THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED SERIES. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
It seems to me that it gets harder to trust people the older we get. If that sounds unlikely to you, look at the Disney+ MCU series Secret Invasion.
PLOT
The series’ pilot ‘Resurrection’ follows former SHIELD director Nick Fury returning to Earth from watching over the space station SABER (Strategic Aerospace Biophysics and Exo-Linguistic Response). He is called by his partner Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) and Skrull ally Talos, meeting them in Moscow after Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) dies revealed to be a Skrull, who encountered conspiracy theorist Prescod (Richard Dormer) deducing there are rogue Skrulls inciting war between Russia and America; the reason comes from the frustration Nick and Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel failed to find them a new home planet. Talos confirms it to be true as he was kicked out of Skrull Council by a rebel named Gravik. With Prescod’s evidence, they realize his rogue faction is using AAR as a front to go on with their plans. At the same night, Fury takes a walk only to encounter MI6 agent Sonya Falsworth who doesn’t tend to work together with taking down Gravik and would rather pursue him alone. As he leaves, he places a hidden camera to overhear the Skrulls are planning to use dirty bombs for the next attack. At their own compound, New Skrullos, Gravik gives shelter for refugees while also recruiting new resistant members, kidnapping many humans to take their place. He would send his followers Pagon (Killian Scott) and G’iah to pick up the bombs, but the latter would be intercepted by her father Talos who warns her not to trust her leader because he’s responsible for the death of her mother Soren. Despite being in shock of her mother’s death, she still leaves with the bombs but later alerts him the attack will occur at a Unity Day festival. Alongside Fury & Hill, Talos would try to find the bombs by spotting marked bags, only to catch decoys instead. Just when Fury spots Gravik, the bombs go off and many lives are taken, including Hill who gets shot by the said Skrull.
‘Promises’ follows Fury and Talos continue hiding after a shocking turn of events, while the Skrull accomplice Brogan (Ben Peel) is taken into custody. As the two protagonists hide in a train, Talos confesses that he summoned over a million Skrulls to Earth after the war with the Kree. This upsets Fury because he knows how difficult it would be for humans to coexist with them all. With a success to such a plan, Gravik would meet with the Skrull Council posing as high ranking people of influence to come to an agreement to wage war on Earth and be appointed Skrull General. The council includes: UK Prime Minister Pamela Lawton (Anna Madeley), NATO Secretary-General Segio Caspani (Giampiero Judica), US news pundit Chris Stearns (Christopher McDonald) & Shirley Sagar (Seeta Indrani). The latter of which refuses to go along with it and is allowed to leave the council with her life. This gives her the chance to arrange a meeting between Gravik and Talos. Although the majority of New Skrullos praise their new general, G’iah now feels suspicious of his actions. She would later sneak around to discover a scientist under the disguise of scientist Rosa Dalton (Katie Finneran), is messing with powered DNA samples to recreate with something called ‘The Harvest’. She would also accompany Gravik in rescuing Brogan, only to kill him when spilling information to Sonya who tortured him for it. In London, Colonel James Rhodes gets interrogated of the Unity Day attack and blanket-denies the US’ involvement. He would then meet up with Fury who would dismiss the truth, despite knowing the existence of Skrulls for some time. Since the spy refuses to stop taking action, the colonel discharges him from service, causing him to go home to his wife Varra/Priscilla Davis.
‘Betrayed’ shows Gravik confess to the Skrull Council he plans to make an army of Super Skrulls with the superpowered DNA he already has, including the Harvest once he seeks it. He would later have a meeting with Talos as planned, hoping to achieve a parlay, but it doesn’t work out when he threatens to kill G’iah. The latter would inform her father they’ve infiltrated the Royal Navy and are now planning to attack the UN with launched missiles. He and Fury would confront Naval Command’s Commodore Robert Fairbanks (David Bark-Jones) to abort the launch, but they kill his Skrull duplicate before they could get the authorization code. Luckily, Talos would get the code from G’iah after looking through the memories of the real Fairbanks, aborting the launch in time. G’iah would then decide to run away, but Gravik would shoot her down as he suspected her to betray him.
