Secret Invasion

[DrNewGod]

Talos is simply not a good leader at all. He is too idealistic, too trusting and he isn't dialed in enough to the reality of Earth's political machinations. Everyone else sees it but him, even Fury's reaction to him thinking it would be ok for a million Skrulls to settle secretly at least highlighted that. FATWS just dealt with how human immigrants and refugees are treated around the world. Specifically after the blip and return. You add in actual aliens from space who can shapeshift and infiltrate, there is no way they would get a good general welcome.

We haven't even got to the Mutants yet in the MCU and we can bet once they arrive en mass they will be treated as "other" and discriminated against as they usually are.

This show has so much to do to prove it was even worth it to make this honestly.

I'd say they're doing a good job of it based on what you laid out.

Agreed. A character's naivete - even to the point of stupidity - is not necessarily a plot failure, especially if it illuminates how people often listen to the worse angels of their nature. It's not unrealistic either: there are schools of thought that hold that Western Trade Policy on Chinese economic inclusion in the 1990s and Wilson's 14 Points in 1919 were both mainly powered by wishful thinking. Hoping for the best from people is usually a bad plan, but it's one that gets used from time to time, even when the stakes are high.

[Frontier]

I have to think at least one of the next two episodes will deal more with Gravik's character or his history with Fury because he's becoming a very thin villain.

[kidfresh512]

Still not enough background on Gravik's motivations at all. He is just a mustache twirling, rule the world generic protagonist so far. He cares about nothing and no one. All the Presidential scenes and hospital stuff was wasted imo. Rushing the President of the United States into surgery and then having Fury, who was fired and disgraced at that point sit in front of the door as "the last line of defense" took me out of the story. I don't know what they were going for with that sequence but it wasnt cool or badass. I was just like HUH? Where is the full military battalion and security?

There was nothing visible till Rhodey showed up with his crew and they let him pull a gun on Rhodey after Russia supposedly attacked the President of the United States?

Honestly nothing was really accomplished this episode at all. We learned about Harvest but I mean....so?

One more episode to give Gravick any kind of meaningful characterization. To clear Fury's name and get him back to the space station for The Marvels. Where is real Rhodey, or are we saving that for Armor Wars? What about real agent Ross even?

I don't see them explaining why Fury didn't just find them a new home at this point. So that's a huge failure.

[Frontier]

So really nobody seemed suspicious about Rhodey's behavior during the incident or how he literally did nothing? Or the way he talks about Gravik with Fury? I guess it's all "need to know" stuff above their paygrade when they're basically just mooks, but still.

Fury, I get you wanted to be close to the door, but what if someone needed to leave the room...?

I guess the President really didn't hear anything Fury said in his coma and Talos saving him didn't mean much. Unless that comes afterwards and Fury guilt trips him into helping the Skrulls once they take care of Gravik.

Honestly I thought Sonia was the top dog in British intelligence but I guess no better promotion than taking out your Skrull boss. Although will her actual boss get his job back when they free everybody?

I'm not really surprised that Fury had a collection of Avengers blood or that that's what Gravik was after the whole time. All the same I'm actually disappointed we won't see a lot of Skrulls with Avengers powers.

The Skrulls sure turned on Gravik quick. Although I guess I'll take the excuse to have him actually use his Skrull face. Honestly I gotta say the Skrulls just don't feel intimidating any more past the Super Skrull Gravik. Outside shape-shifting they're basically just normal goons or no different from humans. It makes me miss the sci-fi warrior Skrulls of the comics, or how they came off threatening in Captain Marvel. And we still barely know anything about Gravik other than he was a kid when Fury took him in and he trusted him for so long.

Why didn't Gravik have the one scientist who knew everything about the Super Skrull process close at hand? And only gave her one Skrull guard?

Why is this an appropriate time to talk about men gaslighting women or threatening to kill them? I don't think gender had anything to do with it. And it didn't even seem like Sonia moved that quick to shoot him to the point where he couldn't react in time.

Although I do now realize that Fury is the only significant male character actually trying to save the day. The Future is Female, I guess?

Why would Fury send Ghi'a back to his house with his wife whom he knows is being hunted down by Gravik? Did he know she wouldn't leave?

