Secret Invasion recap: All plot and no play makes this a dull show

The only major praise Secret Invasion is getting is its consistency. The show has remained frightfully dull to almost the end; it’s an achievement you just can’t take away, even in its penultimate episode. “Harvest” covers a lot of ground. There’s the aftermath of Talos’ death (he is, apparently, actually gone after episode four’s cliffhanger), G’iah’s emotional reckoning with her father’s burial, and her team-up with Priscilla against Gravik’s assassins. Fury isn’t around for it because he’s, um, buried himself in work. That includes making a plan to fight Gravik and Skrull Rhodey by aligning with Sonya. (Okay, fine, Olivia Colman’s performance is also making the cut when it comes to Secret Invasion’s pros.)

I haven’t even run through the remaining plot points “Harvest” unpacks in less than 40 minutes because they seem…pointless? Vacuous? Silly? Take your pick. The drama has the tiniest bits of suspense, but the execution is so poor that slotting it into a political spy genre feels wrong. Secret Invasion’s other big promise, to focus on Samuel L. Jackson’s longtime and fan-favorite Marvel character, also rings false. Yes, we learn more about his backstory and feelings, but they’re crammed in without real emotional value. At one point, he tells Sonya that being raised by a single mom and being with Priscilla are his superpowers. Sure. Priscilla also tells G’iah earlier in the episode that, essentially, it wasn’t easy to build and sustain a marriage with an alien-chasing Fury. But it seemed worth it when she would stare at him for hours as he sat in their beautiful home, reading by the window with sunlight soaking his skin.

First of all, who believes Fury’s had the free time to enjoy a book? Second of all, it’s hard to get emotionally invested in a relationship barely depicted onscreen. Who cares if Fury and Priscilla were married for 15 years when we just found out about it, with Secret Invasion doing nothing to build up their bond? Don’t blame me for not feeling about their marriage ending, despite the love they seemingly share. Sorry to them, but they could be one of the worst Marvel couples. And it sucks because Jackson and Charlayne Woodard are terrific performers. Their episode-four shootout scene proves there is a ton of potential and chemistry, but the SI creators chose to focus on bland nonsense instead.

Another example of Secret Invasion’s wasted potential—and five episodes in, I can confidently say it’s a waste—lies in G’iah. Emilia Clarke is remarkable with the right material. She sold several seasons of Daenerys’ Game Of Thrones tribulations, including her heel turn. After a slew of romantic comedies as the bubbly lead, SI offers her a similar break. G’iah is meant to be sullen and goth, but also driven because she feels abandoned by Talos, only to secretly rejoin him against Gravik. But where’s the thrill or sentimental value of this plot? Clarke’s characterization is depressingly one-note. Even the way she stands—a straight back, hands in the pockets of her black leather jacket, creased eyebrows—feels boxed in, not authentic.

SI didn’t examine the fraught father-daughter bond between her and Talos, so Gi’ah’s mourning feels empty. On paper, it might appear complex. But onscreen? Yeah, it’s a dud, much like Fury and Priscilla. It tells me no one in front of or behind the camera wanted to flesh these characters out. The endeavor is superficial from start to end. All the performances are stoic, barring Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn’s fantastic banter—which this episode obviously lacks—and Colman making the most of her one-liners like the queen she is.

G’iah’s only contribution to “Harvest” is finally enlightening the audience on why the episode has that title. She tells Fury that Gravik is after something called The Harvest, which is basically the DNA of all the Avengers, including Carol Danvers. Gravik wants to use it to turn his army into the Super Skrulls. He didn’t find those vials, but he found the ones obtained from Thanos’ lackey, Cull Obsidian (Jesse Burch), and Flora Colossal, a.k.a. Groot’s species. Gravik displayed his flora colossi invoked abilities (stretching the body, healing quickly) while attacking President Ritson last week. He does it again here when some of his army members strike up a brief rebellion. (Chalk that subplot up as another futile diversion not worth expanding on.)

Later in the episode, Fury further explains to Sonya that he’s the one who wanted to collect the Avengers’ DNA after the Battle for Earth. I love Fury, but can he not do some of the most insane things in the MCU? So what if the blood of these superheroes was spilled? Did he really have to go and bottle them up, collecting their samples like Thanos collecting Infinity Stones? Of course, it would come back to bite him in the ass. What’s worse is he sent Gravik and other Skrulls to do his bidding, and that’s how the villain knows precisely what he’s after. Sonya is quick to call Fury out. “So all this is your fault?” she asks. Fury knows. It’s why he finally returned to the planet instead of soaring in space. Mysterio wasn’t worthy; the Skrulls are.

So what’s next? Gravik has told Skrull Rhodey to basically convince Ritson, our beloved President Mulroney, that he has to attack the Russian base housing the Skrulls. This abandoned, nondescript location being used by the Skrull Council is dubbed “New Skrullos” (taking inspiration from New Asgard, I guess?). And Rhodes, a.k.a. Raava, does exactly that. If the U.S.A. fires first, Russia will retaliate, and war will kick off. The only way to avoid millions of people dying is for Fury to hand over the Avengers’ DNA to Gravik.

Fury sets off on doing that. He collects “The Harvest” vials from his gravestone in Finland, where he honeymooned with Priscilla because Skrulls like the cold. Again, this detail is meant to add warmth to their dynamic, but it’s dropped like a sterile fact. All it does is alert Sonya that Fury married one of the aliens she’s hunting down. How will that affect their alliance? To be determined. And with that, Fury dons his trademark eyepatch, fires up his gun, and lets loose with an “It’s time. Let’s finish this.” Yes, let’s, please.

Stray observations

• Obviously, I will continue Sam Barsanti’s (who’ll be back to recap SI’s finale next week) excellent tradition of dropping a full letter grade over the unnecessary A.I. intro. To quote him, “If we value art and culture at all, because even if something like this didn’t (or isn’t meant to) ‘replace’ the work done by a human, it’s only a matter of time before the option to do that becomes more enticing to greedy executives who hate the thing that makes them rich. I continue to be appalled that this company, by which I mean Disney, would ever insist on using a technology that is so inherently toxic to the very work that it produces, and I can only hope that sanity eventually prevails in the face of this stupid, stupid snake oil tech fad.”
• Speaking of useless technological developments, Fury escapes Russia using a fake face mask. Sonya looks at it and goes, “A billion dollars of research and development, and all the widow’s veil can do is cloak your face?” Even in the MCU, spending all that money for this shit seems dumb.
• You’ll notice I didn’t bring up a one-minute cameo in my recap, but that’s because of how ridiculous it was. Will people even remember or care that The Handmaid’s Tale O-T Fagbenle was in Black Widow? Anyway, his Rick Mason is how Fury finds a plane—sadly not a helicarrier—to get out of Russia.
• Martin Freeman and Cobie Smulders should feel good; they don’t have the worst one-episode appearance anymore.
• So, do we think Mendelsohn is done done with the MCU? If so, what a loss. I’ll miss his dynamic with Fury, and Mendelsohn’s endearing accent.
• I know Fury was earnest when he told Sonya that none of the superheroes can defend the world the way he can, but I have to just say: That’s simply not true, my dude. Like, on a literal level, it’s just not.
• Let’s turn our attention to Olivia Colman, instantly the best part of “Harvest.” She’s right when she tells the scientist Skrull, Dr. Rosa Dalton, that she’s staggeringly versatile. “I’m good at being your bestie, and devilishly good at not being your bestie.”
• Another banger is delivered by Colman when Dr. Rosa’s partner is about to kill her. “Males in my species are very similar; if they’re not busy gaslighting you, they’re threatening you with murder. That’s what all podcasts are about.”