Marvel’s Secret Invasion Ep 3 Review
Marvel’s Secret Invasion has now reached its halfway point, and fans and critics remain divided over how good its been. On the one hand, there are the die-hard Marvel fans that love talking about it and how good Samuel Jackson’s performance is on social media. And, in all fairness, they’re right. On the other hand, some people aren’t so impressed. Paul Tassi from Forbes said it’s the worst-reviewed MCU show since Iron Fist. After this week, though, fans and critics might end up more divided than ever. Betrayal and backstabbing are consuming the MCU, and it could make or break the show.
Warning: Major spoilers for the ending of the episode
Was Nick Fury’s Decision Not to Come Back a Betrayal?
The show established in its premiere that Nick Fury was a changed man after dying in Infinity War and coming back in Endgame. The experience of dying during the Blip, only to come back and find himself unable to do anything to help stop Thanos, hurt him more than he wanted to admit. Thus, whereas many other returnees tried to rebuild their lives, Fury walked away from it all, even the Skrulls that he promised to help.
It’s been brought up before, but it isn’t until this episode that the series demonstrates Fury’s inaction’s effect on those who knew him. Gravik took the failure to keep his promise as a betrayal of the Skrulls, and now he’s trying to wipe humanity out. Even Varra, his Skrull wife who’s been living disguised as a human, is quick to point out how his decision to walk away affected her. She could handle him dying in the Blip and then coming back five years later. She couldn’t handle him leaving everything behind.
At this point, the show leaves the audience wondering whether Fury’s decision to leave Earth was a betrayal to his allies. It helps justify Talos’ decision to bring more Skrulls to Earth without telling Fury. Considering how the Skrulls helped Fury become Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., they rightfully think he owes them.
Gravik Keeps Going Down the Slippery Slope
Speaking of betrayal, the story of Gravik remains rife with it as he continues to put his plans to conquer Earth into motion, with frightening results. As G’iah found out in the last episode, Gravik has been collecting DNA samples left by super-powered beings around the globe. His goal is to use them to give the Skrulls super-powers of their own, make them Super Skrulls. The scary part is that this plan is working. During a confrontation with Talos at a musuem cafe, Gravik gets stabbed through the hand. In a truly shocking moment, the young Skrull tears his hand out from under the knife, and it proceeds to heal using the power of the Extremis. AKA, Aldrich Killian’s nanotechnology used to turn people into regenerating, heat-wielding instruments of death!
Gravik is clearly not taking any chances when it comes to securing Earth for the Skrulls. Given how many metahumans now call the planet home, he’s right not to. However, even he ends up suffering from a betrayal of his own in this episode, courtesy of G’iah.
Marvel Might Have Hurt Itself By Angering Emilia Clarke Fans
Known throughout the world as Daenaerys Targaryen, the Mother of Dragons, Emilia Clarke’s one of the biggest actresses of the last decade. Thus, her joining the MCU as an adult G’iah was seen as a big deal, and her fans hoped Marvel would treat her right. After the events of this weeks episode, though, that hope might be dead.
After once again aiding her father and Fury to stop Gravik’s plans for World War III, G’iah knows she can’t stay with his faction anymore. Before she can flee, though, Gravik personally confronts her for her betrayal, and seemingly kills her like he did Maria Hill. Many fans were unhappy about this, with several taking to Twitter to vent about Emilia Clarke’s character dying so soon. Given how big a name the Mother of Dragons is, fans wouldn’t be wrong saying that Marvel wasted major star power.
Here’s the thing, though: G’iah may not be dead. Fans on social media pointed out the fact that the series trailer contained clips of G’iah from events that haven’t happened yet. In addition, others have pointed out how the Skrull Gravik killed doesn’t like G’iah in the promotional images. If that’s true, then Marvel knows what they’re doing with Emilia Clarke.
Betrayal’s Continue to Mount in the End
The most shocking, apparent betrayal comes in the episode’s final moments. After being left by Fury once more, Varra leaves their secret home and heads to a bank to retrieve a gun. After that, she makes a call on the phone asking someone on the other side to speak to Gravik. While this could imply a betrayal of Fury on Varra’s part, that’s not the most shocking thing about this scene. What’s most shocking is the voice of the person we hear on the other side of the line: it’s Rhodey.
For a while now, many fans have suspected that the Rhodey we see in Secret Invasion might not be Rhodey at all, but a Skull imposter. Those suspicions have only increased with each episode, especially with the realization from last week that Rhodey knows about the Skrulls and even has them working as bodyguards for him. The implication that the Skrulls have even replaced one of the Avengers makes their threat terrifying.
Regardless of what fans think, Secret Invasion is proving to be a potentially big milestone for the MCU. As someone who read the original comics, I’m a little disappointed it can’t live up to what we saw in the 2000’s, but the series still has a chance to give us a solid ending. As we spend the next three weeks watching the ending, we do so with the hopes of seeing something incredible happen in the end. Either that, or see Fury and Talos banter like an old, married couple some more.
