It’s 2025. You’d think we’d be desensitised to gore.

Over the past decade, OTT has elevated our appetite for severed heads, popped eyeballs, slit throats, broken spines, amputated arms… and that’s just the upper torso.

In an age where barely anything has shock value left anymore, Invincible has consistently out-shocked us (and its protagonist) by just how gory TV can get. And it has done so under the guise of an unassuming cartoon.

Much of what makes the show so great is represented in its pilot, which features one of the most shocking twists in television history. The first two-thirds of the episode feature a superhero team working together to save the planet time and again. By the time the credits roll, you almost wonder why every nerd is raving about it, until a post-credit scene comes on, featuring the most celebrated hero slaughtering the entire team. Brutally.

The recently released third season of Invincible is much like this pilot. The season builds slowly, to the point where you start wondering if there's anything new about it. Until the final few episodes bring everything together.

The stage is set. After last season’s Viltrum a**-whooping, Cecil isn’t taking any chances. This season, we open with Mark being pushed through his limits, training to take on Viltrumites for the inevitable war. His powers feel even more astonishing as he fights mountain-sized monsters for ‘practice’, speed-tests flying from the moon to the Earth, and deadlifts icebergs. On the romantic side, he and Eve finally start dating after two seasons of intense build-up. Debbie also starts recovering from the trauma of her ex-husband turning into a genocidal psychopath, and begins a relationship with Paul. The Graysons seem to finally be recovering from their intense trauma, raising Nolan’s child, Oliver, as Mark’s younger brother. But if the show has taught us one thing, it's that superpowers and collaboration rarely go together.

Mark and Eve finally start dating after two whole seasons of build-up

Mark and Cecil yet again clash over their approach to save the world. The Guardians also suffer a split, with Rex, Rae, Robot and Amanda parting ways with Immortal, Dupli-Kate (she was alive all along!) and Black Samson. The Order, meanwhile, has an internal strife between Titan and Mr. Liu to sneak Kate’s brother, Multi-Paul, out of prison, which surprise-surprise, is being guarded by Invincible. On the domestic front, Oliver’s rebellious adolescence, Viltrumite powers and disregard for human life have Debbie in constant fear of raising another Nolan. Angstrom Levy is also planning a comeback, far more brutal than his first tryst with Earth.

Despite so many plotlines to unravel, the show accords due time to each of them. Rex’s character growth and romance with Rae are the highlights, with two outcasts finding themselves in each other. The writers also go the extra mile by not falling for the convenient troupe of making Eve Mark’s moral compass. Their relationship stays exciting throughout, with both of them taking turns to shine. The subplot around Cecil’s past also gives us an empathetic peek into the show’s most stoic and hard-to-like-good-guy.

As promised, the big payoffs come in the final few episodes. The best part about Invincible is how it constantly holds its lead character accountable, almost to the point of being unfair. It perfectly establishes the sheer weight of being a superhero, and how it is impossible to keep everyone happy. It also gives a peek into the perspective of the people at the ground level, who are victims of the collateral destruction heroes leave while saving the world.

The season culminates with Mark engaging in an epic battle with a Viltrumite

We first saw this when Nolan murdered an entire train of people by using Mark as an obstacle. This time, we see Angstrom Levy bringing a bunch of evil Invincibles from different realities to tear the planet apart. Even though it isn’t Mark’s fault, you can’t help but ask yourself, ‘Should superheroes really exist?’ The finale takes this to a whole new level, with Mark finally engaging in his first real Viltrumite fight. The chaos destroys thousands of people, culminating in the supposed death of Eve. However, being pushed to the limit unlocks a whole new dimension to her power, as she flays the Viltrumite, leaving him toast for Invincible to deal the final blow. The bone-chilling culmination arrives with Mark promising Oliver that the next time someone threatens his family or loved ones, he won’t hesitate to kill.

All these threads do make you wonder why letting thousands die isn’t enough incentive for Invincible to act, until his own girlfriend is hurt. It also brings forth the age-old question of whether killing is justified if it saves lives. Maybe the show’s animated nature makes us take it even more seriously.

But for now, there are too many questions left unanswered. Will Allen and Nolan return to Earth? Can the world ever forgive Mark? What is the true extent of Eve’s powers? And is Angstrom Levy truly gone? Hopefully, the next season will have answers.