In the beginning of Episode 7 of Invincible Season 4, the Viltrumites are on the defensive after a string of sabotage attacks. The group gets together to talk about another problem caused by Relonian natives. Kregg wants to wipe them out completely, saying that it would send a clear message. Others, though, want a more measured, diplomatic response.
In the end, Emperor Argall comes to a compromise and orders that only 25% of the population be killed instead of all of them. But that choice doesn’t matter anymore when Argall is killed that same night. The blame goes to a mysterious “Traitor,” and Thragg takes over until a rightful heir can be found.
Thragg starts a brutal purge to get rid of any weak members of his group. Thragg watches as the Viltrumites fight each other in a bloody battle, sure that the death will make their people stronger. In the end, Argall’s beliefs are turned into a new doctrine: the Viltrumites must take back their power and rule over everyone else.
In the present, Thadeus is getting ready for a mission to kill the Viltrumites, especially Thragg. They think that without him, the empire would break up and fall apart in fighting. But beating Thragg won’t be easy. They raised him from birth to be the best Viltrumite warrior ever, and his power is greater than anyone they’ve ever fought.
As the team gets closer to Viltrum, they have to go through a scary ring of floating corpses, which is a bad sign of what’s to come. They quickly realize their fears when they are attacked. The Viltrumites, including Thragg, are waiting, and a huge fight breaks out.
The team uses every weakness they find to take down a few Viltrumites. Even though they work together, Thragg is too much for them. With one powerful blow, he easily incapacitates Nolan, sending him crashing down to the planet below.
After that, Thragg talks to Nolan and tells him to come back and help rebuild Viltrumite society. He says that Mark and Oliver have already been “tested” in the same cruel way that all Viltrumites are. Nolan says no again, turning down Thragg’s ideas.
The fight gets worse. Thragg quickly beats Oliver, so Mark has to step in. He makes fun of Mark by talking about Conquest’s death and saying that he will be next. The fight gets worse, but Spacer Racer’s powerful blast finally turns the tide, destroying Viltrum itself.
The planet blows up, but the win is only temporary. Thragg, furious, strikes back right away by killing Thadeus in a brutal way. Mark tells Allen to find Oliver while he goes after Thragg, who is already fighting Nolan. Thragg shows his strength again by badly hurting Nolan before turning his attention back to Mark.
But since there aren’t many Viltrumites left, Thragg decides to leave, leaving Nolan and Mark floating in space, alive but defeated.
Allen and the others find the people who survived. Mark and Nolan’s conditions are getting better, but Oliver’s is still very bad. Allen takes over as the temporary leader after Thadeus leaves and starts to plan their next move.
When they find out that the remaining Viltrumites have disappeared, their plan to kill them all fails. It’s soon clear what Thragg and the others want: Earth.
Review of the Episode
The war isn’t over yet, even though Viltrum has been destroyed. Mark and Nolan make it through, but they are both in bad shape and barely hanging on as the threat grows.
This episode, which is the second-to-last one, has a lot of action and character drama, which keeps the story moving. The episode goes into more detail about Viltrumite weaknesses while slowly killing off more of them. However, a dangerous core still exists.
With Thragg on his way to Earth, the stage is set for a dramatic end. The upcoming fight makes it seem like the fate of the world—and maybe even the whole galaxy—will soon be in the balance.