‘Invincible’ Season 2 Episode 4 Review - Like Father, Like Son: Painful Family Reunion

The midseason finale of Invincible’s second season, “It’s Been a While” succeeds best when it boils down its twisting story to the damaged family relationship at its core. Now that Mark's father Nolan has returned after violently betraying Earth, the show hits emotional highs by spotlighting this tense father-son reunion across the galaxies.

From the opening frames, Nolan's absence has left deep wounds for his half-Viltrumite son Mark to wrestle with. Seeing Nolan find renewed purpose in protecting the innocent Thraxan aliens makes his eventual plea for Mark’s help land with complex empathy. When their desperate last stand inevitably fails, forcing Nolan back to Viltrum for execution, it reopens Mark’s lingering grief and questions of whether to forgive.

In reliving the cyclic pain of betrayal, the episode pays off a season-long buildup with gut-wrenching pathos. Invincible draws power by tapping the universally relatable tragedy of a damaged father-son bond. Despite the sci-fi flashy backdrop, this finale anchors fantastical superpowered struggles in the messy human emotions that drive them.

Back on Earth, scenes of Mark’s mother Debbie severing attachment from her deceitful husband also reach for resonant insights, if less wholly successful. As she revisits hollow memorials in solitude, more screentime along with Debbie’s churning doubts and questions could have sharpened her inner change. Still, the motif of her possibly discarding her husband’s secrets at the worst time makes her small choice feel laden with planetary stakes.

As in previous seasons, subplots not tied to the Grayson clan often stall momentum. For example, William and Amber’s stilted mention of Mark’s unexplained absence only awkwardly reminds us how peripheral certain characters have become. An opaque setup for the future seems a weak excuse for losing narrative coherence and urgency in the present moment.

However, when the finale opts to narrow its spotlight, even familiar plot beats gain renewed power thanks to disciplined execution. The pacifist scientist Monster Girl feels especially sidelined, yet even her brief return highlights the episode’s emotional consistency. And while easy to overindulge, both violence and humor see measured use here - whether creatively framed carnage or perfectly-timed visual gags.

In the end, shortcomings seem forgivable given immense satisfaction from long-developing dramatic payoffs. Concluding with Nolan imprisoned and Mark recruited for the same regime that wants his father executed, the finale leaves an agonizing cliffhanger only possible thanks to sturdy continuity. These painful full circles reward loyal fans’ investment while organically setting stakes for clashes still to come.

Sure enough, while one may expect more subversive themes from adult animation, Invincible largely plays its cross-generational battles straight. Yet therein lies the finale's lingering power – by focusing squarely on the flawed human realities that propel even the most spectacular superpowered conflicts in new directions.

By refusing to provide simple catharsis for its damaged father-son pair, the show carves space for a rare emotional complexity typically lacking in costumed crimefighter stories. Through patiently constructed narrative bonds between Mark and Nolan, their epic final-act showdown gains the genuinely tragic feeling of foreordained destiny.

In the end, certain head-scratching digressions aside, “It’s Been a While” fulfills serialized television’s fundamental promise: enabling a complex storyline accumulated across years to pay off in this single midseason high note. A wildly expanded cast and scope of action since early episodes may test coherence, yet events here will profoundly shape scenarios still to come thanks to sturdy groundwork.

Indeed, the most ringing endorsement of Invincible’s patient approach shows in how this finale plants compelling seeds almost certain to blossom later. The meaning behind Nolan’s opaque parting words, how losing one family shifts Mark's loyalties to another, and whether Debbie’s self-protective choices might inadvertently imperil Earth – questions and scenarios like these will keep fans speculating for months on end.

Despite surface-level caped crusader tropes, Invincible stays focused on the relatable human tragedies, redemptions, and crises of conscience that scaffold its monumental interplanetary battles. Buoyed by this firm grip on characters' emotional throughlines, the finale steers assuredly towards a long-foreshadowed showdown. This midseason peak succeeds in the simplest yet most vital way possible: leaving audiences impatient to discover where things go next.

Final Score- [9/10]