r/Invincible • u/mwthecool Omni-Mod • Nov 24 '23

Invincible [Episode Discussion] - S02E04 - It's Been a While EPISODE DISCUSSION

Episode 4 - It's Been a While!

Mark answers the call to save an alien species, but the mission has unexpected personal consequences.

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2.3k Upvotes
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2.7k

u/usuarioxh Nov 24 '23

that short moment when mark didn't hold back hyped me up like crazy.

1.3k

u/-Mortlock- Nov 24 '23

so telling that my man was able to fight and beat an experienced viltrumite too. can't wait to see how much stronger he gets

759

u/Anjunabeast Nov 24 '23

He hesitated and lost though. Should’ve tried to incapacitate or restrain her.

862

u/PerfectMix877 Nov 24 '23

He'll learn from it, he's starting to understand viltrumite culture a little better with these fights. Nolan really screwed the pooch by being just sentimental enough to not murder his wife and child but not teach him any important context that would help him.

304

u/Responsible-Pea9696 Nov 24 '23

Yes yes, Debbie was his pet, but his pooch?

32

u/Paperaxe Nov 24 '23

I mean he was screwing her.

49

u/Stark556 Burger Mart Trash Bag Nov 24 '23

Viltrumites must not care about anyone; A loveless apathetic culture.

68

u/Cletus1085 Nov 24 '23

They care about themselves. They care about their culture and their empire.

Ask a person to care about a pig bred for meat the same way they care about another person. They'll probably look at you like you're crazy. That is, in essence, how Viltrumites feel about anyone that isn't them.

24

u/rainbowyuc Nov 25 '23

I mean judging from this episode they don't care very much about their own comrades either. And humans do care a bout a great many species that are 'lesser' than us.

10

u/Ok-ButterscotchBabe Nov 26 '23

Like dogs?

Man, wait until you find out how we treat chickens, pigs and cows.

8

u/Chataboutgames Nov 27 '23

Like dogs, or whatever animals a specific culture values. The point is that viltrumites are actively hostile to caring for lesser species.

Also very few humans could brutally tear apart hundreds of pigs to prove a point

2

u/AlarmingAffect0 "Dude, I saw it on Reddit" Nov 26 '23

Mama had a chicken
Mama had a cow
Dad was proud
He didn't care how!

1

u/Accountantnotbot Dec 06 '23

With wonderful rubs?

3

u/The_Quackening Nov 27 '23

They care about strength as said by nolan.

If a viltrumite dies, its because they were not strong enough, and deserved it.

2

u/seunosewa Dec 31 '23

It's a survival of the strong kind of culture.

8

u/Spawnkillthekiller8 Nov 25 '23

Nowadays I wouldn't be so sure about that pig analogy, in fact many probably would care more about the pig than any humans.

3

u/Cletus1085 Nov 25 '23

If they had it as a pet or something, sure, I can see your point, but not if it's meat in a burger.

4

u/Bstassy Nov 25 '23

Which continues to be analogous to the show lol

2

u/John_Helmsword Nov 30 '23 edited Nov 30 '23

There is no analogy that would work.

Seeing as viltrumites and humans are psychologically, anatomically and biologically the same.

And… well. There are no other known human level species that we know of on earth. The whole analogy doesn’t work.

3

u/filipelm Nov 25 '23

I mean... These ones we've seem seem to care not even for other "full blood" viltrumites.

3

u/AlarmingAffect0 "Dude, I saw it on Reddit" Nov 26 '23

They care about Viltrum as an empire, the individuals are only as valuable as their contribution.

45

u/Thrallov Nov 24 '23

he told him to like and subscribe to his books

29

u/reaperfan Nov 24 '23

My guess is that this is a FMA-style development where Nolan hid potential anti-Viltrumite strategies in the stories

21

u/pridejoker Nov 25 '23

My man has been selling interstellar science as science fiction content

23

u/watashi_ga_kita Nov 25 '23

His alien smut series has so much attention to detail because he lived it.

9

u/EntropyDudeBroMan Nov 27 '23

My guess was a lead back to Viltrum, with the idea that it would be a contingency plan if he got his mind forcibly wiped. He'd ofc read his own stories to figure it out.

Anti-Viltrumite strategies I think make more sense

20

u/Strong_Schedule5466 Nov 24 '23

Invincible actually learns and grows. It's visible in his confrontation with the Darkwing (Nightboy) in the Episode 2. Yeah, the dude was like well below Mark in skill capacities, but still Invincible didn't fuck around with him for too long and went straight to the business, putting Darkwing in his place and restraining him.

15

u/rainbowyuc Nov 25 '23

He needs to teach Mark that hand knife move. Seems OP. Ended the fight against the black Viltrumite instantly.

12

u/sadowsentry Nov 28 '23

It seems like he exploited a vulnerability because that particular warrior had a big stomach.

2

u/pridejoker Nov 25 '23

Tell me Nolan didn't teach mark how to screw the pooch.

20

u/reaperfan Nov 24 '23

It reminded me of that line from from the Christopher Nolan Batman Begins:

"You haven't beaten me. You've sacrificed sure footing for a killing stroke." - followed by him getting his feet knocked out from under him and losing the fight.

Getting the opportunity for a killing blow doesn't mean anything if you don't follow through. An opponent can still use any moment of hesitation to turn the tables. Not following through only works on opponents who let their fear of death overcome their instincts to fight back, but a sufficiently trained, desperate, ruthless, and/or insane opponent aren't guaranteed to let that happen to them.

1

u/John_Helmsword Nov 30 '23

Viltrumites are all fight and no flight.

Marks learning that every fight.

2

u/Accountantnotbot Dec 06 '23

We find out in his books that they just drink a gallon of PCP each day.

2

u/John_Helmsword Dec 06 '23

Lmao I haven’t read the comics so I choose to believe this until told otherwise.

15

u/jerekdeter626 Nov 24 '23

Hesitation is defeat

13

u/FCBVictor Nov 24 '23

Easy there, Isshin

11

u/Reapeageddon Nov 25 '23

Yeah, he should learn how to paralyze people via their necks at the very least

3

u/hemareddit Nov 28 '23

A surprisingly difficult technique to master, without protester to practice on.

3

u/goalstopper28 Nov 25 '23

It’s clear he has the Batman complex.

3

u/Infamous_Education_9 Nov 26 '23

At least do something with her hair

1

u/Notalk22341 Dec 14 '23

Part of plot