In episode 4 of Invincible season 2, Mark faces his father and learns what he’s been up to, and Debbie makes a big decision. The episode is streaming on Prime Video.

Recap

Nolan was completely lost following his battle with Mark and didn’t know what to do. He traveled the galaxy looking for some purpose and decided to end it all by getting sucked into a black hole.

While he awaited his demise, he noticed a ship of helpless Thraxans getting sucked into the black hole as well, and he saves them. He takes their ship back to their home planet but when he’s about to leave, they plead with him to stay.

Nolan stays and eventually becomes their monarch, and he tells Mark that he brought him there because he needed Mark’s help, even though he used a ruse to convince him to come.

He introduces Mark to his wife, Andressa, and his half-brother. Mark is appalled by the fact that Nolan moved on to someone else so easily but Nolan insists that it wasn’t like that.

He also explains that the Thraxans have a very short lifespan, but his half-brother will live longer since he’s half-Viltrumite, which also puts him at risk.

Debbie roams the streets after the devastating words that Theo shared with her, and she considers ending her life. However, she visits Nolan’s grave and vents her anger for the position he put her in.

The surviving Mauler creates another clone, and for the first time, he can prove that he’s the original because of his disfigurement. Donald visits Debbie’s house but gets no answer at the door.

He then walks over to the spot across the road where he died. He finds a pair of out-of-shape glasses that resemble his own amongst the rubble.

Eve is still going through a tough time after finding out that she almost caused a massive tragedy. Amber and William mention that Mark is out in space and that they’re worried about him. They invite Eve to hang out with them and let off some steam if she needs to.

Nolan tells Mark that they need to train for the eventual arrival of Viltrumites who seek to punish Nolan for his transgressions. Mark and Nolan continue to argue until 3 Viltrumite soldiers crash down onto the planet’s surface.

Nolan tells Mark to fly Andressa and his brother to safety while he holds off the soldiers. She guides him to ancient caverns within the mountains where they can hide out.

Andressa tells Mark that Thraxan’s lifespans are equal to just a single human year, which is why they let their children pick their own names once they come of a certain age. One of the soldiers crashes down into the cavern, and Mark does his best to fight them off until Nolan arrives.

Eve is crashing at the old Guardian’s base on the bridge when Killcannon sneaks in to steal something. She fights him off but during their battle, an elderly couple’s car is thrown off the bridge and Eve does her best to rescue them.

Debbie is at home going through old pictures when Art visits her. The two of them reminisce over the good times, and Art reminds Debbie that she achieved so much while Nolan was out saving the world, which makes her much stronger than she believes.

Donald returns to the GDA headquarters and watches the footage where he blows himself up after Nolan breaks his spine. Nolan and Mark return to the main city to see all the Thraxans massacred by the Viltrumites.

Each of them takes one of the soldiers, and Nolan tells Mark that the only way he’s going to match up to a Viltrumite is if he stops holding back.

They manage to defeat the two soldiers, but the third one shows up and breaks Nolan’s back as he remarks that Nolan should have made sure he was dead.

Debbie tells Cecil that she’s leaving, and she doesn’t want any assistance from him anymore. She packs up all of Nolan’s comic books and states that she doesn’t want the proceeds from them anymore.

Mark barely wakes up from unconsciousness and notices a Viltrumite ship in the sky with some of them taking their soldiers away. Nolan is being strapped up as well, and he asks Mark to make sure he remembers all of the good that Nolan did and specifically mentions his books.

Debbie leaves a box of Nolan’s books outside their house before she drives away. One of the books is titled “The Man with the Invincible Gun”. Eve goes back home to help her parents out and take a break from being a superhero.

Donald goes into the washroom and takes a blade to his arm to see if he’s still human. He is relieved to see himself bleed, but then he notices the tip of the blade he used, which is bent.

Mark wakes up again and sees a Viltrumite before him. They introduce themselves as General Kregg and tell Mark that he needs to go back to Earth and prepare the planet for the Viltrumite invasion.

He warns Mark that if they arrive on Earth and find signs of resistance, then they will kill millions of humans without remorse.

The King Mauler treats the clone like a servant, but the clone laces one of the King’s drinks with poison and kills them so that he can go back to the way things were.

Review

The battle between the Viltrumites and Nolan and Mark is absolutely gruesome and exciting in equal measure. JK Simmon’s voice is so commanding and his words ring loud and true during the fight.
After being introduced in the first episode, Angstrom Levy has taken a bit of a back seat. In a sense, this is an example of how well the show runners have done of balancing multiple plotlines within the series.
Donald’s resurrection has been handled so well because of the subtlety behind it. The audience figures it out along with Donald and that is such a fun experience.