‘Beloved’ would reveal G’iah to survive the shot thanks to taking a dosage of Extremis before leaving, giving her the ability to heal. She meets up with Talos again who reveals his intent to reach out to US President Ritson to help the Skrulls if the rebels are stopped. Fury would listen to Varra talking to a fellow Skrull named Raava (Nisha Aaliya), who's been taking Rhodey’s place since his paralysis. The conversation would involve Varra being ordered to kill her husband. When he confronts her about it, she chooses to not do as ordered because she vowed to Priscilla she would never hurt her lover. Fury would then confront Raava again, only to give him a liquid tracker. When he and Talos follow him traveling with Ritson, they get ambushed by Gravik and his forces. Although Fury is able to save Ritson, Gravik is able to kill Talos.
‘Harvest’ would show Gravik losing the faith of his followers including Pagon, after the failed attack on Ritson.When a small group attempts to mutiny, he kills all that are against him. Fury accompanies Ritson at the hospital, but is forced by Raava to leave when threatens to leak footage of Gravik disguised as him killing Hill. Gravik now orders Raava to tell Ritson the Skrulls work with Russia, in order to trigger the war he wishes. Back in London, G’iah tells Fury he only has three DNA samples because he still doesn’t have the Harvest. When she finds out Talos died, she joins Varra to attend his private funeral before defending themselves from Gravik’s forces. Sonya would track down the home of Rosa and her husband Victor (Mark Bazeley), who is also a Skrull, to find proof of her device that replicates powers for Skrulls. After her discovery, he destroys the lab, kills the rebellious Victor and spares Rosa. She would then meet up with Fury in Finland to tell him Gravik’s intent to have New Skrullos bombed, only to realize he’s doing this to lure him out and finally achieve the Harvest. He then reveals the Harvest is an amalgamation of all collected samples from every hero that fought in the Battle of Earth. They go to a gravesite where he collects the stored vial and arms himself to confront his enemy.
The series finale ‘Home’ shows G’iah swap places with Fury to outsmart the ultimate threat. As G’iah uses the Harvest to defeat Gravik, Fury returns to London with Sonya to save Ritson from Raava, preventing an attack on Russia. With Gravik’s demise thwarting his invasion, G’iah is able to free the humans left at the compound, including Rhodey and Everett. Still in shock of what has transpired, Ritson, out of fear, brands all Skrulls as terrorists and ratifies a bill to allow killing Skrulls on sight. This would inspire G’iah to form a partnership with Sonya to protect Skrulls against the bill. Fury would call out Ritson for the bill being a bad idea since it will lead innocent casualties on both sides. The president would give his only rebuttal, claiming he’ll spare Skrulls that leave Earth. The series would end with Fury returning to SABER alongside Varra to begin a treaty with the Kree, although both know there is still business on Earth that must be eventually finished.
THOUGHTS
Since this show made me feel a lot of things, the best way to discuss my opinion is through Pros and Cons
PROS
I always knew after the Skrulls were introduced in Captain Marvel, there was a lot of baggage to unfold after the Infinity Saga because that’s how big of a deal the species within Marvel lore. With that being said, I’m glad Kevin Feige came around with it. While I don’t identify the whole story to be perfect, due to its obvious issues I’ll get to later, I do believe Director Ali Selim and creator Kyle Bradstreet do their best in giving a tale of espionage in this extensive franchise. This may not beat what was done in The Winter Soldier, but there is no shame in that as it still works in its town. Kris Bowers’ score definitely sets the tone where you must be on guard for danger lurking. And the makeup done to bring the Skrulls to life still pays off. Putting aside all the upsetting shit that had everyone ranting, there is still a payoff by the end for reflecting the theme of how it’ll always be a challenge for us to prepare for the worst the older we get because the new challenges will be different than the past. And you have to figure out how to adapt or you’ll be far from ready for the confrontation. It also tells us to be wary with the promises you make because empty or not, the past will come back to bite you. These themes are quite effective thanks to a cast of characters, new and old, that remain interesting throughout this intense whodunnit. Samuel L Jackson finally becomes the leading character in the recurring role of Nick Fury and does not disappoint. He really carries the show for portraying him as a guy who is rightfully on edge because he has another threat beyond comprehension. Although G’iah spoke for him in the climax, there is no lie in feeling relief being blipped, relief to stop fighting and chose to go to SABER out of guilt he couldn’t have prepared for Thanos in the first place. Despite having highly conflicted emotions and losing respectable allies like Hill, he still