Warning: The following article contains spoilers for the first five episodes of Secret Invasion on Disney+. Please do not proceed unless you have watched them.

Aftermath

We started right after the conclusion of episode four, with Fury (played by Samuel L Jackson) showing up at the hospital with President Ritson (Dermot Mulroney), who was injured. A member of the medical team asked Fury if he had authorization to enter, but he had to admit that he did not as he was currently unemployed. However, he did have a gun and a chair which he used to protect the door. Soon after, Colonel Rhodey (Don Cheadle) arrived with his security team and forced Fury to leave.

In New Skrullos, tensions rose between Gravik (played by Kingsley Ben-Adir) and Pagon (played by Killian Scott), resulting in the Skrull leader brutally murdering his former trusted ally. He then commanded for Fury’s wife, Priscilla (also a Skrull agent known as Varra), to be assassinated.

After the movie ended, Rhodey kept his promise and shared the video of “Fury” (Gravik in disguise) shooting Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) in Moscow. Sonya Falsworth (Olivia Colman) then went to Wetherby’s (Tony Curran) office, the director of SIS, appearing cheerful but also carrying a gun, knowing he was a Skrull. She pointed out the green skin around Wetherby’s wound as evidence of his true identity as Talos appeared on TV and Rhodey’s secret was almost exposed. With the revelation of the head of MI6 being a Skrull imposter, the invasion was no longer a secret and Sonya’s line sounded like it could have been from the show.

Break time

The New Skrullos canteen was once again filled with chaos as a few brave Skrulls dared to challenge Gravik, following Pagon’s lead. Despite initially overpowering him and covering his head with a carrier bag, Gravik quickly gained the upper hand with his Super-Skrull strength. A word of caution to any future rebels: Gravik does not take kindly to being interrupted while enjoying his sugary tea.

In Brixton, G’iah (played by Emilia Clarke) patiently waited for Fury to arrive. He shared some information about the local area before they began discussing G’iah’s deceased father, Talos (played by Ben Mendelsohn), and which DNA samples had been stolen by Gravik. G’iah reassured Fury that only a few samples had been taken, including those of Cull Obsidian and the Flora colossus (the species of Groot). However, Gravik was particularly interested in finding something called “the harvest.” Upon hearing this, Fury looked concerned and abruptly left to go to Finland. G’iah, on the other hand, headed to see Priscilla (played by Charlayne Woodard) to seek her help in arranging a Skrull funeral for Talos.

Falsworth managed to locate Dr. Rosa Dalton (played by Katie Finneran), the scientist who was briefly shown earlier in the series working on the Super-Skrull machine in New Skrullos. As always, Falsworth was one step ahead and had her associate Nigel destroy Dalton’s lab. In a tense moment, with Dalton’s Skrull husband Victor (played by Mark Bazeley) holding a gun to her head, Falsworth delivered the standout line of the episode. She remarked on how similar Skrull males are in their tactics of gaslighting and threatening murder. Falsworth then calmly pulled out her own gun and shot Victor in the head.

G’iah came to Fury’s residence to meet with Priscilla and I couldn’t help but notice they seemed to trust each other’s identity rather quickly. “You’re the one they sent to assassinate me?” Scilla inquired. When we encountered them again, they were constructing a funeral pyre with Talos’s body on the highest point, discussing his dislike for pomp and circumstance.

That snake Rhodey, meanwhile, was doing his best to talk President Ritson into blowing up New Skrullos which, of course, lies on Russian soil. “England is 100% behind us,” he said (which I assume meant Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales were dead against it? Come on, Marvel, England and the UK are not synonymous), while Ritson mumbled something derivative about a strike on Russian soil meaning world war three. “Better a war than an extinction,” said Rhodey.

It was nice to see O-T Fagbenle return as “The Agent” Rick Mason, the character we first saw on screen in Black Widow, providing Natasha with all the things a super-stealthy assassin type might need. He was on hand again here with a private jet to take Fury to his scheduled meeting with Gravik, who said he’d call the whole thing off if Fury brought him the harvest. We still didn’t know at this point what the harvest was.

In the luxurious residence of the Furys, Scilla shared her strong attachment to her home and divulged more details about her seemingly perfect life with Fury than she had previously revealed. This additional information could have shed light on how she had been leading a deceitful existence for many years. However, before she could elaborate further, a gunshot shattered her tea tray and the focus shifted to the most thrilling part of the episode – G’iah and Scilla’s encounter with a group of armed enemies sent to eliminate them. I had hoped for a longer duration of that intense action.

The distance from the Russian border is 294km.

Fury navigated through the passport checkpoint in Finland and was greeted by Sonya Falsworth. They exchanged information, including the revelation that every member of the Avengers had shed blood during the final battle in Endgame – even Carol Danvers. It was also revealed that individuals with special abilities, such as Gravik, were sent to retrieve DNA from the battlefield after the battle.

The harvest is not a limited edition version of Neil Young’s greatest work, but rather a gathering of genetic material from the most influential beings in existence. While standing next to a fabricated grave, Falsworth posed a valid inquiry to Fury: “Why have you not contacted any of your unique acquaintances?” to which he responded: “This is a personal matter. We cannot constantly rely on these superheroes to come to our rescue,” which I believe translates to: “The issue is financial, Sonya. Do you realize how expensive it is to hire Hemsworth or Larson nowadays?”

The quote from John 15:13 on his tombstone, stating that there is no greater love than sacrificing oneself for friends, leads me to believe that we may be nearing the final stand of Nick Fury.

Overall

The overall experience was satisfactory, similar to the rest of the series. The acting was decent and the plot was adequate, but there is a certain element that is lacking. The story jumps between places too quickly, the character dynamics are weak, and although the action scenes are well executed and thrilling, they are too brief. This particular episode felt like a filler until the finale next week. It is unacceptable to run out of plot before the end. I doubt complete redemption is possible, but I hope episode six will deliver something substantial.

Notes and observations

• I still admire Gravik’s Welsh accent, despite his villainous nature. I would even enjoy listening to him record an audiobook. He is nearly at the point of using the term “butty” after a few sips of Brains.

• Tony Curran has made previous appearances in the MCU, portraying Bor, Odin’s father, in Thor: The Dark World. In the same film, he was responsible for concealing the aether from Dark Elf Malekith. Additionally, he played the role of Irish gangster Finn Cooley in the second season of Daredevil, where he encountered The Punisher.

• Fury’s false passport in Finland listed the name Johannes Kerhonen. The only related Kerhonen I could locate in Marvel is a stunt performer named Henry Kerhonen in The Incredible Hulk.

• We saw Fury’s fake grave in Finland, but the first fake grave of his was seen at the end of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. He says he has them all over the place, but will his next grave be real?

• The track that was playing in Falsworth’s car when she picked Fury up from the airport was Audacity by Stormzy featuring Headie One.

What are your thoughts? Are you anticipating the finale next week? Do you believe Nick Fury’s fate will be sealed? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Source: theguardian.com