Secret Invasion Episode 4 Review: Ruthless and Intimist In Dealing With Its Characters And The Events At Stake
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Emilia Clarke, Olivia Colman, Killian Scott, Samuel Adewunmi, Dermot Mulroney, Richard Dormer, Charlayne Woodard, Don Cheadle
Direction: Ali Selim
Streaming Platform: Disney+
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4/5 (four stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Secret Invasion Episode 4 tries to highlight the adult and dramatic identity of this TV series again, in an attempt to dirty the events even more, intertwining current events with the past of the protagonists. The shadows of broken promises and human imperfection are the main fuel for an alien rage that finds a reasonable way out only in violence. Once again, Nick Fury is forced to retrace the steps of an identity, his, which seems to be light years away from the weary carcass we see on the screen. However, some secret trump cards can still reserve complete surprises. The 4th episode has a big advance in the story, it starts with G’iah surprising everyone and showing that she wasn’t dead, because before she had become a “super” Skrull just like Gravik showed to be in the previous episode.
Sadly, Beloved confirms my suspicions from the last episode: Secret Invasion‘s espionage is just a front. Right at the beginning of this episode, we see that G’iah didn’t die (to the surprise of zero people…), taking any impact from the cliffhanger and robbing us of the effects that it would bring to the story. In addition, of the four episodes so far, three – including this one – end with a “dead” character on the ground, proving the lack of ideas from the work’s writers and a feeling of boring repetition of the plot. Aesthetically and tonally, we’re watching a spy show, but the narrative isn’t convincing, nor are we engaging in the early promises of a thriller international network of shapeshifters and special agents.
Secret Invasion Episode 4 Review: The Story Plot
The new episode of Secret Invasion picks up from the moments that closed the past events, plunging us back into the ongoing action. If on the one hand, the discovery of a previously discovered plan B of the infiltrated agent (the mole) is surprising, for the rest of the playing time we return to the large chessboard on which we moved from the initial moments. The Skrulls led by Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir) want to carry out their plan at all costs, even at the risk of their own lives. Their anger manifests itself in a direct attack on America, which once again aims to destabilize the world balance. In addition to the action in the field, Secret Invasion Episode 4 is also a very intimate episode, to deepen, at least, the relationship that Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) has built over the years with Priscilla/Varra (Charlayne Woodard).
Their direct comparison represents the beating heart of the entire narrative, highlighting some shadows both in the relationship to unite them, and in the change experienced after the Blip by Nick himself (we also talked about it in our review of Secret Invasion Episode 3). His current conditions are a reason for ridicule by the other protagonists, committed to underestimating a helpless old man who is nonetheless ready to take action when he is needed. Thus, the shadows of this series become even darker, continuously playing with the Skrulls’ ability to change shape and with the weight of the masks they have been forced to wear for a very long time, due to their nature as space nomads without a real home in which live peacefully. It is just that internal conflict divides the two factions currently fighting, also involving the human race in a series of clashes of which the latter is not yet fully aware.
Secret Invasion Episode 4 Review and Analysis
After the twist at the end of the last episode, we understand that Fury is alone against the Skrulls led by Gravik. The shapeshifters’ plan is slowly taking hold, and only Fury and Talos are trying to block it. The Skrull made us understand during the past few episodes that he was the only one, along with Priscilla, whom the secret agent could trust. Thanks to Talos, Fury, was able to get up and regain self-confidence after the Bleep. Secret Invasion is a journey to discover Fury’s past, between revealed secrets and old acquaintances. We explore even more the relationship with Priscilla which in a few scenes is perfectly deepened, transmitting all the love that the two feel. Fury’s only weakness is the knowledge that it’s not just to stop the Skrulls and to avoid a third world war.
By now it is clear, the villain of the series is Gravik, not a random threat or a danger that is about to appear, but a cruel and unscrupulous villain. We also understand it from this episode, during which once again the head of the subversive Skrulls shows all her violence and desire to destroy humanity in favor of his race. Without remorse and fear, here we also see the powers of the Super Skrull at work. Very menacing and certainly the most dangerous, Gravik pursues his goal without remorse. Even the threat of the Super Skrull becomes real, after seeing him at work Fury himself is surprised by realizing the great danger. The spy thriller atmosphere is not missing, and indeed once again we live it intensely, also thanks to Nick Fury who is resurrecting to return to the perfect agent that we all love. The plan that the leader of the Skrulls is trying to carry out is slowly being realized, also thanks to the help of many infiltrators in the United States government. Surely, they will have to explain many things, especially how and why some Skrulls have those certain features.
In recent months, we have been accustomed to Marvel Studios series drastically dropping in quality from mid-season upwards. Closing quickly and without finishing each open narrative line. It’s still early to sing victory, it’s true, there are 2 episodes left and there are still some things to tell, but so far, the series is going perfectly. Surely excessive speed is perceived, but each story serves the plot, even if Gravik ‘s plan struggles to take off. This, as far as I’m concerned, is not a defect since it then leads to consequences and other interesting turning points for the series. For sure what happens here will have a decisive impact on the Marvel Universe because it will be difficult to ignore the events that take place in Secret Invasion.
Unlike the other episodes, in this case, Secret Invasion attempts a more noir narrative approach, linked to the emotions of the individual characters. In doing so, however, it slows down the general pace even more (as we had already pointed out in the review of Secret Invasion Episode 2) in favor of a narrative approach that oscillates between a particular and intimate romanticism, and the overt and poignant drama of some very direct developments. War remains the focal point of this TV series, but it should be understood as a struggle for survival at the cost of the lives of others. There doesn’t seem to be room for diplomacy, definitively abandoned by a part of the Skrull race, by the so-called ” recruits”, committed to affirming a warlike ideology without fears and limits.
The subtext of the story is clearer than ever, as is the direction in which Secret Invasion is moving (especially when it comes to Super Skrull), even if the general style seems to prefer specific attention to the very essence of the characters involved, accompanied by a policy that sometimes oppresses and suffocates them, while at others it guides and spurs them on. As mentioned above, Secret Invasion stands out from many other Marvel products by setting up a speech with purely adult tones. It is a spy story with fantastic nuances in which the protagonists not only face a huge and seemingly unstoppable threat but must do so by taking into account the weight of each action.
The consequences are a central element in the political tangle proposed by the story in question, which is added particular attention to the ideological baggage of each character. However, this writing sensibility tends to dilute its creative worth with a series of developments that are violent and unforgiving, but still quite superficial overall. The choice to constantly keep the ongoing events a mystery could work and keep the audience’s interest high, hoping that as the episodes go by all the kinks are united in the most natural way possible.
Secret Invasion Episode 4 Review: The Last Words
Secret Invasion Episode 4 is an episode of intimate transition, in which the characters on stage face their demons, without going into detail, however. The smoky approach of this TV series reigns supreme in its developments, offering a plot full of twists and turns, without dwelling too much on its laurels which, we hope, will be explored later with the due narrative timing. The result is an even more noir, adult, bloody, and dramatic story, but always and in any case profoundly human and with still imperfect albeit interesting traits.
