[Ed. note: This article contains spoilers for Invincible season 4 episodes 7 and 8]
In the penultimate episode of Invincible season 4, the Coalition of Planets sends its most powerful fighters to Viltrum to try to defeat Grand Regent Thragg (Lee Pace) and things… do not go according to plan. They destroy the largely uninhabited planet in a desperate attempt to get Thragg to surrender. Instead, an enraged Thragg quickly kills Coalition leader Thaedus (Peter Cullen) and incapacitates Nolan (J. K. Simmons) and Mark (Steven Yeun).
It’s a Pyrrhic victory for Thragg, who decides to spare Mark’s life because there are so few Viltrumites left. With the Viltrumite Empire crumbling, he’s had to give up on conquest and just focus on preserving his species. At the end of episode 7, Mark makes the horrifying realization that the surviving Viltrumites must have gone to Earth to take advantage of the fact that they’re genetically compatible with humans, although it takes until the end of the episode for Thragg to finally reveal his plan: assimilate into Earth society.
For Pace, the character’s cold-hearted, problem-solving capability is a major part of his appeal.
“I take the character’s objective and I take all of the obstacles in front of him, and the fun of playing this character is watching him solve it,” Pace tells Polygon. “At one point, [Thragg] culled all the weak from his population, and now he’s come to Earth and is like, Well, you guys will do. It’s a real come-to-Jesus in the way he was looking at things.”
Before any of this is revealed, however, Mark spends most of the episode having panic attacks while imagining the carnage the Viltrumites could unleash on Earth. When Thragg does reveal himself, however, the Viltrumite leader explains that he and his people will quietly live alongside humanity so they can replenish their population. Mark agrees to keep their secret because the alternative is horrific violence.
“He respects Mark and he needs Mark,” Pace said. “This is his plan, and he doesn’t mind Mark knowing about it because he’s either going to be a problem or he is going to be a help. But Mark’s here, Thragg’s here. Now they’ve got to deal with each other.”
As for what comes next, Pace has already read ahead in co-showrunner Robert Kirkman’s Invincible comics to find out more about Thragg, and says he’s excited for what comes next.
“We’re going to watch him driven to his limit as the story develops,” Pace said. “If we’re lucky enough to continue to make it, we’ve set up a character that will be fun to apply pressure to.”
Invincible season 4 is streaming on Prime Video. Season 5 is already in production and expected in early 2027.