture with someone’s face on your phone and use your fingers to crudely enlarge the image and move it around. This is what scenes in Invincible’s third season look like when they try to portray movement.
Explosive finale redemption
Amazon Studios may have brought its budgeting approach from The Boys over to Invincible, where a large chunk of a season is done on a shoe-string budget so money can splurged on the season finale. Because once the seventh episode kicks off, the animation quality roars back with a vengeance.
And what a finale it was. In the seventh episode, a war breaks out with alternate versions of Mark/Invincible appearing on Earth and battling its heroes, while the final episode once again highlights the pure carnage, devastation and catastrophe that follows any Viltrumite.
Lasting nearly 40 minutes, I Thought You’d Never Shut Up is an orchestra of mayhem, as one of the most infamous Viltrumites from Robert Kirkman’s comics appears on Earth.
Voiced by Jeffrey Dean Morgan with the actor’s natural menacing swagger, Conquest arrives to see that Mark has failed to conquer Earth after the last Viltrumite, Anissa, came to deliver the order in the last season.
Nothing short of being a The Walking Dead reunion for Yeun and Morgan, their characters enter into a battle that is best summed up as a destructive spectacle, levelling entire cities and leaving at least several thousand civilians either dead or maimed for life.
For the entirety of the season, Conquest is never mentioned or shown coming to Earth. He is not a villain that the season builds up to. The Viltrumite simply appears out of nowhere and through the stellar animation, Morgan’s voicework and writing, Conquest proves to be just that good of a villain that he requires no build-up or progression before the climactic fight.
Conquest also answers the question that Mark and Oliver asked each other – yes, some bad guys should certainly be killed if it means protecting even one person.
Invincible’s third season is streaming on Prime Video.
