Another Wednesday means another episode of Marvel’s Secret Invasion on Disney+. After last week’s episode left us with a whole bunch of brand new questions, this week’s wastes no time answer one of the big ones but also leaves us with a pretty big moment as we kick off the back half of this series.
The episode opens with G’iah, seemingly dead on the ground in the woods outside the Skrull compound. However, we quickly learn via flashback that she used Gravik’s machine to inject herself with Extremis. She heals from Gravik’s gunshot and stands up, gasping for air before we cut to the title sequence.
Next we get a flashback to 2012 in Paris, where Fury meets with Priscilla in a bar. She lets us know with a newspaper that this is just after the events of Avengers. The scene doesn’t necessarily give us any new developments but is instead used as further context to their relationship and draws the audience in to become more invested in them.
We return to present day where Priscilla sits ina church to meet with the mystery caller from the end of last week’s episode, which we quickly learn was in fact Rhodey. Priscilla reveals that Rhodes is working for Gravik, confirming what we all thought: he’s a Skrull. We also learn that Priscilla is working for Gravik and she is now being ordered to kill Fury. She argues that Fury is broken and there is no need to kill him but Rhodes insists and threatens that if she does not kill him, he’s going to kill her.
Gravik and his men prepare for an attack at an airfield and Pagon points out that G’iah is not with them. Gravik informs him that he knew she was their mole and he already took care of it. He also instructs some of his men that their impending attack needs to be big to convince the Americans that it’s the Russians who are attacking.
G’iah meets with Talos in a park as the father apologizes to his daughter for ever getting her involved in this fight. G’iah tries to get a plan out of Talos for finding the Skrulls a new home and he tells her he wants to coexist with humans. She is not satisfied with his plan and she leaves him in frustration. It’s clear there is still some conflict between these two and G’iah’s motivations are going to be interesting going forward.
Priscilla returns home to find Fury making tea. The two sit down and it quickly becomes clear that they are both aware of the situation. With the cards, or guns, literally on the table, they share an intimate moment before aiming at each other and pulling the trigger. However, after a suspenseful moment, it is revealed the both missed on purpose. Fury leaves Priscilla after warning her that the Skrulls will come for her.
Next, we see a Skrull in the shower before they reveal themself to be Rhodes. He then steps out into his hotel suite to find Fury waiting for him with a bottle of bourbon. After some skepticism from Rhodey, Fury pitches that there are Skrulls close to the President. Of course, Fury knows Rhodes is that Skrull but he doesn’t offer that information. Fury tries to get his job back, but Rhodes responds by showing him footage of “Fury” shooting and killing Maria Hill and threatening to release the video.
Fury and Talos st in a vehicle and reveal that Fury used a liquid location tracker on Rhodes. They watch his vehicle leave the hotel and follow. Rhodes greets the President, who is making his way to negotiate with the Russians in an attempt to avoid war. After President Ritson smells the bourbon on Rhodes’ breath and calls him out on it, their convoy makes their way to the meeting location.
On the move, Rhodes calls out to someone that the President is in the fourth vehicle in the convoy, and we see that he is speaking to Gravik and his men, who launch their attack from a helicopter. They launch a rocket at the President’s vehicle, sending it tumbling off the road. Fury and Talos see the smoke from a distance and head into the action.
We see that Ritson is still alive but now Gavik’s men move in to attack, disguised as Russians. Fury and Talos make their way through Gravik’s men and try to get Ritson out of his vehicle. Meanwhile, Gravik walks directly into fire and uses his new Groot abilities to kill a member of the Secret Service. Fury and Talos reach Ritson and Talos starts trying to break through the window until Pagon shoots and wounds him. Injured, Talos begins to transform back into his Skrull self but fights it off. One of the American soldiers spots Talos and turns his gun on him but Fury talks him out of firing.
Fury gets Ritson out of the vehicle while a soldier helps Talos. Fury turns to see the soldier with Talos and orders him to put him down. The soldier refuses and Fury shoots him before he reveals himself to be Gravik and stabs Talos. Fury shoots Gravik twice, including once in the face, but Gravik heals himself with Extremis, to Fury’s surprise. Gravik and his men retreat and Fury makes the decision to drive off with the President, leaving Talos’ seemingly dead body behind.
To this point, Secret Invasion has been incredibly well acted and entertaining but, aside from the death of Maria Hill in the first episode, it has not delivered the big shocking moment we’ve come to know and love from the MCU. The apparent death of Talos could be exactly that, should this one actually stick. We’ll have to wait and see as we have just two episodes of the series left.
New episodes of Marvel’s Secret Invasion premiere every Wednesday on Disney+.