Invincible Season 3 Episode 8 Review

While audiences have had a glimpse of Jeffery Dean Morgan’s Conquest in episode seven of ‘Invincible’, episode eight spends a lot more time with him and fleshes him out, more so than the comics did. He’s a force to be reckoned with, somehow even more brutal than the previous Viltrumites that Mark has faced and more destructive. Rex Splode’s funeral, while emotional, does lead to awkward moments. The show also teases several upcoming threats for season four of the show, with Earth likely to be under siege from multiple villains. 

Picking up from where last week left off, Mark and Conquest fight in the ruined streets, destroying even more of the city after the Invincible War. This fight lasts most of the episode, devoting an appropriate amount of time to such a key moment in the comics. There is a noticeable step up in animation compared to the previous seasons, with more detail on shots and moments, which makes this fight even more fun to watch. Peppered throughout is dialogue, helping to keep the audience engaged throughout. 

This dialogue is crucial, revealing more about the main characters without a ton of exposition. What makes it even better are the lead performances from Steven Yeun and Jeffery Dean Morgan, the latter lending a gruff, sadistic sense of playfulness to Conquest. He’s deeply messed up, clearly enjoying the power trip he thinks he has. Every chance he gets, Conquest taunts Mark; he takes it, only making Mark more angry. Towards the end of the fight, Conquest gets to express a surprising emotion, loneliness. It’s a twisted version that he feels, but it adds an extra dimension to the guy, and makes him feel like more of an actual person and not just an incredibly destructive machine.

Mark isn’t alone during this. Oliver once again shows his caring nature, desperate to help Mark. Debbie herself shows some growth, where once she would have tried to stop Oliver from fighting, but now understands the strength that he has and lets him go to fight. Unfortunately, Oliver is not strong enough for the fights he wants to get involved in, and, rather hilariously (in a gruesome way), is batted out the way as though he’s a fly. Atom Eve, who Gillian Jacobs takes to amazing new heights with her voice acting, is full of rage. Eve’s fight with Conquest also shows a really creative use of her powers, something that audiences rarely get to see. While this is likely due to real-world cost reasons, it does bring up questions of why she doesn’t get this creative all the time.

After Conquest is defeated, a short funeral is held for Rex Splode. Rudy (now Rex, formerly Robot), gives a short speech with a drone, explaining to Amanda that he couldn’t give that speech in person without breaking down, again showing how much he’s developed emotionally. He then takes Rex’s name on, which honestly feels a little messed up, especially as he took Rex’s younger body without asking. It seems like he just wants to take over Rex. Elsewhere at the funeral, Shrinking Rae is standing alone, crying. It’s surprising that no one is comforting her, especially Dupli-Kate or Atom Eve, who have both previously had relationships with Rex in the past. Eve gets to say a few heartfelt words, reflecting on her troubled past with him. Overall it’s an effective goodbye to a series staple, and a presence that will be missed going forwards.

This is where the season brings everything to a close. Mark takes a darker turn, with the events of this season convincing him that he does need to kill people more often, to end the threat to his family and the world as a whole, something that all heroes grapple with. But what sets Mark apart is that they come down on the other side of that equation usually. It’s a terrifying sign of things to come. Jumping into teases for season four, audiences see that the Sequids have been busy and are gearing up for a devastating invasion, Angstrom Levy is still at large and is repairing his relationship with the Technicians, Cecil is lying to Mark about Conquest’s death and wants to probe him for information (which can’t possibly go wrong), and Damian Dark Blood is plotting his revenge. All of this could end up being a massive arc of its own, but the fact that audiences will be getting it all in season four is tantalizing. That wraps up a season three, one that had an excellent first three and last two episodes, though whose middle sagged a bit.