It's cool that they're doing proper Skrull funeral rites, but wouldn't it make more sense to do it in Skrull form? Nobody can see them.

Priscilla is never going to live down whether Fury was with her for the black woman and not the Skrull woman. Although did she stay human during sex?

Sonia's been so glib about everything that I appreciated her shock at Rhodey being a Skrull or Fury having a Skrull wife.

Priscilla had so many weapons why did she need a single gun from a safety deposit box? A weapon Fury didn't know she had?

Kind of morbid to keep caches of stuff in your own graves you have spread out everywhere.

I totally get a man crediting his single mom and his wife, but has Priscilla really done enough to warrant all this praise Fury is giving her? Other than stealing the heart of a superspy?

At least Fury finally has the patch back, maybe this means he's really going to step up his game in the final episode.

[kidfresh512]

The scientist scene was dumb too. He literally took out all her guards then stops and threatens the other scientist rather than Sonia? It made absolutely no sense. Even his line there. If you were pissed about her maybe giving away the plan uhm, kill Sonia and deal with the "traitor" later? As you escape and get back to the fight?

[Adam Allen]

I haven't watched all of the new episode yet, I just had to comment because they had Gravik do something that's become one of my pet peeves for fictional on-screen villains: At some point, underlining just how evil and ruthless they are, the Big Bad will off one of his lackeys; usually without any benefit to him, but always accompanied by the clear message that it could have been any of the others, if they pissed him off.

Happens all the time, but it's so dumb. There is no benefit package theoretically enticing enough to make being randomly, casually murdered by your boss a worthwhile position. There's no way the bad guy who murders his own people keeps any followers. And sure, no doubt you can imagine some exceptions to that, but the point is it shouldn't be standard that the main bad guy gets to murder his subordinates, and somehow still have a devoted following.

Hoping the rest of the episode gets better!

[Adam Allen]

I mean. I guess, at least there was some kind of consequence/response from his lackeys, but -- even after killing even more of them, he's still in charge? Is it supposed to be that he's ruling through fear?

This show has really, really been carried by the acting. Gi'ah had time to meet with Fury, retrieve her father's body, transport it to Priscilla, the both of them go through entire process of preparing a funeral pyre and burning his body, then sit back and have a nice conversation -- in the space of time it took Gravik's team to get to Priscilla's? Like, I was confused when Fury told Gi'ah to go to Priscilla, because I'd thought his warning they would be coming for her had meant she would "disappear"; but nope, she was just going to stay put and plan to fight?

If that was the plan, why wouldn't Fury have stayed with her? Or why wasn't she just with Fury and Talos in last episode big battle, if she has all these warrior skills and intended to fight?

Good acting, decent dialogue, nonsensical story.

[Emperor-of-Dragons]

This show has really, really been carried by the acting.
Good acting, decent dialogue, nonsensical story.

This sums up the show perfectly for me. If I'm to be honest with my self. Like someone else said I do appreciate the dark tone tho.

[Frontier]

It does kind of stand out that the Skrulls keep talking about Fury failing them and he has no rebuttal like he completely dropped the ball and used them.

Even though they never mention how Carol failed too.

[OpaqueGiraffe17]

It does kind of stand out that the Skrulls keep talking about Fury failing them and he has no rebuttal like he completely dropped the ball and used them.

Even though they never mention how Carol failed too.

I think the idea is that the blip threw fury off for an extensive period of time, given he was just dust for 5 years, and as we meet him in this show he's just now getting his footing in the game. Of course it is yet another example of the blip being a really big writing burden. It worked in a vacum for infinity war and endgame, but every project after it has to deal with it like an elphant in the room forever. Theres just too many implications for half the universe being gone for 5 years, the more you think about it, the harder it is. Should have just had endgame happen immediately after infinity war. If The Avengers brought everyone back a few days, weeks, maybe 2 months after the blip, sure i could ignore the implications. Thats basically what happened in the comics. But the russos shot the mcu in the foot on the way out by making it 5 years.

