Welcome back to the blog readers. Yeah, Secret Invasion has turned into the best show on television right now, and I cannot believe how in love with the series I am. After a fantastic fourth episode that saw so many revelations, clearly we were heading in the right direction, right? Finishing strong? Could the fifth episode, titled "Harvest," directed by Ali Selim and written by Michael Bhim and Brian Tucker, get us going? 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.
I have been heaping nothing but praise on this show for the last four weeks. And believe me, it is well-deserved. Although I do like most of the Disney+ series, I do admit they fell a bit short in the finale episodes (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is the one exception where the finale was better than most of the series). With that being said, I am saddened to report that we only have one more episode of Secret Invasion left. Basically, this was another phenomenal episode.
We can clearly see that Nick Fury is losing ground in this fight. Maria Hill and Talos are gone, and he has become a fugitive after "Rhodey" released the footage of Gravik, as Fury, killing Hill. We see him desperate to find his footing, attempting to recruit G'iah, but she is upset with him. The remainder of the episode sees him working with Sonya Falsworth and explaining his past to her. Samuel L. Jackson is putting in the performance of his life in this series. I never loved the Fury character as I do here. He gets some powerful material and he is making the absolute most of it. Please never leave the MCU, especially when you are giving performances like this.
Olivia Colman is eating this performance as Sonya Falsworth up. I know this is a darker series, but she is surprisingly the source of all of the levity, and I love every second of it. There is also a hint of some ruthlessness buried underneath all of that levity, and that is why I believe that Falsworth is such an interesting character. She is not afraid to do what she feels is necessary to get what she wants. She will shoot Derrik Weatherby (played by my guy Tony Curran) in the leg, outing him as a Skrull to her forces, and then will kill "Viktor Dalton" when he threatens "Rosa Dalton." I definitely want to see a series on how she came to be who she is and how she met Fury. I love Olivia Colman now after this (even though I'm still a little mad you took Lady Gaga's Oscar for A Star is Born (2018)).
Emilia Clarke did not get a lot to do last episode but she is heavily involved this time around. Here we learn that G'iah still held a little resentment over her father for failing to find them a new home, but she also resented herself for how she handled her final conversation with him. This adds layers to her character, as we see someone who clearly loved her father but had disagreements with him. It also sucks that Talos died thinking his daughter was disappointed in him. I also enjoyed her scenes with Priscilla, as it adds a layer to both characters. Charlayne Woodard is not someone I knew before this series, but now I don not want to stop seeing her. She is incredible in this series, and I really hope they do not kill her off next week. We finally get to see her in action, and she looks just as badass as the stars of the show. I cannot believe how versatile she is. And it was heartbreaking to see them give Talos a typical Skrull funeral.
There are major ramifications for events that take place in this episode. First off, a group of Skrulls that includes Beto tries to take out Gravik, only for him to kill them all. Looks like Gravik is losing control of his people, but we did get to see his Skrull form for the first time. And he looks menacing as hell. We also learn from G'iah that Gravik is looking for something called the Harvest, and he will call off his planned attack on his own base if Fury brings it to him personally. By the way, "Rhodey" is attempting to convince President Ritson to authorize that attack, and that the Russians are Skrull sympathizers. If this attack goes through, Russia will blame the United States and World War III will break out.
We also learn what the Harvest is from Nick Fury, when he joins forces with Falsworth. He explains the Harvest is a mixture of DNA from every here who spilled blood at the Battle of Earth (aka the final battle of Avengers: Endgame (2019)), and that the Skrulls were already working with it before Fury hid it away. This makes Fury feel morally responsible for all of this, and he explains that's why he has not called any of the Avengers to help him. It is almost enough to make you feel sympathetic for Nick, as we have never seen this defeated side of him. His "suit-up" scene was badass as well, as he basically transformed the entire graveyard they were in into his personal safehouse. We finally get the Nick Fury we have known and loved, eyepatch and beard in tow. And he is ready for a fight, as are we.
Another fantastic episode of television down, as we head into the saddest time for me: the buildup to the finale. Let us all hope that this finale will defiantly stick the landing to make this one of the best Marvel series yet. Thank you all for reading and I will see you for my reviews of Oppenheimer, the finale episode, and the series as a whole.
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