has the instinct of a soldier to keep fighting until there is no one else to fight. He will always fight for others before he considers fighting for himself and when it came to Gravik, this was the first time it was about him. He did the right thing going back to SABER because he knew Earth was never gonna change and will dismiss diversity among others, thus the ongoing civil conflict we create towards each other. Even though his society has changed drastically for past generations, acceptance is a process that takes forever to earn and he’d rather be somewhere more willing. Him heading to Kree to summon a peace treaty is a big win for him because it sets up for him to help the Skrulls as he promised. But if The Marvels reminded us of anything, the change we wish for is still a long process wherever you go. Although Fury will have an ongoing journey with infinite obstacles, it’s a relief he’ll always have people to trust and follow him to success. With the Skrulls returning, I knew Ben Mendelssohn’s Talos had to as well and it was quite satisfying. After years of losing hope, he still was loyal, helping Fury take out a great threat. I don’t blame him bringing millions of his kind to Earth because it was a desperate move to save them all. Had he been prepared for the consequences that would come from it, he likely would’ve been more hesitant than. Even he had his own moments of feeling conflicted because after losing his wife, his daughter grew up to be mislead and despite the predicament, he never went back on his morals and chose to die a hero’s death. Although his demise was a lot to take, hope was still intact because he raised a child and taught her to not doubt the possibility of good returning. Before shocking the world by becoming one of the most powerful characters in the MCU, Emilia Clarke was able to make G’iah interesting from beginning to end by making her one who is trying to figure out what direction to take. She gave up like Gravik did because she didn’t think coexistence with humans was possible, but her father’s actions helped her regain her optimism in epic fashion. However factor she plays in the franchise’s long haul, it will definitely exceed the expectations she’s already made. I’m all about seeing to believe I didn’t believe Fury when he said he had a wife in The Winter Soldier. So you bet I was surprised to see this long appearance from Varra. I shouldn’t be surprised of her being a Skrull because I’ve grown up to accept love comes in all shapes and sizes, which is the whole point of this relationship. Charlayne Woodard was able to shake it up with the role of Varra for presenting her as one who grew up to be a fierce soldier, only to be positively remembered as a compassionate lover. The love she and Fury had for each other comes from respecting the dedication to their causes and it grew from there. There is no doubt she did the right thing in refusing to go against him because she’s always known he was always in the right with the decisions he’s made. And it’s satisfying to see them have a new journey together by the end of the series. I just wish we got to see her in The Marvels. With such a close relationship with the Skrulls, you would wonder what humans Fury trusts that aren’t the heroes we’re used to. Olivia Colman definitely stood out from the bunch because she made Sonya one who is distinguishable for a much different reason. She starts out sounding polite until acting ruthless for the greater good. I honestly think that’s what makes her differ from Fury is how she brings a facade before taking action. Even though she’s in good terms with him, she ain’t focused on making friends which makes her more focused. If it wasn’t for him, she would’ve not trusted G’iah, which leads to a unique duo at hand that’ll do their best being helping hands to everyone in need, human or Skrull. With such a high amount of people who hope for a better tomorrow, you know there had to be a villain that is the total opposite, and I think there was deliver my in that with Gravik. Kingsley Ben Adir made him quite the investment because his disappointment for a false promise led to him growing up from hopeful to sociopathic. The whole time, he would use his brethren for his better gain because he only cared for his own survival and strength. The fact he remains in the disguise of the first human he killed, until gaining the Harvest, would only symbolize he would never change his beliefs no matter how far he went. Thankfully, his reign of terror ended before it could truly start. Although he would was the main threat, it’s always disappointing to see respectable leaders lose said respect over irrational decisions, thus making them their own worst enemy. That is exactly what Dermot Mulroney brought to the table as President Ritson. The man acted out of fear with the sudden revelation of Skrulls, it only led to a decision he wasn’t gonna go back from either. The worst part is that he doesn’t seem to care of the innocent qualities that quickly come from it, making him more selfish than selfless as he was intending. However long he has left in his term, let’s pray the next president acts more logical than him.
