Secret Invasion (2023)

*Premise spoilers.*

Well, this was…a thing. Even though there have definitely been issues, I’ve mostly really liked the Disney+ Marvel shows—things started strong out of the gate with WandaVision, and I’ve loved getting a deeper look at movie characters with shows like Loki and meeting new favorites in shows like Moon Knight. But things on the TV side have been shakier over the last year (except for Werewolf by Night, which remains wonderful.) More unevenness, more plot developments that aren’t grounded well, and just overall more missteps, even though there’s still some great stuff there (Jen Walters/Matt Murdock forever!) But Secret Invasion? This show was a pretty big disappointment for me.

Since the Blip, Nick Fury has mostly been off planet with S.A.B.R.E., looking out for Earth’s interests in space. But a growing crisis brewing back home has caused him to return. 30 years ago, Fury helped Carol Danvers find shelter on Earth for a group of shapeshifting Skrull refugees. They’d promised to help the Skrulls find a new planet to call home, but after all that time, some of them have gotten tired of waiting. A small but strong group has been radicalized under the leadership of Gravik, who’s making plans to turn Earth into a new Skrullos once they get rid of all those pesky humans. With the help of his old friend Talos, Fury investigates how deep the plot goes, unsure who to trust when the enemy has the ability to look like anyone.

This show had so much potential. It’s high time we got a story in the MCU from Fury’s perspective, and Talos was a fan favorite from Captain Marvel, so it’s terrific to see these two together again. Throw in a sci-fi spy thriller premise and teased appearances from beloved recurring Marvel characters like Maria Hill and Rhodey, along with a talented cast playing some new faces, and it all adds up to a series that I was looking forward to before it premiered.

But despite my high hopes, the series fumbles its execution so many times in so many ways. The story often goes for cheap shock value but then fails to follow through with its climactic twists. The scripts mostly feel like early drafts that never got finetuned, with lots of easy logic holes and themes that trail off instead of getting fleshed out. The whole “how many of the characters we know and love are really Skrulls in disguise???” hook manages to be underwhelming even as it simultaneously takes things too far. Also, I’m at the point where I’m 100% over 1) seeing “good guys” torture baddies and 2) having the torture actually produce useful intel, and this show goes to that disturbing well too often.

Now, every Marvel property has its good points—hey, Iron Fist gave us Colleen Wing and the drunken-style kung fu of Zhou Cheng!—and Secret Invasion is no exception. The dynamic between Fury and Talos is excellent. Their banter is delightfully entertaining, and Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn do a great job of portraying the long history between these two characters. While new character Sonya, a counterpart of Fury’s at MI-6, is troublingly torture-happy, I have to say that Olivia Colman plays her impeccably, with a cheery nonchalance in the face of all the wildness happening around her. And I always find it interesting when the Black characters in the MCU, Black Panther notwithstanding, actually get to be acknowledged as Black—I can’t swear to it, but I’m like 95% sure Sam never even said the word “Black” prior to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. As such, I like the small lines, details, and references that show how Fury’s race (as well as Rhodey’s) affects his experience in the world. But those good points have a lot of extraneous “meh” and “huh?!?” and “ugh!!” to contend with, and the end result is kind of a mess.

None of the cast is served all that well by the story, although again, some fare better than others. I wanted a lot better for Jackson’s showcase series, but his performance is committed throughout, and Mendelsohn is terrific here. The other returning MCU cast members do well with what they’re given, especially Don Cheadle as Rhodey. As I said, Colman is fantastic, and Charlayne Woodard does a nice job as new character Priscilla. When it comes to Emilia Clarke and Kingsley Ben-Adir as Skrulls G’iah and Gravik, we see another exercise in wasted potential. G’iah’s characterization doesn’t offer much for Clarke to hold onto, and after loving Ben-Adir’s performance as Malcolm X in One Night in Miami, it’s disappointing to see him saddled with a relatively one-note character like Gravik.

Warnings

Violence (including torture,) language, drinking, and thematic elements (including terrorism.)