Invincible Season 3 Review: Calm Before the War

One of the biggest things about the Invincible comic book series that kept me enthralled from beginning to end was its pacing. Even after some monumental storylines that would forever shift the direction of Invincible, the next arc would hit the ground running and would still prove to be just as gripping as the last one. Coming off of a chaotic ending to Season 2, I hoped that the Invincible TV show would find a way to keep up this same momentum that the comic had. Luckily, any concerns that I may have had about Invincible Season 3 have now been quelled, as the show’s latest episodes are just as compelling as the source material. 

Season 3 of Invincible sees its titular hero still struggling to piece together his personal life after previous events. In typical fashion, though, Invincible (Steven Yeun) isn’t given much time to rest as he has to deal with new threats from former allies and those who have once again come back from the past. All of this combined with Invincible now needing to look after his younger brother, Oliver (Christian Convery), and taking new steps forward in his relationship with Eve (Gillian Jacobs) has Mark Grayson stretched further than he has been.

At this point, I have seen six of the eight episodes in Invincible Season 3 and it’s largely great across the board. The animation work, performances, and writing of Season 3 are all still of a very high quality. More than anything, it’s clear that those working on the series have really found their footing with Invincible and the show’s general format. Season 3 makes it clear that Invincible now has a winning formula of its own that isn’t reminiscent of any other adult animated series that are currently running.

The biggest departure with Season 3 is that it chooses to shelve some of the more dooming, universe-threatening conflicts in favor of ones that are a bit more personal. This leads to a number of villains from past seasons coming back once again to haunt Invincible, while the new foes that emerge are ones rooted in past events. Despite continuing to recycle a lot of the same baddies, I still haven’t found myself getting tired of characters like the Mauler Twins or Doc Seismic even though they routinely appear.

Rather than focusing so heavily on the “villain of the week” in each episode, though, Invincible Season 3 spends a lot more time sitting with Mark, Eve, Rex, and Oliver to flesh out their feelings on everything that has happened to this point. Invincible has never been waning when it comes to crafting deep and complex characters, but Season 3 does more legwork than ever before on this front with its main cast. Although this can lead to some episodes feeling a bit slower than others, it’s these smaller moments that I have enjoyed the most in this season. 

Mark/Invincible is the biggest beneficiary of this larger focus on character development as he truly starts to come into his own in Season 3. Whereas, in past seasons, Mark felt like he was merely a kid trying to wrap his mind around everything happening around him, Season 3 sees him being more assertive and commanding on all fronts. This, combined with some newfound Viltrumite strength that Mark taps into in Season 3, makes Invincible that much more enjoyable to watch as its main character is no longer routinely getting beaten to a pulp.

If there is one complaint that I do have with Invincible Season 3, it’s that this group of episodes doesn’t always seem to be building toward a larger climax. In Season 1 and Season 2, it was pretty clear from the jump where the show was heading and what the larger conflict would be at the conclusion of each season. In Season 3, this isn’t really the case. Outside of a couple of very brief teases that lay the groundwork for what’s to come, I’m still not really sure how Season 3 is going to wrap up. Part of this is exciting because it means that Invincible has found a way to keep me guessing, but it also makes the series feel slightly more disjointed than before. 

This is further amplified by some of the larger plot threads, especially those that were left hanging after Season 2, not being expanded upon as much in Season 3. While there’s a chance that the final two episodes of the season do a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to these story arcs, I have been surprised by how much the focus has shifted away from some of the biggest characters within Invincible. Still, it’s clear that these characters aren’t gone for good and are instead just being kept waiting to return at a later time. 

Even with these slight criticisms, Invincible remains one of the best animated shows on TV with Season 3. While this season might not feature as many bombastic set pieces as in previous seasons, it trades those moments out for deeper character development that has made me more invested in the show than ever before. Given that Invincible co-creator Robert Kirkman has already talked about the series running for up to 10 seasons, I think this choice to focus on quieter moments throughout Season 3 is something that will pay major dividends in the long run. 

Rating: 4 out of 5

Invincible returns on Prime Video on February 6th.