Secret Invasion episode six review
Secret Invasion’s sixth and final episode is now on Disney+ and bit both surprised and fell flat. It’s a mediocre end to a mediocre show, one that’s had some stand-out moments but largely hasn’t hit the mark. One of its saving graces is that it promises that the storyline with the Skrulls will continue far beyond this series, meaning that the show hasn’t completely wasted its premise.
Who audiences think is Nick Fury rolls up to Gravik’s base, though it’s a dead giveaway that this is a trick because Sony isn’t there with him. But this charade keeps going. The show reveals Gravik not only killed the Skrulls that fought against him but everyone else at the base. This decision comes out of nowhere and confounds the audience as to why Gravik would kill his people. It needed some extra context.
Gravik thinks he convinces Fury with a passionate speech from Kingsley Ben-Adir, but it’s actually G’iah he’s talking to. This robs the audience of a chance where the real Fury could try to talk him down and innovate on the boring and obligatory final show fight. Gravik and Fury have always had a personal connection, set up early in the show, but it’s forgotten.
Fury and Sonya go back to the hospital where President Ritson is kept, and both of them work to take out the guards to get to him and the Skrull Rhodey. They eventually get to them both and have a tense exchange against a ticking clock. It is forced, even Fury even points out. But this nerve-wracking, high-stakes exchange proves what this show could have been if it centered around a proper political and espionage angle.
Gravik and G’iah have a big CGI blowout fight, the standard, copy-and-paste ending for most MCU shows. It’s so cliche that the writing might as well have been done by an AI, just like the opening credits. The pair of them have the same powers (just like many MCU fights) fighting against a blur of a background. It’s so unremarkable.
This fight is just what “She-Hulk” called out, so Marvel Studios must be falling back on tropes intentionally. It doesn’t feel like it has many relevant stakes, Gravik and Fury would have far more personal ones. Alas, it wasn’t to be.
Once Gravik and G’iah finish fighting, she frees some of the hostages the Skrull have, including Rhodey. Audiences only get a hint that the Skrulls took him when he became paralyzed in “Captain America: Civil War”. It’s a moment that recontextualizes all his appearances afterward, something that the show could have done a lot more of.
The last few minutes of the show are rather shocking. Instead of issuing calm remarks about the Skrull attack, President Ritson declares war on every alien. His remarks invite hit squads to attack people indiscriminately, hoping they get one, but mostly killing innocent people.
It’s a bold move and puts the MCU in a more unstable spot than before the show started. The fallout of this speech hopefully won’t be contained to just “Armor Wars” or “The Marvels”, but other MCU projects, because it’s that big. It’s slightly confusing why people suddenly think they can identify Skrulls when they’re supposed to be undetectable. More context is needed for this extreme violence because it comes out of nowhere.
Sonya and G’iah meet up clandestinely towards the end. Sonya announces that she will help equip G’iah and the Skrull resistance for Ritson’s war. Why has Sonya had a sudden change of heart from her hatred of Skrulls to now supporting them? The show doesn’t answer this. It’s yet another thing that an extra or episode or two could have answered, have Sonya spend time with G’iah and learn that not all Skrulls are bad.
For the final scene, Nick Fury invites Priscilla to join him on S.A.B.E.R. space station, where he announces that the Kree are willing to open peace talks with the Skrulls. This comes out of nowhere. The show hardly mentions the Kree. It’s an obvious tie-in to “The Marvels”. Priscilla accepts, which is welcome because she has been an amazing part of the show, so at least audiences will see more of her.
“Secret Invasion” didn’t live up to the expectations many had. It had some fantastic ideas and a stacked cast. But having only six episodes and some baffling writing choices knee-capped any meaningful exploration. The finale doesn’t fix any of these issues but doubles down on them. It’s a so-so end to a so-so show.
