- Rating: ★★★½ stars
- Verdict: "Invincible" may have really hurt itself with the long break between seasons 1 and 2, because now in season 4, the momentum feels lost. There are still a few emotionally devastating moments, but at other times, making it through this three-episode premiere can feel like a chore.
- Where to watch: Stream the "Invincible" season 4 three-episode premiere on Prime Video now
"Invincible" season 4 has officially arrived with a three-episode premiere on Prime Video. I'll freely admit that, while I love this show, by the end of season 3, I was wondering if this show had missed its moment. Season 1 was incredible, but then it took a while for us to get season 2, which was split into two four-part blocks of episodes.
Add it all up, and we're now almost five years down the road from the electric first season. That's nearly five orbits around the sun to get just 27 episodes so far. In short, the show lost some momentum.
Now, after watching the first three episodes of season 4, I'm concerned the show has also lost its spark. "Invincible" was magical because it took a traditional superhero animated series and used it to deliver emotionally powerful moments that would leave your jaw on the floor. Sure, there was blood and gore along the way, but between Mark's (Steven Yeun) devastating origins, his soul-crushing destiny and his complicated relationships, the show's success came from creating emotional stakes and then delivering on them with hammer blows of violence or dialogue.
We still get some of this so far in season 4. There's the ending of episode 3, which I won't spoil, but it delivered an emotional complication that to me made it clear why this premiere ended with episode 3.
Then there's episode 2, which is the one time where this show had me quickly reminiscing about what "Invincible" delivers at its peak before I was then rapt in attention, taking in every frame. It's in this episode that we get the backstory of Nolan (J.K. Simmons) and the Viltrumites fully revealed, and it is devastating.
The only problem is that this profound revelation gets undercut as the episode goes on by a bit where Nolan is forced to listen to Allen the Alien (Seth Rogen) and Allen's girlfriend Telia (Tatiana Maslany) having sex in the room next to where he's trying to sleep. It's funny the first time or two, but it recurs far too many times throughout the rest of the episode.
I still have hope that this was just a slow start to season 4
Complaints about poorly executed comedic bits aside, getting through these first three episodes almost felt like a slog at times. The pacing is slow at times, and at other times, we divert into one of the show's now numerous storylines. This is a problem that comes from adapting a comic, where spending an issue on a B-plot or C-plot wouldn't be out of the ordinary.
Real estate is more finite in television, though, and this show has already burned a lot of its runtime for season 4. There are now just five episodes to go, and we feel hardly any closer to what should be the core conflict between Mark/Invincible and the Viltrumite leader, Thragg (Lee Pace).
Still, I'm hopeful that the ball is finally starting to get rolling. There are a few storylines slowly rolling towards their conclusions that could deliver a shocking climax. If the final five episodes of season 4 can get at least some of these storylines across the finish line, we could be talking about yet another shocking moment from "Invincible."