[kidfresh512]

I think the idea is that the blip threw fury off for an extensive period of time, given he was just dust for 5 years, and as we meet him in this show he's just now getting his footing in the game. Of course it is yet another example of the blip being a really big writing burden. It worked in a vacum for infinity war and endgame, but every project after it has to deal with it like an elphant in the room forever. Theres just too many implications for half the universe being gone for 5 years, the more you think about it, the harder it is. Should have just had endgame happen immediately after infinity war. If The Avengers brought everyone back a few days, weeks, maybe 2 months after the blip, sure i could ignore the implications. Thats basically what happened in the comics. But the russos shot the mcu in the foot on the way out by making it 5 years.

The skrulls were on Earth for 30 years at this point in Secret Invasion. It isn't a blip thing. This is a why haven't you and carol found them a home in 30 years thing.

[OpaqueGiraffe17]

The skrulls were on Earth for 30 years at this point in Secret Invasion. It isn't a blip thing. This is a why haven't you and carol found them a home in 30 years thing.

yeah but it was only a couple thousand, then the blip happened, Talos went soft and invited a million skrulls to earth, creating an unsustainable landscape, as neither human or skrull are tolerant enough to co-exist with another intelligent species. But thats all recent, a few hundred/a couple thousand skrulls is something Nick can control, and did for 30 years. But lets be real irl, nasa is a thing, we as real life humanity have been looking other life sustaining worlds for decades. But while we've found some possibities, many lightyears from us, finding another home is easier said than done.

[kidfresh512]

yeah but it was only a couple thousand, then the blip happened, Talos went soft and invited a million skrulls to earth, creating an unsustainable landscape, as neither human or skrull are tolerant enough to co-exist with another intelligent species. But thats all recent, a few hundred/a couple thousand skrulls is something Nick can control, and did for 30 years. But lets be real irl, nasa is a thing, we as real life humanity have been looking other life sustaining worlds for decades. But while we've found some possibities, many lightyears from us, finding another home is easier said than done.

I get it. But, this is a show your work type thing. It is their story they made it a big deal. We saw the Skrulls get promised help in Captain marvel and now we are told over and over again Fury didnt deliver. Now they have to tell us why or what was the point?

[j9ac9k]

It does kind of stand out that the Skrulls keep talking about Fury failing them and he has no rebuttal like he completely dropped the ball and used them.

Even though they never mention how Carol failed too.

Fury at least had the excuse of being blipped. Carol was around for those five years and apparently forgot the Skrulls as well. With half the population gone, she still wasn't able to find them a place to call home.

All the failure in the story's logic have been mentioned (the big ones at least) but for me you just have to look at the first scenes. Fury confronts Rhodey at the hospital where Rhodey says "you'll have to kill me to expose me" so Fury backs down, but right after that, we see Sonia expose her boss by shooting him in the hand. The writing's just sloppy and it really affects one's enjoyment of the show. (then there's also the scene where Sonia shoots the Skrull and there's purple blood on the woman's face, but during that torture scene after the Moscow bombing, that guy bled red and was not exposed as a Skrull - just because the plot didn't want that to happen until Sonia showed up)

And I'll say it again, the writers just couldn't handle a plot as large as this - they should've kept it a tight spy thriller with a simpler plot.

[Frontier]

Fury at least had the excuse of being blipped. Carol was around for those five years and apparently forgot the Skrulls as well. With half the population gone, she still wasn't able to find them a place to call home.

All the failure in the story's logic have been mentioned (the big ones at least) but for me you just have to look at the first scenes. Fury confronts Rhodey at the hospital where Rhodey says "you'll have to kill me to expose me" so Fury backs down, but right after that, we see Sonia expose her boss by shooting him in the hand. The writing's just sloppy and it really affects one's enjoyment of the show. (then there's also the scene where Sonia shoots the Skrull and there's purple blood on the woman's face, but during that torture scene after the Moscow bombing, that guy bled red and was not exposed as a Skrull - just because the plot didn't want that to happen until Sonia showed up)

And I'll say it again, the writers just couldn't handle a plot as large as this - they should've kept it a tight spy thriller with a simpler plot.

At least with the whole Fury vs Sonia scenario Sonia surprised her Skrull and shot him before the guards showed up, if Fury had shot Rhodey he'd probably have been shot dead right afterwards before they saw he (she?) was a Skrull.