Marvel’s Secret Invasion establishes itself as a standalone series and a part of the broader Marvel Cinematic Universe with the release of its second episode, for better or worse. Even while this episode has its share of positive aspects, the creative team behind Secret Invasion disappointingly chooses to focus on the same issues that plagued the previous episode. By the third episode of the series, what should have seemed like Secret Invasion’s creative labour coming together appears increasingly fragmented and uncoordinated. I commended Secret Invasion’s opening credits for its emulation of pulpy ’70s science-fiction artwork in my assessment of the show’s premiere. As it turns out, it did more than just mimic the artwork; it really stole from them by blending them digitally and creating the sequence with AI. It’s stealing, not art, and it’s deplorable.
This episode begins abruptly as it uses flashbacks to fill up plot holes and crucial character motives that were lacking from the prior one. Although using flashbacks is a completely acceptable storytelling technique, it seems pointless in this case. In order to go into action setpieces right away, Secret invasion disregarded any sort of narrative or thematic groundwork in the first episode. Only now is it going back to give the viewer the details they needed to get invested in the beginning of the fight. It retrospectively lessens the impact of the first episode and confuses the framework of the entire narrative.
Secret Invasion is intent to undermine its best advantages even as the narrative advances in the present tense. Jackson gets to give a powerfully constructed monologue during a dialogue between Ben Mendelsohn and Samuel L. Jackson in an early train-set sequence. It is truly the most energising the series or Nick Fury as a character has felt in a long time. Jackson rips into it with his customary gusto. Even yet, Jackson’s performance is diminished by the way the action was covered and edited, which seemed erratic and unfocused.
This scene ends with a massive disclosure that changes the course of the story and raises the stakes, with far-reaching implications. But rather than being demonstrated, this disclosure is directly stated to the viewer. Despite the fact that it is repeatedly emphasised through conversation throughout the episode, Secret Invasion only addresses it on a limited visual scale. The fundamental hook of Secret Invasion feels reduced and discordant since the revelation is presented as a global threat in the narrative but as a threat to simply a group of six people on film.
Thematically connecting the difficult circumstances of our contemporary world to the paranoia of the Cold War era seemed promising in the first episode, but this episode demonstrates a fundamental ignorance of those same topics. Element like the handling of U.S. international affairs or the news presentation that is a cheap parody of a real-life misinformation spreader feel rather surface-level and formulaic rather than exciting. The MCU is also attempting to have its cake and eat it, too, when it comes to the Skrulls in the second episode of Secret Invasion. By defying expectations, Captain Marvel transformed the Skrulls from comic book baddies into explicit allegories for actual immigrants. This interpretation has been difficult for Secret Invasion to reconcile with the more obviously evil Skrulls in their own narrative, leading to subtext that feels foolish at best and heartless at worst.
Everyone continues to give excellent performances, but especially Samuel L. Jackson, Olivia Colman, Don Cheadle, and Emilia Clarke stand out. The episode closes with an action scene that director Ali Selim describes as “by far the most cohesively constructed setpiece of the series so far.” Secret Invasion, however, becomes more chaotic and discordant in this second episode in ways that feel more away from its purported genre roots and artistic goals.
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