Secret Invasion - episode 1 reaction
Background
In the past, I heard a lot of hype about the Secret Invasion comic book, I was never in love with it; I enjoyed Civil War (that genuinely made an impact on me) but Secret Invasion was less impactful (at the time I read it).
So when they announced the live action project, my excitement derived from being part of the MCU and from being Nick Fury’s key feature in the project!
So far (at the time of publishing this post), MCU tv shows (in fairness, also movies) varied widely in terms of quality - and I am a hardcore MCU fan - yet I have enjoyed most of the story I experienced on small tv. So will this take on Secret Invasion be something I enjoy?
Premise of the Secret Invasion, the series
Episode one presents an intriguing premise. A premise I would love in any story I read; a powerful preamble that gets my attention from the very first line: some Skrulls are tired of waiting on Carol Danvers and Nick Fury to find them a new home; they are ready to make Earth their own home. And in order to do that they have all types of plan, including bloody and aggressive tactics to achieve the goal.
Now, the MCU experienced already experienced forms of terrorism, especially in Falcon and the Winter Soldier; in that case, the group wanted to address (violently) the forced relocation of people who returned after the Blip. So the challenge that the MCU has now is to differentiate the choices here. And I am excited about this type of story.
Episode reaction
I actually liked the episode, although I am a hardcore MCU fan; mostly, I see a lot of potential to provide me with the spy vibes of Captain America: the Winter Soldier and potential for the MCU as a whole!
On the flip side, I think there are a few inconsistencies (which I hope will be explained in the series) with respect to other story lines (for instance, didn’t Okoye break Ross out of prison? Wasn’t Ross a traitor? I am not sure how that works; it is possible that the events in Secret Invasion take place a few months before Black Panther II, yet not explained).
In essence, I like the potential; despite these issues, it is a spy story, with a fascinating premise, a deadly opponent and a lot of emotional baggages to deal with.
Best aspect of the first episode
The best feature of this story, to me, are Nick and Talos getting back together and finding their way in a world that changes and has changed them. Each of them, individually, is great'; and together they are outstanding. Nick is a broken man who does not fully know where his place is now; the blip really played a very bad trick on his confidence. Thalos is not the leader that he used to be but he wants to return to his old “glory”.
And there were two moments that truly made me love the actors in their roles so much more, in this very episode. The first was when they were discussing middle life crisis and Talos asks Fury what he got for his midlife crisis and the reply was one of the best lines I have heard in a long time in the MCU. It was delivered with Fury sass and confidence; and the line itself just makes me smile every time I think about it.
The other scene, a few minutes later, was Talos’ reaction to the death of one the Skrulls. There is a clear connection between him and his people and losing one left him speechless. The way Ben Mendelsohn delivers this emotional moment is just fantastic.
Other stand outs
Gravik is a great character, although we are just scratching the surface here. He was charismatic enough to convince a faction of Skrulls to understand his point of view, his vision (assuming he really shared it) and commit heinous crimes in order to achieve Gravik’s goals.
In the process, this faction of Skrulls created their new city, New Skrullos and here is where we meet Talos’ daughter, G’iah, who seems to have defected to the violent faction. The main thing about G’iah, for the time being, is her complicated relationship with her father and her commitment to her cause. I am looking forward to seeing this dynamic unfold; this could be a main theme of the series and it might make or break the series. I really think there are a lot of ways the show can go about exploring this father-daughter relationship and the opportunity is all there!
Last but not least, for me, Sonya Falsworth, portrayed by Olivia Coleman. Her role is a tad odd in this story - the way she ridicules people seems a bit too heavy handed - yet her performance is outstanding, as usual and I want to see what comes up next!
Spoiler alert
From now on, there are going to be spoilers for the episode; although I will avoid referring to the name of the character, it is pretty obvious who I am talking about so, if you have not seen the episode just yet, stop reading and come back after you watched the episode!
The ending of this episode was unexpected and brutal. I did not expect this death and it broke me a little bit; this character, although never really prominent, has been a key character for the first ten years of the MCU so it pains me a lot to see the character go.
Now, there is an argument that this was a death with the only goal of getting the story line - and Nick’s arc - moving forward. Yes, it is possible; yet, what else could they have done? Nick is off his game, the story needed to make it more personal for him to react and be the challenging opponent he has been for Alexander Pierce and there is absolutely nobody else he cares enough about that could have moved the needle. I just hope that the story will make this moment key and just essential for the Fury transformation.
What did you think about the episode? Does it have potential? Are you going to watch it every week or are you going to wait to binge watch it? Let me know in the comments down below!
