Warning! This review contains spoilers for Invincible season 3’s finale.
Invincible season 3’s finale may not match the show-best heights of its predecessor, but it still goes down as one of the best installments of a fantastic season. Despite Invincible‘s evil Mark Graysons of last week finally being defeated or stranded in another dimension, the show did not hesitate to tease another massive threat to Earth. This came in the form of Conquest, a villainous Viltrumite tasked with securing Earth for his empire by destroying Mark and any other resistors, voiced by Jeffrey Dean Morgan in Invincible season 3’s cast.
As noted in my review for Invincible season 3, episode 7, I thought that episode was the show’s best yet. The three-day structure, the various battles, the ominous sense of dread, and the fantastic villainous presence of the alternate Marks and Invincible‘s Angstrom Levy all elevated it above what I thought the show was capable of. The ending then teased an even bigger elevation with the arrival of a Viltrumite, one who I was aware of despite my limited comic knowledge. Thankfully, Invincible season 3’s finale soars, albeit without matching the perfect heights of the penultimate episode.
Conquest Is A Thrilling New Addition To The World Of Invincible
The Viltrumite Villain Was Anticipated For A Reason
In what proved to be a season of changing morality for Mark, Conquest presented himself as the final proverbial nail in the coffin for Invincible‘s titular hero to take on a more violent outlook. After dealing with the aftermath of Angstrom’s attack on Earth caused by his survival at Mark’s hands in season 2’s ending, Conquest arrived looking for one thing: a fight. Conquest proved unlike any other Viltrumite in the show’s history because of the gleeful joy he took in battle, be it savoring the pain of his enemies or goading them so they would put up a bigger fight.
I appreciated that Conquest’s personality shined through at different moments as the fight between him and Mark took a brief lull…
This gave Invincible‘s season 3’s finale a breakneck pace, though one that still included character beats throughout. The show could have easily spent 50 minutes depicting various types of smackdowns, but I appreciated that Conquest’s personality shined through at different moments as the fight between him and Mark took a brief lull. This allowed season 3’s finale to feel like the final chapter of this section of the story, with meaningful character beats as opposed to animators pretending they were smashing action figures together with no real meaning. In many ways, Conquest was at the heart of this.
Another element I loved about Conquest was his final words to Mark. When Conquest thought he had the best of Mark, he told him how lonely he was; the other Viltrumites are scared of him, and, despite his epic power, no one would care if Conquest died on one of his missions. That this truly bothers the villain added a layer to him I wasn’t expecting. After everything Conquest had said and done, this did not provide sympathy for him, but it did show a vulnerable side he only allowed his truly defeated enemies to see, making him all the more interesting.
Invincible Season 3’s Voice Actors Continue To Shine
Notably, Steven Yeun & Jeffrey Dean Morgan
These elements of Invincible season 3’s final fight would not have been as effective if it were not for the show’s brilliant voice actors. I was surprised to see criticism for Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Conquest casting after last week’s brief debut, but I am certain episode 8 will put these criticisms to rest. Morgan is perfect for this role, providing an equal amount of malice, anger, and the aforementioned glee for a fight. In some way, Morgan emulated his Negan voice from The Walking Dead to sell just how much Conquest truly revels in taking lives via glorious battle.
Gillian Jacobs and Christian Convery are also excellent as Atom Eve and Oliver Grayson respectively.
Invincible‘s Conquest and Morgan’s voice acting are only matched by Steven Yeun as Mark. Yeun has long shown his capabilities to delve into the more emotional, enraged aspects of Mark’s story — be it the battle against Omni-Man at the end of season 1 or his many trials and tribulations since then. Once more, Yeun rises to the occasion and makes Invincible season 3, episode 8 a fantastic back and forth.
Invincible Season 3’s Animation Rises To The Occasion
The Animators Do Not Pull Any Punches
Invincible‘s animation is one of the biggest talking points of the show and has been since it began. Many assumed the lackluster animation quality of season 3’s first six episodes was because the show was saving itself for the final two episodes. As it turns out, this proved to be the case. The animation of the fight sequences here was stellar, from the intimate blow-for-blow battle between Mark and Conquest to the worldwide city-destructing scale.
One of my only criticisms of the season’s penultimate episode was the lack of dynamism shown in animating Atom Eve’s matter-warping powers. Thankfully, this was addressed here, with Eve getting plenty of badass moments against Conquest that were animated beautifully. Now knowing how good the last two episodes of season 3 are, I am more than happy for the trade-off in animation quality if it means the bigger episodes look as epic as they do.
Invincible Season 4’s Teases Are Incredibly Exciting Despite Frustrating Story Conveniences
Image via Prime Video
If I had one criticism of Invincible season 3, episode 8, it would be the seeming lack of heroes after episode 7. While many did die, Cecil only appeared with a team of heroes that could help to fight Conquest after Mark had succeeded in killing the Viltrumite. For the first three-quarters of the episode, I wondered where someone like Tech Jacket was, a hero shown to kill a variant of Mark with relative ease last week. This brief story convenience was not enough to sour the entire episode though, thanks to some tantalizing teases for Invincible season 4’s story.
Although I was disappointed not to get more from Omni-Man and Allen the Alien, Battle Beast’s survival was an exciting moment. Moreover, the sequid invasion of Earth looks set to begin soon, promising another tough battle for Mark and the remaining heroes of Earth going forward. These elements, combined with Mark’s violent promise that he will kill those who threaten his loved ones, his ability to now defeat powerful Viltrumites like Conquest, and the looming war against more of the intergalactic warriors, promise another exciting bout of stories for Invincible season 4.
Invincible Season 3 Finale
9/10
- Release Date
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March 26, 2021
- Conquest is one of Invincible’s most intriguing, gleefully evil villains yet
- The fight between Conquest and Mark, Oliver, and Eve allowed for some of the show’s best animated fight sequences yet
- Invincible season 3’s finale featured strong character moments amid the chaos
- Invincible season 4’s teases were overly exciting
- Some plot conveniences had me wondering where other heroes were to help Mark in his fight
