Julian Reviews: ‘Secret Invasion’ Underwhelms With Season Finale

Gi’ah (Emilia Clarke). (Photo credit: Marvel/Disney+)

The final episode of Secret Invasion, “Home,” is here and it’s…slightly underwhelming. Why? “Slightly” has a double meaning here. For one, it shows why this should have been a full-on Marvel movie not restricted to a TV series format. The other shoe is despite my liking the show, I had mixed feelings throughout this series. It does set up a really interesting dark narrative in the MCU. They did announce “The Multiverse Saga” is a sequel to “The Infinity Saga”, so a sequel sometimes has the infamous habit of turning the story a bit bleak. Which is what’s happening here. So let’s talk about it. 

Picking up after episode five Harvest,  “Rhodey” aka Ravaa  (Don Cheadle) is pushing his agenda to persuade President Ritson (Delmont Mulroney) to attack Russia and the New Skrullos compound inside the country. Fury (Samuel L.Jackson) heads to said compound to give Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir) the Harvest. The latter begins releasing his decade-long frustration from the first human he’s killed and has killed so many more unfortunate souls he and the rest of his Skrull compatriots killed for Fury.

Gravik then enhances himself to fully become a Super-Skrull with Fury seemingly having superpowers. Except that it was Gi’ah (Emily Clarke) who pretended to be Fury whereas the real Fury was in London with agent Falsworth (Olivia Coleman) to stop Raava Rhodey from launching the nukes. Gi’ah with her new powers was able to dispatch Gravik and Fury shoots Raava Rhodey in the head revealing his Skrull form in front of President Ritson. Gi’ah and the rest of the Skrulls who weren’t under Gravik’s command frees many of the captured people, including the real Rhodey who is shockingly still in his hospital gown and never got his walking braces in Captain America: Civil War.

The day seemed saved except that President Ritson appeared on national tv informing the public of the attack on his motorcade caused by the Skrulls. He then delivers a xenophobic speech in which he authorized Congress to issue a bill that enables all off-world-born species as enemy combatants. A move that Fury deems “real one-term president stuff”. Falsworth and Gi’ah team up to protect the Skrulls from Ritson’s war and somehow make life better for Skrulls and humans alike. As Fury monologues, hit squads are going after the Skrulls one by one if they guessed right. Paranoid vigilantes who guessed wrong are killing innocent humans perceived as Skrull. Priscilla aka Varra (Charlynne Woodard) comes along with Fury to S.A.B.E.R to help with peace talks with the Skrulls and the Kree thus starting the events this November’s The Marvels.  

This show has good stuff, but the frustrating thing is it gets interesting right when it ends. I just despise that feeling. The finale felt rushed as if there were better things to do. I would recommend binge-watching the entire series when it is really done. I really think the combination of the Avengers involved in this Cold War espionage story like this could have been a home run. But this is what we get guys. 

So…I guess we can start imaging what this really could have been or read the original Secret Invasion comic. Or we can just wait until next year when Captain America: Brave New World picks up story threads from this show since it’s supposed to explore the paranoia that’s been happening on Earth. Speaking of which, Earth has become a dangerous and chaotic place for any being residing there now. Ritson stoked humanity’s paranoia to the point where it will be impossible for any off-world-born person living there. Fury even calling Ritson a one-term president opens the door for Harrison Ford’s Thunderbolt Ross to become the next President of the United States and deals with the mess Ritson has caused which will probably not be good either. How is The Marvels going to react to this? I don’t know. Rhodey still in his hospital gown from Captain America: Civil War created a huge number of retcons fans might be up in arms about. I mean is it really necessary to have this retcon for his Armor Wars movie? I don’t know. 

(sighs)…Is Loki Season 2 going to be any good now that the Johnathan Majors case is still ongoing? I mean the trailer shows a whole lot of multiversal pandemonium in itself. Some chaotic unhinged days ahead for the MCU and Marvel Studios itself.