Invincible Season 2 doesn’t have much room left for error – with Episode 7 being the penultimate episode of the season. It’s a good thing, then, that Episode 7 “I’m Not going Anywhere” does a lot of heavy lifting, with some clear direction toward some character arc and thematic payoff for the season, as well as some major unexpected twists that thrust the series in exciting new directions.
All season long, Mark Grayson/Invincible has been struggling to redefine his life and purpose as a hero, following the revelations about his father Nolan/Omni-Man, and his Viltrumite heritage. This episode brings that existential crisis to a head for Mark, forcing some life-altering decisions to be made – even while life keeps forcing him into corners he never expected.
Best of all, Episode 7 sets up an Invincible Season 2 Finale battle that already has fans on the edges of their seats!
Invincible Season 2 Episode 7 Recap (Spoilers): “I’m Not Going Anywhere”
Comic-Con – Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun) and his girlfriend Amber (Zazie Beetz) attend Comic-Con, where Mark has the embarrassing realization that Invincible cosplay has become a thing. Mark and Amber have awkward vibes as Mark worries about if she’s enjoying the ‘Con, while Amber asserts that she knows what she likes and doesn’t fake it – and probably spends more time than Mark reading comics, since he’s off doing superhero stuff so much. There’s a big in-joke scene where Mark gets his Seance Dog comic signed by the creator Filip Schaff , who informs him why Season 2 of the animated series is taking so long – and how they have to cut certain corners of animation to get it done (big in-joke from the comics repurposed for animation). Mark gets a call from Atom Eve (Gillian Jacobs) that Rex Splode (Jason Mantzoukas) has fled the hospital – where he’s supposed to be recovering form a bullet in the head. Since Eve is once again busting her nemesis Killcanon, Mark has to ditch Amber yet again to track down Rex. At this point, Amber doesn’t even flinch from being abandoned.
Back In The Game – Rex is facing a massive aquatic cybernetic villain called “Octoboss.” Rex is trying to talk himself back up after his near-death experience and leaps into the fight. Octobos’s loose grip on English makes Rex mock him badly – but eventually, the villain gains the upper hand, nearly crushing Rex under his metal boot. Invincible shows up and saves Rex, but Rex wants to go it alone, saying he needs the experience. When Octoboss comes charging in again, Rex remembers to deploy his power through the new canon built into his cybernetic left hand, and quickly fries Octoboss. Rex and Invincible have a post-battle chat about what it’s like coming back from a serious superhero beatdown (physically and mentally), whether it’s Rex losing Dupli-Kate or Mark facing his own father, Omni-Man. Rex asks about Mark and Amber, and when he hears Mark ditched her at Comic-Con, he makes a deal: Mark gets to pick a day where the Guardians of the Globe will cover for him, so he can have a personal life. Mark is hesitant but Rex insists the Guardians are still the best superhero team on the planet and can cover his absence.
Family Matters – Rudy/Robot (Ross Marquand) is letting Amanda/Monster Girl (Grey Griffin) test drive a new robot drone built in the image of her Monster Girl form. Amanda doesn’t like the interface, but Rudy promises he can perfect it and “fix her.” Amanda accepts she can’t be fixed, because she’s cursed, putting more strain on their relationship. Black Samson (Khary Payton) and Bulletproof (Jay Pharoah) have a conversation about whether the Guardians are still truly the best, with Bulletproof pointing out that each member of the team is messed up mentally, emotionally, or physically. Samson has to acknowledge that their quality as a team has slipped – but insists that the Guardians are a family, with the same issues a family has. Samson assures Bulletproof that one day he’ll know the difference. The Immortal (Ross Marquand) resigns as team leader, confessing to Cecil (Walton Goggins) that he’s too emotionally broken over his lover Dupli-Kate’s death to be in the field. Cecil tries to refute, but Immortal leaves, heading “home.” Rudy is promoted back to team leader by Cecil.
What Are We Now? – Mark’s best friend William (Andrew Rannells) and his boyfriend Rick (Luke Macfarlane) wake up in bed as Rick is having another nightmare about being his torturous transformation into a cyborg at the hands of D.A. Sinclair in Season 1. Rick expresses how no one understands what truly happened to him or what’s been taken; meanwhile, Cecil lets his assistant Donald (Chris Diamantopoulos) finally see all the footage of his many, many, deaths, making Donald realize how many times he’s been brought back, how long he’s been something other than human, and how many times he willingly sacrificed himself for the greater good.
School Daze – Mark goes with Amber to see the dean about his college career, which is in the balance. Mark finds out that his high school principal Winslow (Reginald VelJohnson) is now the college dean. Dean Winslow demands that Mark make a choice about the life he wants: the college life (with Amber) or whatever he’s been doing instead of his studies. Mark knows the real weight of that choice – and the consequences.
