Invincible season 4, episode 7 “Don’t Do Anything Rash” left on a great note to lead into the season finale.
The episode included nonstop action and brutal fights; all you would ever want in an Invincible episode. However, there is one glaring issue.
Many iconic panels from the books are recreated in this episode from the infamous two page spread of the Coalition all ready for battle, to the shot of Mark, Nolan and Thaedus charging in to destroy planet Viltrum.
The animation, however, severely takes away from these moments. While the animation/art style itself is passable, it really is disappointing when we get to these iconic moments only for the PNG, cheap looking animation to ruin it.
In no way are the animators or artists to blame for this, however the studio and lack of budget for animation is certainly to blame.
A lot of the budget must go to big names like J.K. Simmons (Omni Man), Sandrah Oh (Debbie), Seth Rogan (Allen the alien) and other big-name actors. In no way is this a complaint to the cast itself, as all the actors fit their parts perfectly, however, if they continue eating the budget of the show, we can’t expect any improvement from the animation.
Animation complaints aside, this episode is a highlight for the entire show.
The Coalition (Allen the alien, Mark, Oliver, Nolan, Space Racer, Tech Jacket, Thaedus and Battle Beast) prepares to attack the Viltrumites by sneaking onto their planet and taking them by surprise. They sneak through their planet’s ring made up of dead Viltrumites killed by the Scourge virus (a virus released by Thaedus to eliminate the Viltrumite empire). Despite this, Thragg and the other Viltrumites already saw them coming and immediately launched into a brutal battle.
From here, we get an epic fight between the Coalition and the Viltrumites. Battle Beast wants a worthy opponent to kill him (or vice versa). We see Battle Beast finally get his chance to do the only thing he lives for – the thrill of a brutal fight.
Tech Jacket is armed with projectiles that immediately weaken Viltrumites making them a lot more fragile. She works together with Allen to kill as many Viltrumites as they can.
Space Racer enters the battle armed with his gun that instantly kills Viltrumites but also just as importantly, Roggnars (raptor-like aliens capable of killing Viltrumites). These things do some damage but eventually get overpowered by the enemy Viltrumites.
Thragg also brutally injures Oliver, knocking his jaw off and ripping off one of his arms.
Nolan notices this and immediately devises a plan. He has Space Racer lead a charge straight toward planet Viltrum. He fires his gun, weakening the surface of the planet. From there, Nolan, Mark, and Thaedus charge towards the planet. Thragg chases after them, but it is too late.
The trio charges through the planet and splits it in half, completely destroying planet Viltrum.
Thragg is mortally angry and immediately kills Thaedus. He then attacks Nolan and Mark, and he brutalizes Nolan and crushes Mark’s eyes. Before he can finish him, Thragg leaves, not wanting to kill any more of the Viltrumite population.
Mark awakens weeks later to find Nolan recovering well and Oliver in a healing tank.
Since Thaedus died, Allen has taken over as ruler of Talescria.
Mark, Allen, Tech Jacket, and Nolan all gather and discuss where the Viltrumites could have gone before Mark realizes where they have gone; Earth.
The episode ended on a huge cliffhanger for the finale. If the finale follows the comics, it is likely we will see the evil Viltrumites hide amongst Earth to rebuild their population, while Mark and Nolan have no choice but to let them, as Thragg threatens to destroy Earth if they do not comply. We could also see the Scourge virus released and infect Mark.
From here, we can expect more Earth stories such as continuing Dinosaurus (my favorite character in the franchise) and exploring some of Eve’s stories. In the books, Eve has an abortion while Mark is gone. This could be a very interesting and controversial topic to explore, especially today. Eve also ends up stress eating and gaining weight while Mark is gone. It could be interesting to explore body image and stress as well as it is very relevant today.
All in all, there are a lot of routes the finale could take, but whatever ends up happening it is sure to be great.
To keep up to date with everything Decaturian, follow the Dec on all socials.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Decaturian
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedecaturian/
