86 in tumblr years probably

- Cecil was interesting this episode. I loved his conversation with Nolan. I have serious gripes about the lack of any meaningful Mark-Nolan interactions in season 4, but the scene where Nolan went to the crater he almost killed Mark in gave me some hope that the writers are purposefully holding out on us with their relationship. Specifically, it’s the way Cecil kept needling Nolan about “this spot”. It made me feel like (hopefully) Nolan is avoiding confronting what he did to Mark because he thinks it’s impossible to apologize for. And it felt like Cecil was pushing Nolan’s face into the fact that he nearly killed Mark because he knows that will hurt Nolan the most, and Cecil wants to push Nolan away. (Do I wish this was paired with some sort of scene of Nolan holding himself back from closeness with Mark afterwards? Yes. Yes I do, and if the writers were better, it would exist).

- I also really liked Cecil’s conversation with Mark. It was interesting to contrast the way Cecil talked to Mark about the Viltrumites with how he talked to Nolan about it. Despite their difficulties, Cecil clearly still sees Mark as an ally and isn’t trying to kick him when he’s down. He’s exasperated, but he’s not angry with Mark. And he is genuinely worried when Mark breaks down. Yes, there’s the pragmatic aspect of “the last person we need losing their shit is Inv-” but also there’s obviously a human level to it. Cecil is actually gentle in a way that feels real, not just manipulation.

- Eve finally felt like more of her own person this episode. Now that we’re back on earth and she’s got her powers back, I really need the show to do more with her. I was discouraged about the line of her not using her powers much because she was home helping with her parents. I really hated in the comics how she just got out of the habit of using them, it felt like a lame excuse to sideline her. She needs an actual fucking plotline next season.

- That said, I think the abortion storyline was handled fairly well. My preference would have been that they made it more clear that they were NOT ready to have a kid even if Mark was there, and that the guilt and upset is that Eve had to make the decision and go through that alone with Mark gone. But I think they didn’t do that because Eve decides to keep Terra not long after this (a year or two maybe? Not sure about the timeline). So they wanted to show that Eve would actually be open to having a kid young in the right circumstances. Personally I DON’T think realistically she would, her personality and lifestyle just don’t make sense for having a baby that young, but I also know they’re not gonna change that from the comics. There is something to be said about Mark and Eve’s timelines being sped up because they’re living under the gun constantly.

- I like that they didn’t oversexualize Eve’s weight gain. There’s definitely room for Mark to talk about how hot she looks next season, but I think it’s weird to lead with that. I also like that they kept her insecurity but toned it way down. In the comics they made it some big reveal that Eve was very dramatic about, and it was much better that it just wasn’t acknowledged in the show until Eve brought it up. After sex too — in the comics she didn’t even want Mark to look at her. In the show it felt real that she would be feeling insecure and acknowledge it after they got naked together. Additionally, her design looks like it was crafted with what depression weight gain of a few months would look like, instead of “hot thicc Eve with ass and boobs” which is how it felt in the comics. It reminds me of how Diane in Bojack Horseman’s weight gain was handled, and that is all I could hope for.

The part that struck me most was the flashbacks to when Emma decided to not go through with her plan. Emma didn’t voice it exactly, but it was apparent from the scenes that the reason she ultimately decided to not hurt anyone was because she was no longer lonely and ostracized. It was the community grief that saved her. It was her school coming together, opening up spaces for kids to express their feelings and grieve together in safe spaces, that gave Emma space to express how scared and sad she was in a healthy way. Emma was comforted and her grief and pain was accepted by those who previously ostracized her.

And it wasn’t a coincidence or ironic that Emma ended up advocating for gun control. She was asked to join that group because she understood gun violence in a way that one of her peers recognized as genuine. She wasn’t a “fraud” for becoming a gun control advocate, she was actually the exact right person to speak up about it. It’s like if someone with suicidal thoughts became a suicide prevention activist. That is the best type of person to be an advocate, because they understand the people they are trying to help. And it’s completely okay and even good that the reason Emma joined the gun violence prevention group was to make friends. Those friends saved her life, and possibly the lives of other people.

And I get what they’re trying to do with showing the development between Nolan saying “you’re just gonna have to trust me” in 4.5 and Mark scoffing at this, while showing here that Mark does choose to just trust Nolan. The issue is that this isn’t earned! Like at all! Yes, we’ve seen that Nolan has gotten better and is on their side, but nothing we’ve seen between him and Mark should make Mark confident that Nolan would care enough about maybe some non-sentient ecosystems on a planet enough to not destroy it.

They haven’t put any work into actually building Mark and Nolan’s relationship back up, so it makes it insane to me that Mark wouldn’t at least ASK in the moment “what about all the other life on this planet.” And then sure Nolan could go “Nothing lives on this planet it’s dead” and maybe Mark hesitates and Nolan goes “Trust me.” Something like that would be far more in character for Mark, who has become so concerned about how his actions affect other beings. And Mark also knows that Nolan, even when he’s being “good”, has a track record of not valuing life the way that Mark does! Yes, Nolan is getting better, but he’s still learning, and I just don’t believe that Mark would unquestioningly trust Nolan’s moral compass at this point in their relationship.

Invincible 4.7 spoilers