Whole Again – Donald returns to Cecil and confirms that he (Donald) was the one who authorized his memory erasure, to keep him effective on the job and unburdened by the massive weight of so many traumas. Cecil says the choice has always been Donald’s, and this time, Donald chooses to know everything. Debbie Grayson (Sandra Oh) gets asked out by her real estate partner Paul (Cliff Curtis) and accepts. Debbie gets home and finds her new nanny April is successfully caring for Nolan’s new half-Thraxan son, Oliver. Mark gets home and all seems whole again in the Grayson household – until Debbie sees how much is weighing on Mark.
Do It All Again – Mark and Debbie have an adult talk about whether he and Amber can have a life together. Debbie confesses the double-edged sword of what it was like dating Nolan: the excitement of being with a superhero, but also the toll of how often she was alone. Mark asks if she would do it again and Debbie wholeheartedly says she would, because of the new lives (Mark and Oliver) those choices produced. Mark asks if it would be the same if she didn’t have kids, and Debbie’s doubt is all too apparent. Meanwhile, at Upstate University, Rick is thinking about jumping off a building, and Donald answers William’s call to help talk him down. Donald reveals to Rick that he too was rebuilt by the Global Defense Agency, and that his 39 deaths and returns were fueled by the belief that the could keep making the world a better place. It’s that noble nature of his soul that never gets lost – and Rick and seize hold of his existence the same way. Rick comes down off the ledge, and Donald is just as affirmed by his own words as Rick is.
Deadly Date Night – Mark ditches all his costumes and comms and takes Amber out on a truly epic, superhero-sized date. The two have a great time until they sit down for dinner, trying to discuss plans for the next year of college. Those mundane plans are suddenly interrupted by “Anissa” (Shantel VanSanten), a female Viltrumite warrior who shows up out of nowhere and gets her hand around Amber’s neck, demanding Mark talk with her or lose his woman – and watch everyone in the restaurant die. Mark bargains for a meeting elsewhere and Anissa agrees; Mark has to leave the clearly traumatized Amber and suit up, calling Cecil for backup. Invincible meets Anissa in the skies above the city ready for a fight, with the GDA on standby.
What’s A Hero? – Anissa doesn’t want to fight – she truly wants to talk, appealing to Mark that projections prove that humanity has slim chance to survive the next centuries – while Viltrum will teach them order and prosperity. She questions what “saving” humanity means in those terms. Cecil and the GDA calculate that Mark has about the same odds of surviving against Anissa; Cecil calls Sinclair in his mad lab to see if the Reanimen project is ready, but Sinclair is unsure. The situation takes another turn when a Kaiju monster appears at sea, causing Mark and the GDA to change focus. Anissa concedes to the mission, wishing to see the “Son of Nolan” in action. Mark tries to fight the giant sea dragon, but finds the cruise ship it’s attacking to be in serious peril. After a few moments of watching Invincible struggle, Anissa one-shots the monster by flying through its skull so fast that she flings off all the blood and guts with her sudden stop, looking clean. After getting the ship to land safely, Anissa points out that her actions in saving human life represent what Vilturm will do for Earth – and Mark should embrace that notion like Nolan did. Mark still refuses and starts a fight with Anissa – despite Cecil’s warning. Mark (unsurprisingly) gets thrashed by the superior warrior and the GDA quickly realizes that Anissa’s power and speed may outrank Nolan’s, and they have no options.
Never Surrender – Cecil instructs Mark to concede and say he’ll lead the Viltrumite takeover, stalling for time, but Mark still refuses. Anissa beats Mark nearly to death, literally crushing him under her heel; however, Mark calls her bluff, stating that Anissa needs him and can’t kill him. Anissa makes Mark pass out, but when he wakes up, she confesses that it’s not her job to kill him, but that there will be a Viltrumite who will do that job. Anissa leaves Earth, but Cecil and Mark have to both admit that they need to make renewed efforts to repel the Viltrumite warriors.
This Is The End – Mark returns to Amber and they can’t deny the inevitable any longer: they are living in two separate worlds. They both tearfully, painfully, admit that it’s time to break up. Mark confesses that the scariest thing for him wasn’t Amber nearly dying at Anissa’s hands – it was the thought of who he would become if someone he loved was hurt or killed.
Welcome Home – Mark goes off to think by himself – only to get a call from Debbie. But it’s not Debbie: Angstrom Levy (Sterling K. Brown) is holding Debbie and Oliver hostage and calls Mark home for their long-awaited fight.
Viltrum vs Allen pt. 2 – Anissa returns to General Kregg (Clancy Brown) aboard his ship, to report on Mark’s refusal of duty and heritage in preparing Earth for conquer. Kregg deems her a failure, but the matter is put aside when the ship encounters Allen the Alien (Seth Rogen) in space. Anissa fights Allen, who reveals that he’s now able to withstand even her level of power since his resurrection. Anissa catches Allen with a drop-kick, and the alien feigns being knocked out, so that the Viltrumites take him aboard their ship as a hostage.
Invincible Season 2 is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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