Secret Invasion Episode 1 Review
Here’s my Secret Invasion Episode 1 review which is now streaming on Disney+ starring Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Emilia Clarke, Olivia Colman and more.
Spoiler alert for episode 1 of Marvel’s Secret Invasion.
After being introduced in Captain Marvel, the Skrulls finally take centerstage as a group of these aliens decide that they want to takeover Earth after waiting on Nick Fury and Carol Danvers’ promise to find them a new home. They have taken bold moves to orchestrate chaos on Earth which includes replacing Everett Ross (Martin Freeman). The imposter’s death blows the thing big enough to bring back Sam Jackson’s Nick Fury who was working in outer space with the division called S.A.B.E.R.. Fury is thrust into this whole world of subterfuge and guile.
This series is based loosely on the Secret Invasion mini that was written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Leinil Francis Yu taking in some of the meatier beats and adapting it to the current status quo of the Marvel Cinematic Universe so if you read the book, don’t expect the series to be a faithful adaptation. And I kind of liked it that way because it has been such a long time since we actually got some decent spy-thriller from Marvel Studios with the company developing more of their different segments like the mystic and the cosmic.
Secret Invasion episode 1 does a good job of setting the tone for the entire series and reminds viewers that we won’t be seeing any of the usual characters we follow in the MCU. Rather this is Nick Fury’s show and a damn good one at that. It quickly establishes that nobody is to be trusted and that everybody can fall in the line of duty.
It also gives us a clear look at what Fury has done since we last saw him in Spider-Man: Far From Home and teases what we could expect by the time The Marvels rolls into theater. But the human and relatable element here is what truly drives the series and poses the question what do you do when you lost faith in what you’re doing? How do you pick up after THE major f*ck up that you prepared for still arrives and f*cks you up bad? Do you go and be bitter or do you go and be better? The series trajection points to the latter for Fury and I am excited to see how goes from this…
To this…
We are also introduced to some new concepts here from Marvel’s UK spy division with their spymaster Sonya Falsworth played by the divine Olivia Colman and what they intend to do with the Skrulls.
There’s also the Skrulls themselves led by Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir) as well as a returning character, all grown up, G’iah played by Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones).
G’iah (Emilia Clarke)
gravik
We’re also getting some hints of what Don Cheadle’s James Rhodes has been up to since we last saw him in “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” which may or may not tie in to Armor Wars.
I love the intrigue and the mystery and this could be Marvel finally returning to form especially with the way they ended things in the first episode plus that shocking reveal at the start of the episode; I think it was brilliant laid out in terms of structure. So if you ask me, I’m still on this caravan and waiting for this week’s episode.
