Marvel’s Secret Invasion finds its most solid footing yet with its fourth episode, “Beloved,” with a story that seems purposeful and motivated. However, the shaky foundation established in previous episodes is insufficient to carry the weight of Secret Invasion’s ambition. Surprisingly, this is not the first time a Marvel Studios TV series has met this issue. Other Disney+ MCU shows, such as The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Moon Knight, featured three-act movie frameworks rather than television series. As a result, the works felt stretched thin, meandering, and unnecessary complex. This strategy also meant that the main protagonists were maintained in complete stillness.
In a movie, it’s acceptable if Iron Man doesn’t undergo character development until the conclusion of the second act since it’s a two-hour film meant to be digested in a single sitting. In a television series, however, it would be startling and unpleasant for Iron Man to spend four complete episodes in utter stasis and then abruptly experience the entirety of his character’s growth in one episode. It’s perplexing to put the characters in essentially emotional hibernation for numerous episodes at a period, only to scream to a halt to give all of their growth in a single episode. What should be a progressive transition that allows the viewer to see the character’s growth is instead accomplished as swiftly as switching a switch.
Because the previous Secret Invasion episodes have shied away from revealing meaningful character motivation or furthering the development of the series’ characters, “Beloved” must bring everything to a halt in order to bring all of the in-universe characters up to speed, intellectually and emotionally, before the next big thing happens. As a result, the episode’s structural editing is nearly exclusively made up of back-to-back-to-back dialogues between various characters until the episode’s final action setpiece.
This is a structural and narrative issue. Having said that, the five discussions that comprise the majority of “Beloved” are five of the series’ greatest sequences. Brian Tucker’s screenplay is more involved in truly investigating the characters, Ali Selim’s directing is more fully developed and assured, and the performances, above all, are more intimate, accentuating each actor’s skills. Don Cheadle, Emilia Clarke, and Ben Mendelsohn all perform outstanding work in these moments, but Samuel L. Jackson steals the show. His portrayal as Nick Fury seems alive and involved with the material in a way that he seldom gets to be. While it simply helps to highlight greater faults with Secret Invasion as a whole, the episode’s slower pace and tone provide a welcome breather in which the creative team appears to have found its feet. Unfortunately, the episode-ending action setpiece is more than happy to ignore all of that in favour of cheap thrills.
Secret Invasion has trouble with editing, particularly in action sequences, and this is most evident in Episode 4’s finale. The massive sequence, which comprises hundreds of performers and extras, high-octane practical effects, and substantial computer effects, is likely Secret Invasion’s most expensive setpiece to date. Unfortunately, it is also the most nonsensical. The whole sequence’s intensity centres around the President’s overturned automobile and which of the opposing factions will arrive first. The President is the scene’s MacGuffin, vital to all subsequent plot developments. However, the sequence achieves very little to build any feeling of geography and much less to preserve any sense of direction. The combat takes place in a hazy atmosphere in which the spectator is never sure who is near to what, resulting in a highly confused scenario. It becomes progressively annoying as the edit loses track of major characters in the middle of the action.
Secret Invasion takes the time to draw out genuine motives and emotional stakes for its characters, capitalising on rising tension by building to a dramatic climactic action climax. However, the action goes on to squander all of that goodwill by erasing all of the hard-earned artistry that was defined earlier in the episode. So, while “Beloved” is without a doubt Secret Invasion’s best episode yet, it’s also extremely perplexing. Instead of being a watershed moment for the series, it’s just another squandered chance.
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