'Secret Invasion' Recap, 'Promises'

By Brian Richards | TV | June 30, 2023 |

By Brian Richards | TV | June 30, 2023 |

Previously on Secret Invasion: Talos and Maria Hill uncover a terrorist plot that is about to be carried out by a renegade group of Skrulls who are tired of waiting for Captain Marvel and Nick Fury to find them a new planet to call home as they originally promised, and have decided to take over Earth instead and make it their home. (One of the Skrulls taking part in this invasion? G’iah, the now-adult daughter of Talos.) They both get word to Fury, who returns to Earth to help stop this from happening, while also realizing that with Skrulls working against them as the enemy, and seemingly taking no prisoners, it will become even more difficult and more dangerous to know who can be trusted. Gravik launches a terrorist attack in Moscow’s Vossoyedineniye Square during the Unity Day celebrations, killing thousands. And if that wasn’t enough, he disguises himself as Fury and shoots Maria Hill to death, leaving her to die in the real Nick Fury’s arms.

Oh, and f-ck you, ABC, for canceling Stumptown.

WAIT, WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH THIS EPISODE?: Nothing, really. I just really liked that show, I loved Cobie Smulders as Dex, and I’m still mad at ABC for canceling it when it wasn’t really necessary.

THE STORY SO FAR: After the deaths of over 2,000 people, including Maria Hill, Fury and Talos’ friendship hits a serious roadblock when Talos reveals that he sent out a call to invite at least a million Skrulls to live on Earth, and that he did so without Fury’s knowledge or permission. The rest of the world not only blames America for the attack, but they suspect that Fury was responsible for it. Gravik attends a meeting with the Skrull Council, and makes it abundantly clear that he’s at war with humankind, and that he will not stop until he is the winner, and until Earth belongs to him. Fury and Rhodey meet up secretly for a conversation with one another, which ends with Fury being officially discharged by Rhodey over his failure to stop Grovik’s attack.

WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT THIS EPISODE?: The opening scene in which Fury is introduced to the Skrulls (including a teenage Gravik) by Talos back in 1997, and Fury promises to help them find a new world to call home as long as they disguise themselves as humans to help him keep Earth safe from any other possible threats. (“You keep your word, I’ll keep mine.”) The “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know” game between Fury and Talos, which starts with Fury sharing a personal anecdote about his younger self and his mother in Alabama, and ends with the two of them butting heads over Talos revealing that he invited Skrulls to live on Earth after their home planet, Skrollos, was destroyed. Talos telling Fury how angry he is for using Skrulls as pawns for espionage, and not being around on Earth when he needed him, but hoping that humans and Skrulls can coexist, which is immediately followed by Fury shutting that down, and letting Talos know that will never, ever happen. (“Humans can barely coexist with each other, Talos! You’ve been here long enough to know that! We’ve been at war with each other since we could walk upright. There is not enough room or tolerance on this planet for another species!” Which is also the same point that Perry White made to Lois Lane in Man of Steel when he agreed to not publish Lois’ story about Clark.)

Rhodey’s meeting with the E.U. heads of state, where he refuses to let the U.S. accept any blame for what happened in Moscow, or that the photos showing Fury’s presence are legitimate (“Respectfully, Prime Minister, I can’t take the authenticity of Russian-supplied photos at face value.”), and also letting them know that neither he nor the President answers to any of them. Fury’s conversation with Maria Hill’s mother, who holds him responsible for Maria’s death, while also telling him to make damn sure that her death wasn’t all for nothing. Gravik’s own meeting with the Skrull Council, where they all agree that despite him attacking Moscow without their permission or approval, he should be in charge and agree to appoint him as Skrull General. (With the notable exception of Shirley, who lets it be known that she doesn’t approve of any of this.) Sonya Falsworth taking over the interrogation of Brogan, the Skrull operative captured during the Moscow attack, and discovering that Gravik and his people are inventing a machine that will somehow make the Skrulls stronger and more powerful. (“Didn’t your mother warn you you could lose an eye by beating your meat like that?”) The entire conversation between Fury and Rhodey, with Rhodey telling Fury that he needs to answer for what Gravik has done right before firing him, and Fury responds by telling him he’s still dangerous whether he has his rank and job title, or not. (“I’m Nick Fury. Even when I’m out, I’m in.”) Fury heading back to his house, and being greeted by his wife, Priscilla. Who is also A SKRULL!!!!

Yes, you read that correctly! Fury is married, and getting that Skrullussy on the regular, and who knows how long this has all been happening?

SKRULLUSSY? REALLY?: (shrugs) Yes, really. I’m quite superficial, what can I tell you?

WHAT’S NOT SO GOOD ABOUT THIS EPISODE?: Nothing that comes to mind.

