In the latest episode of Invincible, Rick Sheridan (Jonathan Groff in season 1 and Luke Macfarlane in season 2) makes a surprise appearance. Given his minor role in season 1 and the long wait between seasons, viewers may be curious about who Rick is and why his return is significant.
Spoilers for Invincible season 2 part 2 ahead!
Since returning to Amazon Prime after a hiatus, Invincible season 2 has been moving along at a fast pace. Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun) continues to grapple with what happened on Thraxa, while the Guardians of the Globe experience a shocking and devastating loss. However, towards the end of season 2, episode 6, “It’s Not That Simple,” Mark walks into his dorm room to find Donald Ferguson (Chris Diamantopoulos) conversing with Mark’s roommate and childhood friend, Will Francis Clockwell (Andrew Rannells). Donald is dropping Rick off on campus, though he warns that Rick may experience some lingering trauma.
Afterward, Will takes Rick for a walk to catch him up on all that has changed since he was gone. Rick seems disoriented, though, and speaks of struggling to know who he is. So, who is Rick, and what has happened to him?
Rick’s Invincible story explained
It’s not surprising that some viewers are struggling to recall who Rick is, given that he only appeared in one episode in season 1. Rick debuted in Invincible season 1, episode 6, “You Look Kinda Dead.” In the episode, it’s revealed that Rick is Will’s boyfriend, who goes to Upstate University. Hence, Will, Mark, and Amber (Zazie Beetz) decide to take a weekend trip to visit Rick. Unfortunately, the trip takes quite a dark turn.
D. A. Sinclair (Ezra Miller), a mad scientist who perceives humans as weak and is obsessed with enhancing them, is also attending Upstate University. He begins kidnapping his fellow classmates, including Doug Cheston (Justin Roiland), and turning them into cyborgs called Reaniman. Upon arriving at Upstate University, Will, Mark, and Amber are attacked by Doug. However, Sinclair is not bothered by Doug’s subsequent passing as he already has a new subject for experimentation: Rick. Rick is subjected to torturous experimentation and also turned into a Reanimen. When Will tries to rescue Rick, Sinclair also captures him.
Mark soon discovers the hidden lab where Rick and Will are being held but struggles to overcome Rick. However, a small piece of Rick is evidently still somewhere with the Reanimen, as Will is able to break through to him and remind him of who he is. In the end, Mark defeats Sinclair and hands him over to Cecil Stedman (Walton Goggins). The Global Defense Agency also takes in Rick, though it was unclear at the time what the organization planned to do with him. He is not mentioned for the remainder of the season.
So it was very surprising when Rick shows up in season 2 looking exactly as he did before being horrifically mutilated in the Reanimen experimentation. Donald doesn’t say much about how the GDA returned Rick to his former state. However, season 2 previously revealed that, after being killed in season 1, the GDA was able to take Donald’s remains and turn him into an android. As a result, Donald seems to insinuate that the same thing happened to Rick.
Viewers will notice that Donald and Rick seem to exhibit similar symptoms, as they appear traumatized, confused about their pasts, and have flashes of memories of what happened to them. It’s difficult to tell where this android storyline is going, especially since the show departed from the comics in regards to Donald. In the comics, Donald was always an android, but the show changed the storyline to make him a human who was later transformed into an android. Now that another android has entered the mix, it does seem Invincible is building up to something.
Perhaps the GDA’s experimentation will have unintended side effects for Donald and Rick, or perhaps the pair will turn against the agency as they struggle to adapt to their new bodies. Ultimately, Rick’s surprise appearance opens the door for further exploration of this android phenomenon and multiple potential storylines.
(featured image: Prime Video)
