Invincible, Season 2, Episode 5, ‘This Must Come As a Shock’ Recap

Warning: The following recap contains major spoilers for Invincible Season 2, Episode 5, “This Must Come As a Shock.”

Invincible Season 2, Episode 5, “This Must Come As a Shock,” picks up where Episode 4, “It’s Been a While,” left off. Mark Grayson/Invincible (Steven Yeun) is still badly injured after his brutal brawl with a trio of Viltrumites on the planet Thraxa. He’s found by two locals, who take him back to Thraxa’s devastated capital city. Mark blames himself and his father, Nolan Grayson/Omni-Man (J.K. Simmons) for the death and destruction, however, Nolan’s wife, Andressa (Rhea Seehorn), advises him to embrace the short-lived Thraxans’ future-focused mindset.

Fast forward two months and a fully recovered Mark is still on Thraxa and pitching in with the rebuilding effort. He learns from Nuolzot (Rob Delaney) that a spaceship is now ready to take him back to Earth, however, he insists he should stay until the work is finished. Andressa arrives and convinces Mark it’s time for him to go. She also has a request: take her son (and Mark’s half-brother) with him. Mark agrees, after accepting that Andressa will soon die, leaving his brother alone.

Related: Invincible Season 2, Part 2: How Did Part 1 End?

Mark Grayson Re-Adjusts to Life on Earth

Invincible Season 2, Episode 5 then shifts focus to Mark’s mother, Debbie (Sandra Oh), on Earth. Debbie’s back at work as a real estate agent, and she’s seemingly gained control of her alcoholism, too. That said, she understandably pours herself a glass of wine when Mark shows up with his purple-skinned baby brother in tow. Debbie rails against Nolan for once again throwing her and Mark’s lives into chaos, however, she nevertheless babysits Mark’s half-brother so that Mark can return to college.

Meanwhile, at the Global Defense Agency’s Pentagon headquarters, Donald Ferguson (Chris Diamantopoulos) confronts his boss, Cecil Stedman (Walton Goggins) about his apparent resurrection between Invincible Seasons 1 and 2. Cecil escorts Donald to a secret lab, the White Room, and explains that Donald’s brain is now in a cyborg body. Donald reacts angrily at being kept in the dark, but Cecil dismisses his complaints, citing the bizarre world within which the GDA operates. The heated exchange ends in a stalemate after a GDA agent informs Cecil of Mark’s return.

We see more of said return play out in the next scene, in which Mark briefly reconnects with his best friend, William (Andrew Rannells), at college. William breaks the news to Mark that he’s been put on academic probation, as William couldn’t cover his extended absence any longer. Mark’s next port of call is his girlfriend, Amber (Zazie Beetz), however, he’s first waylaid by Cecil. Cecil berates Mark for disobeying orders when he left for Thraxa, and Mark counters that Earth survived while he was gone. In response, Cecil reveals that the Guardians of the Globe almost died fighting a supervillain, Omnipotus.

Related: Invincible Season 2, Part 2 Trailer Pushes Mark to His Limits

“This Must Come As a Shock” then features a brief flashback to the Guardians/Omnipotus fight. Here, we learn that Black Samson (Khary Payton) possibly discovered that fellow Guardian Shapesmith (Ben Schwartz) is secretly a Martian masquerading as a human. We don’t get long to mull this over, though, as the episode jumps back to the present day, where Cecil effectively threatens to take Mark’s half-brother into GDA custody if Mark doesn’t fall into line. Mark reluctantly complies.

That unpleasant encounter over, Mark finally catches up with Amber. He brings her up to speed on his ordeal on Thraxa, and she opens up about the strain of constantly lying to preserve Mark’s secret identity. Amber nevertheless makes it clear she understands that dating a superhero brings with it unique baggage, and the couple’s reunion is ultimately positive.

Back at the GDA, Donald has a nightmare about being strangled by another cyborg. He’s woken by a GDA agent reporting that a Martian warship is headed Earth’s way. Cecil takes this information to the Guardians, who are in the middle of a training session. Black Samson makes a pointed reference to Shapesmith’s true nature, prompting him to come clean. However, it turns out everyone except Black Samson already knows the truth. Shapesmith then (correctly) theorizes that human astronaut Russ Livingston – whose identity he stole – is now the hivemind host for a horde of parasitic Sequids bent on conquering the planet.

The Guardians of the Globe Prepare for a Martian Invasion

Although the Guardians are furious with Shapesmith, Cecil postpones the Martian’s punishment as he’s their best source of intel on repelling the Sequid invasion. The team then breaks into two groups, with the Immortal (Ross Marquand), Robot (Marquand/Zachary Quinto), Bulletproof (Jay Pharoah), Monster Girl (Grey Griffin), Black Samson, and Shapesmith heading into space, and everyone else remaining behind to hold down the fort.

Before the space squad departs, Rex Splode (Jason Mantzoukas) proposes one more superhero join their ranks: Atom Eve (Gillian Jacobs). Rex visits Eve at her parent’s home, where things are still frosty following her public failures in Invincible Season 2, Part 2. Eve expresses doubt in her crime-fighting abilities, but Rex restores her confidence with a disarmingly sincere pep talk.

Back at the Graysons’ place, Mark checks in on Debbie and his half-brother. He also mentions that Nolan’s last words to him in “It’s Been a While” were a plea for Mark to read the books he wrote in his civilian identity. Before they can unpack this further, Cecil arrives and orders Mark to join the Guardians in space. Mark obeys but takes a moment to rebuff Cecil’s request to raise his stepbrother at GDA headquarters before he goes. He also calls Amber to let her know he’s going off-world again, and her reaction after he hangs up suggests she’s privately struggling with the demands Mark’s career puts on their relationship.

Related: What Are Viltrumites Weak to in Invincible?

Invincible Season 2, Episode 5 then shifts the action to a rocket ship, as the Guardians (plus Mark and Eve) blast off into space. They quickly run into trouble when the Martian warship detects their unarmed shuttle and opens fire. The shuttle explodes, but Eve saves everyone with her matter/energy manipulation powers. Aboard the warship, our heroes encounter Martian soldiers who also want to wipe out the Sequids, however, they’re quickly overwhelmed by the grotesque swarm. Again, it’s up to Eve to shield the Guardians while they figure out their next move.

At the same time back on Earth, the Lizard League infiltrates a US military base. Their plan? Use the nuclear weapons on-site to hold the government to ransom. Cecil dispatches the remaining Guardians to deal with the League, however, it’s not the easy win Rex and his teammates expect. On the contrary, Dupli-Kate (Malese Jow) and Shrinking Rae (Griffin) are both seemingly killed, while Rex is seriously injured. What’s more, King Lizard (Scoot McNairy) has a gun pressed against Rex’s head when we last see him, indicating that the brash crimefighter is headed for the grave, as well.

The situation’s not much better up in space, either. Eve’s shield finally fails, leaving Mark and his allies vulnerable to the Sequids. On the plus side, Invincible Season 2, Episode 5’s post-credits scene confirms that fan-favorite character Allen the Alien (Seth Rogen) is still alive, despite his apparent death in Season 2, Part 1. Better still, he’s even buffer, thanks to Coalition of Planets head honcho Thaedus (Peter Cullen) forcing Allen’s battered body to heal without life support. Thaedus explains all this to Allen, before outing himself as a rebel Viltrumite and declaring Mark the key to the Viltrum Empire’s defeat.

And that’s our recap of Invincible Season 2, Episode 5. Check out additional episode recaps here.

Invincible Season 2, Part 2 is now streaming on Prime Video, with new episodes dropping Thursdays.