Last week on Invincible, the new Guardians of the Globe were recovering from a major battle with Machine Head. Mark went on a college campus visit and got dumped. Meanwhile, Debbie discovered Nolan’s secret. She confronted him about his murder of the Guardians of the Globe, but the episode left viewers hanging on how exactly that argument would pan out.
“We Need To Talk” dives right into quickly resolving last week’s questions. Nolan and Debbie continue their argument. When he refuses to explain his murder of the Guardians, Debbie tells him to leave her house. Dramatically, Nolan punches his way through their home’s roof, and moments later Cecil’s men swoop in to take Debbie to a government facility.
As that plays out, the episode takes a few minutes to return to Mark’s love life. He confesses his secret identity to Amber, but that doesn’t repair their relationship. She tells him she figured it out weeks ago and is still hurt by all his deception. Mark’s and Amber’s relationship has been the least interesting point of tension this season, mostly due to it feeling forced by the writers. Hopefully, this isn’t the last time Amber makes an appearance on the show. That said, if a potential season two returns to romantic drama, the writers need to put in a little more work to make it feel natural.
With those two beats out of the way, “We Need To Talk” charges forward into new territory. It’s a testament to the show’s writing quality that episode 7’s B-plot is as interesting as the A-plot. Robot’s secret deal with the Mauler twins finally pays off. He’s had them clone Rex, so he can transfer his own mind into the clone body. Robot reveals that his real human body is malformed and horribly weak. After the transfer is complete, Robot exists inside a teenage version of Rex. With the original Robot now dead, the incredibly talented Zachary Quinto may be leaving the show, which is a crying shame.
A battle between Robot and the Mauler twins is cut short when Robot receives an “Apocalypse level threat alert” from Cecil. Robot returns to Guardian headquarters, and the team is shocked by his transformation. Rex is especially perturbed. Before the team can really dig into the issue, they learn that Cecil may soon need them to fight Omni-Man.
The bulk of “We Need To Talk” feels like a chase scene. Nolan is out looking for Mark, who is getting relationship advice from Atom Eve. Cecil and the rest of his team are trying to delay Nolan at any cost. They need to get to Mark first because Invincible may be their only hope of combating Omni-Man.
The unstoppable force meets immovable object dynamic between Omni-Man and Cecil is thrilling. Cecil throws everything from space lasers to steroid-injected mega-aliens at Nolan, knowing he can do nothing but slow the man down. Armed with nothing but a teleporter wristband, Cecil faces Nolan himself. The short battle sequence is one of the most thrilling moments of Invincible so far.
As Nolan battles the aforementioned steroid alien, Atom Eve and Invincible find themselves flying into the battle. Not knowing what’s actually going on, Mark immediately goes to help his father. As the fight continues, the Mauler twins try to resurrect the Immortal. He comes back with a vengeance, and flies out to hunt down the man who killed him and the Guardians of the Globe. As Invincible finishes off the steroid alien, Nolan becomes embroiled in a fight with the Immortal. Nolan kills him, of course, and the episode ends with a blood-soaked Omni-Man staring down his son.
