Julian Reviews: ‘Secret Invasion’ Finally Gets Good With Fourth Episode, ‘Beloved’

Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury in Secret Invasion, Episode 2 (Photo credit: Marvel Studios/Disney)

All right. Two episodes to go before the climactic conclusion of Marvel Studios’ Secret Invasion. Some major stuff has happened, which might excite or upset people even more. This show has a habit of killing people off after the end of an episode like nobody’s business. Regardless, this has been my favorite and best entertaining episode so far, “Beloved.” So let’s get a recap.

Starting with another flashback to Paris in 2012 after the Avengers’ victory over Loki the God of Mischief in New York depicted in Marvel Studios’ The Avengers. SHIELD Director Nick Fury goes on another romantic rendezvous with his significant other Priscilla and discusses a quote from Raymond Carver’s Lost Fragment. Fast-forward to post-Avengers: Endgame present day, Priscilla meets with Col. James “Rhodey” Rhodes (Don Cheadle) who turns out to be a Skrull named Ravaa (her name appears in the end credits). Skrull Rhodey orders Priscilla to kill her husband unaware that he bugged her phone and listening in on the conversation at home. The former was hesitant to do the job and Skrull Rhodey threatens her, forcing her to do the job or he will show her what he will do to her.

Another surprising moment was when Gi’ah (Email Clarke) survived Gravik’s (Ben Kingsley Adir) gunshot to the chest after becoming a Super-Skrull herself and meets up with her father Talos (Ben Mendelson) who tells his daughter to keep showing their hearts to humans by saving the planet and in return helping them find a new home besides Earth. A conversation that might be very important later on. 

Priscilla and Fury have an intense confession conversation about the former’s secret mission to kill Fury. The two ended up shooting each other and missing each other. Fury walks away answering Priscilla’s question if he would have loved her if she never changed saying “Guess we’ll never know”. 

Fury then confronts Skrull Rhodey now with information that he is the mole very close to President Ritson (Delmont Mulroney). The latter threatens Fury with blackmailing the infamous Maria Hill death scene from the first episode. Unknowingly, Fury and Talos follow him with a liquid location tracker (silly spy stuff) from intoxicating Skrull Rhodey with a bottle of Pappy Van Wrinkle bourbon alcohol. 

President Ritson arrives in London with his motorcade en route to the summit. Skrull Rhodey gives away the President’s position to Gravik and his Skrull team posing as Russian soldiers to outright kill him. Chaos ensues with Fury and Talos rushing in to save the President. Gravik posing as a British soldier stabs Talos with Fury relieving his Maria Hill trauma all over again. Fury escapes with President Ritson in tow and Talos lying dead in his Skrull form as British soldiers secure the area from the Skrulls/Russians. 

Crazy stuff is happening and I’m curious how the next two episodes will turn out. Frankly, I’m more curious as to how the entire MCU is going to be affected now knowing not only was Martin Freeman’s Everett Ross was a Skrull in Episode One, but Rhodey was also a Skrull the entire time. Or maybe for the duration of this series, even though Kevin Feige urges people to look back at previous films with Don Cheadle in them. That would be an extremely deep cut to say, “Oh the real Rhodey from Iron Man 2 was kidnapped thanks to Skrull Rhodey”. If this is the case, then also, where’s the real Everett Ross? Was he kidnapped after Black Panther: Wakanda Forever? There are a lot of questions to answer and a whole lot of trust issues with almost every MCU character from now on.

Also, I’m pretty certain Harrison Ford’s Thaddeus E. Thunderbolt Ross is going to become President of the United States once this whole Skrull infiltration mess gets sorted out, and given the fact that Rhodey was also a Skrull infiltrator, people are going to lose faith in the Avengers or any metahuman on Earth really quick. Especially with Thunderbolt Ross who has experience dealing with superpowered people in the past, as depicted in The Incredible Hulk, Captain America: Civil War, Black Widow, and Avengers: Infinity War signifying a dark time coming for the MCU. We’ll see what happens in these last two episodes.