DO ANY OF THE AVENGERS APPEAR IN THIS EPISODE?: The only Avenger who appears in this episode is once again Col. James “Rhodey” Rhodes, and there are two references to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in the episode. The first is when the Skrull Council brings them up to Gravik and wonders what will be done if they show up to interfere. Gravik says he has already thought of that and will take care of it if and when necessary. The second time is when Rhodey asks Fury if, after being informed that Skrulls have infiltrated the whole world, it might be necessary to give them a call. Fury shuts down the idea, not wanting to leave the Avengers open to being imitated by Skrulls and end up being accused of crimes they haven’t committed. (That, and much like She-Hulk shifting back into being Jennifer Walters, The Avengers being on this show is very expensive.)

CAPTAIN MARVEL?: No, but the episode does start with footage from Captain Marvel that shows how Fury met Talos and his family, and how Fury and Carol promised them and their fellow Skrulls that they would do what they can to find them another world to call home.

MONICA RAMBEAU?: No.

EVERETT ROSS?: No.

SOOOO…ABOUT THAT ENDING FROM LAST WEEK’S EPISODE. IS MARIA HILL REALLY DEAD?: It looks that way, especially with her grief-stricken mother present to stand over her coffin and receive condolences from the military. But then again, when Jim Gordon faked his death in The Dark Knight, his fellow detectives went to his home to break the news of his “death” to Gordon’s wife, so we can either accept that she truly is dead or wait and see whether or not Secret Invasion truly is serious about ending Maria Hill’s story here and now.

YEAH, BUT…LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED TO AGENT COULSON? HE GOT KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY, AND FURY GOT COULSON SENT TO TAHITI!: It’s a magical place.

UH-HUH! SO IS FURY GOING TO USE THE SAME TECHNOLOGY ON MARIA HILL THAT HE DID ON COULSON TO BRING HER BACK TO LIFE?: If he is, that remains a mystery, as neither Fury nor the show has hinted at that so far. And if you watched Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (a.k.a. “the show that Marvel Studios chooses to ignore as if its name was Terrence Howard”), you know that Project T.A.H.I.T.I. came with some very unfortunate side effects when used on any of its subjects. So if Fury even thought of putting Maria through that, the results could be very unpleasant.

ANY EASTER EGGS WE SHOULD WATCH OUT FOR?: When G’iah hacks into the computer database to find out what’s going on with the Skrull-enhancing machine that’s being invented, she sees that DNA from a Groot (from the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, of course), a Frost Beast (from Thor and Thor: The Dark World), a Cull Obsidian (from Avengers: Infinity War), and an Extremis (from Iron Man 3, and a very brief appearance in Shang-Chi’s Fine-Ass Daddy And Those Ten Bracelets Looking Good On His Forearms Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is in the system. This opens up the possibility that Gravik wants to use the machine to make Super-Skrulls, who were introduced in the original Fantastic Four comics in the 1960s. When Fury is talking to Rhodey, and explains how Black men like them have to wrest power from the hands of those who are mediocre, and who would use that power in mediocre ways, he mentions Alexander Pierce, the Big Bad from Captain America: The Winter Soldier, whose deception and villainy is one of the many reasons why Fury has his trust issues. Priscilla Fury, whose Skrull name is Varra, is first seen at the beginning of the episode when she introduces Gravik to Fury and convinces him that his bravery and determination would make him a valuable asset. The meeting between Rhodey and the E.U. heads of state is somewhat reminiscent of this scene from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, where Queen Ramonda (with an assist from the Dora Milaje) lets the rest of the world know that Wakanda doesn’t answer to them, and they will not allow themselves to be plundered and intimidated.

ARE THERE ANY SCENES DURING THE CLOSING CREDITS?: No.

TO SUM IT ALL UP: This was another impressive episode, as it went into more detail of showing just how Skrulls have gotten a little tired of Fury’s broken promitheth promitheth, and how it’s not just Fury paying the price and ending up in their warpath. It also featured some terrific scenes of Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Don Cheadle, Olivia Colman, and Kingsley Ben-Adir, in which we saw friendships being pushed to their breaking points, Gravik showing that there are no limits to what he will do to bring humankind to its knees, and Sonya showing that torturing a Skrull brings her as much pleasure and satisfaction as eating a delicious meal in a five-star restaurant. The overall storyline of Skrulls losing their home, and vengefully lashing out because the new homes they were promised were never given to them not only has some parallels to the Windrush scandal (which largely affected British African-Caribbean residents, and many of whom reside in Brixton, where this episode begins with Fury and the Skrulls making promises to one another), but is also similar to the storyline about Karli Morgenthau and the Flag-Smashers from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Especially since that series also dealt with a large group of antagonists who were striking back with acts of terrorism after having their homes suddenly taken away from them. I wasn’t entirely impressed with how that series handled those characters and their motivations, so here’s hoping that Secret Invasion stays on target and continues to do a better job throughout these next four episodes instead of stumbling as it gets closer to the finish line like…well, almost every other Marvel series on Disney Plus.

This episode of Secret Invasion has been brought to you by “The World Is Yours” by Nas…

And by “Soon As I Get Home” by Faith Evans.