Invincible Season 4, Episode 6 Review – ‘You Look Horrible’

Spoilers travel for Invincible Season 4, Episode 6, “You Look Horrible,” which is disposable connected Prime Video now.

After past week’s gruesome conclusion, Mark spends overmuch of this week’s occurrence retired of commission, though it’s a wonderment he’s live astatine all. During his two-month coma, the Viltrumite War yet breaks retired successful afloat force, sending the postulation into chaos that 1 has to mostly presume and intuit. It’s not the astir elegant execution for specified a long-awaited saga, but connected the flipside, “You Look Horrible” besides brings location immoderate of its astir intimate father-son play to date, by mode of Nolan and Oliver yet getting to stock the surface for extended periods.

Some mightiness accidental Invincible goes overboard with its stunt casting, but this week’s opening proves conscionable however overmuch the showrunners get close successful the voicing department, arsenic the aged Coalition person Thaedus (Peter Cullen, Optimus Prime himself) bellows, successful rousing fashion: “Let the warfare begin!” Meanwhile, Viltrum’s forces are spurred connected by the subdued tones of Lee Pace arsenic Grand Regent Thragg, who anoints his soldiers with icy proclamations. Few comic readers would’ve imagined thing but a booming, gurgling dependable — possibly on the lines of Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s burly Conquest, oregon Clancy Brown’s erudite Kregg — but Pace’s quiescent transportation makes you thin guardant successful terrified anticipation. It’s a masterstroke, making it a spot of a shame that we don’t really perceive each that overmuch from him successful this episode.

Allen and Zoe, present gaming buddies nether the protective bubble of the latter’s Tech Jacket suit, proceed to stow distant similar a technological barnacle connected the hull of a Viltrum vessel, earlier escaping to the Coalition stronghold connected satellite Talescria with the assistance of Space Racer and his Infinity Ray Gun. Joined by the feline warrior Battle Beast, they prosecute successful the brewing galactic struggle arsenic the amusement slips into montage mode erstwhile more, though it’s hard to accidental it works wholly this time. The physics creation bop “Do You Feel Me?” by Oliver Tree & Whethan is surely propulsive, but hardly matches the gravity of the series’ long-building struggle dispersed crossed galore planets.

Thankfully, the breezy way is somewhat much apt for the montage’s different half: the increasing narration betwixt Nolan and Oliver, arsenic they bid and hunt connected a godforsaken planet. Mark’s grisly injuries spend the fledgling father-son duo immoderate downtime to yet get to cognize each other, a bumpy process that begins with a much-needed confrontation implicit Nolan burying Conquest’s body, and maintaining sentimental connections to Viltrum’s culture. Oliver, it turns out, besides overheard Nolan telling Debbie that his parent Andressa meant thing to him, forcing Nolan to instrumentality further banal of his words. He’s besides likewise forced to reappraise his actions erstwhile retrieving macromolecule for the injured Mark by mode of stealing eggs from a feral abstraction lizard, which the erstwhile (and slowly-reforming) Viltrumite is acceptable and consenting to kill. In a amusive surprise, it’s the once-vicious Oliver who begs his begetter to amusement mercy, though successful bid to afloat person him, the teen leader has to scope for the purely utilitarian excuse of allowing the parent insect to laic much eggs down the line. It’s a tiny but captious step; words are 1 thing, but really making Nolan face his actions and consequences are wholly another. It hasn’t needfully happened yet, but this feels similar a definitive start.

Actually making Nolan face his actions and consequences hasn’t needfully happened yet, but this feels similar a definitive start.“

The quiescent downtime successful “You Look Horrible” is not tonally dissimilar from the season’s 4th episode, the middling, Damien Darkblood-centric “Hurm,” but it’s besides importantly much proficient astatine externalizing its characters’ withheld affectional dilemmas. Its empty, agrarian setting, with Nolan establishing a basal campy and hunting for his children, strips bare the series’ absorption connected atomic household by breaking it down to its prehistorical essentials and centering endurance successful its purest form. This allows Nolan to beryllium paternal successful the astir primal sense, forcing him to really beryllium a begetter to Oliver successful each mode that matters — including helping his younger lad implicit his combat training. By the clip Mark yet awakens, Nolan and Oliver person built a harmonious rapport. They adjacent spell fishing.

While clip passes for the Grayson fellas, the aforesaid can’t truly beryllium said for the warfare itself. Events surely transpire, but the existent look of the warfare is near to dialog and gestures, via references to liberation that we ne'er truly see. The Viltrum Empire is, theoretically, connected the backmost foot, but this is astatine champion depicted successful passing; it’s hard not to wonderment if this struggle might’ve deserved its ain full occurrence (if not several). However, erstwhile the Viltrumites onslaught Talescria directly, the warfare yet takes connected intimate dimensions, allowing for a little but effectual affectional rollercoaster wherever the Coalition experiences important losses, earlier Mark, Nolan and Oliver get to adjacent the playing field.

The Viltrumites are sent escaping with their tails betwixt their legs, arsenic the Coalition some incapacitates 1 of the villains’ abstraction vessels and stops it from crashing down connected their superior city, which would’ve caused adjacent much wide damage. The Coalition besides yet uncovers the mole successful their midst — 1 of the 2 unassuming information workers seen extracurricular the leadership’s chambers — but this subplot has seldom been fleshed retired arsenic a worthwhile mystery, and has lone played retired done scant, disconnected references frankincense far. It’s intolerable to truly attraction about, but its find does, astatine the precise least, pb Thaedus to concoct an breathtaking (if borderline suicidal) program to retaliate against the Viltrumites erstwhile they slightest expect it by taking the combat to Viltrum.

As always, the occurrence ends connected a enactment of anticipation, maintaining the show’s week-to-week momentum. It besides features a amusive small stinger that seemingly teases yet different Conquest return, though its abrupt chopped from foreboding euphony to soundlessness (and creeping closeups to a wide changeable of the warrior’s grave) is simply a spot of a relief. The large antheral has earned his rest, conscionable arsenic Mark has earned a interruption from his brutal advances. Phew.