Welcome back to the blog readers. Secret Invasion has easily been one of the better shows on television over the last few weeks, and the magic of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is quietly returning. The only thing that I wish is that we can keep this momentum going all the way through the finale and call this a fantastic show. Did my wish come true with the third episode, titled "Betrayed," and directed by Ali Selim from a script by Roxanne Paredes and Brian Tucker? Stick around to find out.
NOTE: I will be using spoilers for my thoughts, so DO NOT read ahead if you have not seen the episode.
Well damn. That was a hell of an episode. I think I can confidently say that so far, this series is the second best of the year, only behind the brilliant HBO series The Last of Us (Go read my reviews for each episode and the full season of that show on my blog). There is so much great tension, so much great character work, and more twists and turns than a roller coaster; and it must be known that I am here for every single second of it. Big Papa Iger, if you're reading this (and I'm pretty sure he won't), please use your voodoo powers and give us like 15 more episodes of this shit.
Right off the bat, we learn of Gravik's plan to wage war on humanity by having humanity wage war on itself, and then enhance all of the Skrulls to be able to take on the Avengers and control the world. We also learn he sent some rebels to infiltrate the Royal Navy to shoot down a U.N. transport. This is great because we not only know how dangerous Gravik is, but how easily a mission like this can succeed because the Skrulls have the element of surprise. Kingsley Ben-Adir gives another killer performance on the show, and I can smell some award love coming his way in the future. And I will talk more about specifics later.
We learn more about Nick Fury's secret wife Priscilla/Varra, and that he does know she is a Skrull. We also learn they begin dating sometime in 1998 and that she never resented him for being gone for 5 years due to the Blip, but did resent him when he left Earth to go to space when he came back. Samuel L. Jackson and Charlayne Woodard give an Emmy-worthy performance in their fight scene where Varra reveals to Nick Fury that she found herself and became a different person while he was gone. Please do not kill her off, even though we had a major reveal with her at the end of the episode.
I absolutely want to point out the scene between Ben Mendelsohn and Ben-Adir. The meeting between Talos and Gravik was as tense and heart-pounding as you can get, and rivals Rhodey and Fury's fight from last week. This is where we get that scene in the trailer where Talos chokes Gravik out and every patron sitting around them gets up and shape-shifts into Gravik. That shit is intimidating as hell, and one of the most impressive things I have seen this year. I love the proverbial mind games that Gravik is playing, by making Talos lose his cool when he brings up and threatens G'iah.
Speaking of G'iah, I believe she has come closer to defecting this episode than in the last two, by openly assisting Talos against Gravik and his forces. She tells him about the Navy infiltration and later assists him in aborting the mission. Emilia Clarke has killed this role so far, and I am so devastated and shocked that they decided to kill G'iah. Now this show really feels like Game of Thrones (2011-19), because now the stakes are higher than ever for our favorite characters. Will they kill Falsworth? Talos or Fury themselves? I hope the fuck not, because I cannot deal with three major deaths in this show. Oh, and by the way, she is super dead.
As I said before, Gravik has successfully proven how dangerous he can be. He already has racked up a body count, with Maria Hill and G'iah being victims of his wrath. But now that he has the Extremis formula means defeating this guy is going to be a major issue. Extremis is not the only DNA the Skrulls were able to extract though. They were able to extract that of Groot, Cull Obsidian and the Frost Beasts from Thor (2011). These Skrulls are looking to create chaos, some of which Helmut Zemo would have only dreamed of.
But the most important part of this entire episode is the relationship between Nick Fury and Talos. After a violent split last week, they are reunited and at each other's throats. They pretty much spend the entire time they are together this episode criticizing the other. I feel like this part is the growing pains of being apart after so long, and I think we will get the mending of their relationship next week. They were able to settle their differences long enough to stop the U.N. transport from being shot down, with the aforementioned help from G'iah. I also enjoyed both of the performances of Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn and I love the odd couple dynamic they have going.
Now we get to talk about the big reveal at the end of the episode. We see Priscilla going to a bank and accessing her safe deposit box. And on the phone she calls someone looking to speak to Gravik, and the man on the phone says that she is speaking to him now. So Priscilla is secretly working for Gravik and feeding him info on Nick Fury. That shit is shocking. But do you guys want to know what is more shocking? The voice on the phone. You cannot, CANNOT tell me that is not the voice of Don Cheadle. The theory that Rhodey is a Skrull has basically just been confirmed, especially when we find out one has infiltrated the highest levels of U.S. government. For the sense of this show, it would make complete sense that it was Rhodey, because of how antagonistic he has been in the series so far. I just hope that was the real Rhodey at Tony Stark's funeral.
I know this was a longer review than usual, but you're bound to have that when the content is as juicy and compelling as it is. Thank you all so much for reading this review, and I will see you for the next one.
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