REVIEW: Invincible, Season 1 Episode 7 'We Need o Talk'

 REVIEW: Invincible, Season 1 Episode 7 'We Need o Talk'

Secrets and lies are big parts of superhero narratives. Most heroes in these stories tend to utilise secret identities, and so by that very nature they find themselves lying to those around them. It has become a common narrative trope for sure, and one that shows no signs of dying down.

Mark (Steven Yeun), of course, has been keeping his own identity secret from his girlfriend Amber (Zazie Beetz). In this episode, however, he finally tells her that he's invincible. Only there's a twist. Amber knew he was Invincible all along, and was just feigning innocence to see if he trusted her enough to tell the truth. I really like this twist, as it subverts our expectations rather than going down the obvious route. We expect Amber to be none-the-wiser, but to reveal that she worked it out for herself not only surprises us, but it gives her agency within the story. She doesn't need Mark to tell her who he is, she's clever enough to figure it out for herself. It's something I'd like to see them do with Superman and Lois Lane at some point, as it's very hard to believe that she wouldn't recognise that he's Clark Kent, given that she's a reporter. 

Robot (Zachary Quinto) has been keeping secrets of his own, working with the Mauler Twins (Kevin Michael Richardson) to create clones. Finally we find out just what Robot's plans are, and it seems he hasn't turned to the dark side, despite aiding the escape of a pair of master criminals. Instead he merely wanted them to create a clone of Rex (Jason Mantzoukas) as a child, in order to properly hang out with Monster Girl (Grey Griffin). It's an interesting idea, as it has this unique combination of sweet and ever so slightly disturbing. It's charming in the sense that he's doing it to appeal more to Monster Girl on a human level, but a little unsettling because he took his team mate's DNA sample without permission and literally used it to grow a clone of him as a child. That's a little messed up, and the episode wisely plays both angles. The characters don't just accept his actions, they rightly question him over it, and it poses a thoughtful moral question as to whether Robot truly had any right to use Rex's DNA in this way. 

I do like the close bond between Robot and Monster Girl though. Especially the fact that he goes to the efforts of holding a welcome home party in the Guardians headquarters. It really stresses the levels of care and devotion which he displays towards the girl he loves. Robot truly loves her for who she is and sees part her terrible predicament of being a woman stuck inside a child's body, where many would otherwise just see a kid and patronise her no end. He's accepting of her, and it's nice to see.

One woman who's very lucky this week is Debbie (Sandra Oh). She made the truly baffling and idiotic decision last week to tell her husband Nolan/Omni-Man (J.K. Simmons) that she knew he was a serial killer, which is the one thing you should quite clearly never do if you're in the company of a sadistic killer. Nolan thankfully just tells her they will talk later and shoots through the ceiling, allowing Cecil (Walton Goggins) to teleport her away to the Global Defence Agency HQ. She provides a very important role in the screenplay here, as she acts as the voice who challenges Cecil's exremely unorthodox methods to take down Omni-Man. It's great to see a female character with so much raw power and presence. Someone who can stand toe to toe with a character like Cecil and question them when they raise ideas such as putting her son in harm's way. It 's a good way of getting a character like Debbie involved in the narrative in a significant manner; a woman whose greatest superpower is the love for her son. 

Her son that Omni-Man just happens to be looking for. He finds Mark at the end of the episode, and Mark's remarks about finally getting to fight alongside his Dad is so awkward to watch. We know significantly more than Mark here, as we know the murders Nolan has committed, so we have the knowledge that this relationship is going to take a very sour turn for Mark. He's so happy to be acting as a superhero alongside his Dad, but that happiness is like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.

And indeed it does, as Mark finally sees the truth about his Dad when he murders the resurrected Immortal (Ross Marquand) for a second time. This is the worst possible way Mark could find out, not because Nolan told him but because he literally saw it with his own eyes. It's hard to imagine just how traumatic something like that would be, not just for Mark but also for the rest of the world who saw it broadcast on television too. It's a horrifying event that demonstrates just how dark this show can turn.

Overall, 'We Need To Talk' is an excellent episode of Invincible's first season. It forwards ongoing plot threads along significantly, whilst keeping the focus purely on character. We get to see relationships fully develop here, alongside some serious moral implications for the actions of some of the people featured in this show. It's a brilliant set up for the final episode, which is promising to be an explosive season finale.

What are your thoughts on Invincible's seventh episode? Let me know in the comments section.