CONS
While I have said as much as I could on why I enjoyed the series for the most part, I know exactly why people hate it due to being a handful of issues that are extremely visible. It is one thing to pick on how the visual effects looked during the finale when G’iah whoops Gravik’s ass, or the disgusting AI produced intro we had to see through all six episodes, the majority of issues go down storywise. The biggest issue I know everyone is onboard with is making Rhodey a Skrull. I can admit Don Cheadle does a good job making him quite deceptive here to set up the twist. The problem however is it undoes every emotion he went through in Phase 3 of the Infinity Saga, meaning he doesn’t know yet Tony Stark has died. If there was a hint at the time, I would’ve tolerated this but I don’t. Since this affects his relationship with the Avengers big time, the same can be said with making Everett Ross a Skrull as well because this will affect his relationship with Wakanda however long he’s been under. My fingers are tightly crossed for Armor Wars to give them both proper redemption. Going back to the top, why the hell would Prescod leave his best piece of evidence behind a desk? That would be too easy for thieves to find it if it were to happen. And why wasn’t Fury told of Talos’ exile until he came back to Earth? He would’ve come back sooner if Talos told him sooner. And if Fury is sure Sonya would kill anyone who's ever heard Gravik’s name, why didn’t she kill him? You can say she spared him out of respect, but he should be on alert if she’s thinking like that and is lucky she wasn’t at the Unity Day attack. Of all the things that don’t make any sense is that Talos helped Fury with many past missions, but had no idea of HYDRA infiltrating SHIELD before Steve Rogers figured it out. I really wish there was an excuse for it, but it’s insane there isn’t. He’s even lucky G’iah still had the real Fairbanks at New Skrullos, otherwise the world would’ve been doomed again. We know Gravik likes to get in the head of those he opposes, but was it really a good idea to constantly shapeshift during the attack? He’s too damn lucky no one other than Fury noticed and it’s more surprising no one else leaked the footage of Hill’s murder, which would’ve been unedited and would’ve shown him shapeshifting into Fury beforehand. I ask again why no one noticed the Skrulls in the art gallery since there had to be cameras in that environment. This is more annoying than Talos not waiting until after driving away to shapeshift. What isn’t clear is that Gravik doesn’t spread animosity towards Captain Marvel when Fury promised she would also help find a new home for the Skrulls, which didn’t happen. I know Fury promised on her behalf, but it’s crazy he doesn’t mention her in the story’s present. He’s even too sure of himself that he leaves G’iah’s body instead of double tapping. Ritson already has heat for allowing humans to kill Skrulls on sight but if he didn’t want Fury to leave SABER, he should’ve set up some kind of precaution to keep him from leaving. I even thought it was unwise for Sagar to call Talos only minutes after the meeting with the Council appointing Gravik as general. It may have been a surprise for him to spare her, but he could’ve changed his mind if he heard her phone call. And how the hell was Talos’ body retrieved anyway? I know we needed a moment for G’iah to maintain the motivation to go against Gravik, but it’s confusing to figure out how Fury arranged that. It is a big twist for revealing the Harvest is a vial containing all the blood of superpowered heroes from the Battle of Earth, but why would Fury allow that to happen? Ever since the HYDRA fallout, he should’ve known that was a bad idea. And if you want to talk about continuity errors, how about Fury having a bottle of beer instead of a pint he ordered? Now that was upsetting to notice just like with ignoring the hook Sonya left in the meatlocker.
To wrap up, Secret Invasion was an intriguing superhero series for going for an espionage atmosphere and semi-whodunnit in between. While enough has been said to hate it, there should be enough to respect it. If you got Disney+ and still enjoy the MCU at this point, I hope you dig this one as well.
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