Secret Invasion - Self-Report Scheme - Review

Episode two starts with a flashback from 1995, with a recap regarding mostly Captain Marvel’s first movie. After the Marvel Studios intro, we’re fast-forwarded to 1997, in Brixton (London), Fury meets a teenage Gravik for the first time during the Skrulls vs Krees war. A mysterious woman introduces them and explains Gravik is a good kid who has lost his parent because of the war. The whole concept of this time is the way Fury helped Talos and the Skrulls reconstruct their community, now destructed by the Krees. Gi’ah is just a pre-teen, barely older than when we see her in the movie.

Back in the present (no pun intended), we see the chaos the Skrull attack has brought on humans while Fury gets taken away by an apparently Russian guard, who turns out to be Talos instead. In the next scene, we see Talos on a train, disguised as a Russian woman, talking to some Russian guardians searching for Fury (who is hiding in the train carriage). During the trip, Fury starts talking about his childhood… when he and his mother used to take the train to Detroit, confined to the “colored car” as he describes it, with no bathroom working, while they couldn’t go to the dining car, so they brought food for themselves and make games…her fave was: “tell me something I don’t know”. All of this backstory brings up a discourse with Talos. Asking to tell him something he doesn’t know about the Skrulls, their destruction, and what happened to the ones that fled after they lost the war. And we find out, with Fury, that most of the Skrulls that fled are not back on Earth. Millions of them. Talos complained about how Fury abandoned them and disappeared…while Fury debated he was still one call away (which is true, he would’ve abandoned S.A.B.E.R. before, if Talos called. So I agree with Fury 100%). As they stop fighting, Fury asks Talos to go away.

In the next scene, we’re at Maria Hill’s funeral, as her mother touches her coffin, she sees Fury from a distance and runs to him to ask for an explanation about what happened to Maria. Why she died, what happened if it was worth it? He said they were in Moscow, and they killed her to hurt him. (I still think something going on, but I won’t say what I think about this for now.) Maria’s mother blames him, saying Maria believed in him, and even if she doesn’t know what her daughter died for she asks him if it won’t be for nothing.

After this, we see Gravik and Gi’ah in the car, talking about the attack, as she asks about Fury, Gravik tells me he’s just an old man, he has no spy skills left, and he could’ve killed him if he wanted to. Gi’ah accompanies him to a Council meeting with some world leaders, to discuss what to do with Gravik after what happened in Moscow, as he murdered humans for no reason. Gravik starts speaking the Skrulls language and tells them Fury promised freedom to all of them and never actually helped. He abandoned them all, so he doesn’t care about humans. Says he will conquer Earth. One of the apparent world members asks Gravik what will happen if the Avengers come back…and he says he has thought of it all. This brings me to one question, maybe he’s ready for Avengers, but what if he’s not ready for other, different, more powerful superheroes? Much to think about. As all the council members swear loyalty to Gravik, nominating him as a Skrull general…we learn all the supreme war leaders are, as a matter of fact, SKRULLS. We get the invasion is deeper than we originally thought. One of the Skrulls refuses to support him and runs away from the room, calling Talos to inform him about this sudden change of events.

At the Skrulls compound, Gravik gets a standing ovation after what he accomplished, while Gi’ah seems a little suspicious of everything, and follows one of his thugs to a hidden lab, where two scientists are trying to make an experiment on something unknown called “the Harvest.” (Which has not been found yet.) I’ve made some research and all I’ve found is a Marvel Comics character called the Harvest but…is it possible? Honestly, I’d like to stick to the show for now, but I’ll read some stuff about it. They also created an energy field or something? I don’t know how to explain it but it reminded me of some sort of time travel portal. Or an inter-dimensional portal? I don’t know, but I’ve seen it before and I’m VERY curious about it.

It reminded me of the Agents of SHIELD’s machine we saw in season 4A when Robbie Reyes’ uncle got his powers…and also the one Fitz used for project looking-glass. I like these references but at what cost? Some people even theorize Madame Hydra could be behind all this but… who knows.

In London, Rhodey gets questioned about Fury and Maria Hill’s presence in Moscow during the attacks at an International Summit…at which he gets a call from Fury asking him to meet ASAP. They meet at a tavern and start discussing how Fury’s presence in Moscow just set a precedent for the star of WWIII. Fury tells Rhodey to be careful and not to trust his guards, because they could be Skrulls, and tells him the war has started already and he needs to be protected and helped. I’m actually disappointed by Rhodey because, I know things have changed, but Fury has ALWAYS been reliable, he created the Avengers, he MADE them, and he managed to run S.H.I.E.L.D. while pretending to be dead. I’m actually hoping he was a Skrull because there’s no way Rhodey treated Fury that way. Fury isn’t the same as before the blip, but he’s still an excellent spy. And, as he said to Rhodey, he’s ALWAYS in.

In the next scene, we see Sonya stepping up during a Skrull interrogation. I have to say she reminded me of Peggy Carter a lot. And not because of the accent (lol) but the wit, the style…she looks like a darker Peggy. She injects the Skrull with a compound that starts burning him from the inside and starts asking about Gravik. Apparently, those two scientists are working on a way to make the Skrulls stronger –– here’s another reference to what Leopold Fitz was doing in the framework. Is it a coincidence?

Anyway, after Sonya ends the interrogation, Gravik comes to get the Skrull, promising he won’t hurt him. Promise he doesn’t keep because he kills him in the woods right after.

At the end of the episode, we see a Skrull cooking in a fancy house, as Nick drives to this house, we learn the Skrull woman is actually his wife. Does he know that? Is she the woman who introduced Fury to Gravik in the flashbacks?

What did you think of this episode? Did you like it? Let me know in the comments!