Secret Invasion Episode 4 Review: Beloved

Secret Invasion episode 4 deals with the actions of the beloved. While Fury and Talos try to stop Gravik from kidnapping of the president.

This episode reflects on the actions of our beloved ones. Priscilla and Nick Fury as well as G’iah and Talos have a deep introspection.

Priscilla and James Rhodes’s dealings

Last episode we heard James Rhodey on the phone talking to Priscilla and in this episode, the 2 meet in a church. They start talking about Gravik and the president. It turns out that Rhodey is in fact a Skrull rather than the actual James Rhodey.

Looking at the previous episodes they held the originals captive and in a stasis-like state. I guess they did the same to James Rhodey.

The scary part about knowing that Rhodey is a Skrull is that he has access to Stark Tech. Meaning that the suit Tony Stark gifted Rhodey, its technology is now in the hands of the Skrulls. This could have disastrous consequences all over the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I am looking forward to that!

In Secret Invasion episode 4 Priscilla’s plot moves forward and the more it does, the more I think that she genuinely cares about Nick Fury. When Rhodey suggests that Priscilla shoots Fury, she jumps to his defense by telling Rhodey that the Fury pre-Blip is no longer the same one he is today. Today’s Fury is worn out, jaded, and no longer indispensable for the Skrulls who are on his side.

All the while, the conversation is followed by Nick Fury. And I am not sure, but I think Priscilla is a double agent like G’iah was.

Beloved

In episode 4 Priscilla and Fury have a long deep conversation about their past. Priscilla reveals that she took care of the original Priscilla. Before she passed away she made Skrull Priscilla promise to take care of Fury.

But the real reason the Skrull was there was to figure out Fury’s character and slip by his defenses. While they talk, they both draw out their guns and shoot. Both miss and Fury jokes that maybe it’s time to either get a divorce or renew their vowels. I guess that’s what it means to be beloved.

While the two of them do that, Talos is mourning the loss of G’iah. The projection of G’iah tells him that she volunteered. And that it is worth fighting for the people and the ultimate achievement would be to walk around on Earth in their own skin.

The themes of course are the loss of a beloved, in this case G’iah. But also the beloved Skrulls who want nothing more than to walk around without having to hide their true identity.

While I agree with G’iah and Talos, I also remember the words of Fury that humans can’t even live together peacefully. And it is a theme that reflects real life about immigrants in a new country.

Gravik is a Super Skrull

Secret Invasion episode 4 has a big reveal. In an earlier episode, there was a laboratory with genetic codes and specifically the powers of the aliens the codes belong to.

I thought they were going to experiment on kidnapped subjects or Skrull volunteers. But I was wrong, the doctor performed the experiments on Gravik.

As a result, he can stretch his body to abnormal lengths and he has an accelerated healing factor. It was revealed after a failed attempt to kidnap the president of the USA.

Secret Invasion episode 4 is jam-packed with action

Secret Invasion episode 4 was the shortest in length with only 25 minutes of playtime. 5 minutes for the summary of episode 3 and 5 minutes for credits. But this episode is jam-packed with the most action of the show so far.

In order to kidnap the president, Gravik goes all out with armored choppers, a small but heavily armed group of mercenaries and a lot of explosives.

The kidnapping fails when Fury shows up with Talos. They fend off Gravik’s army and bring one of their own. The goal is to save the president, who is knocked unconscious after a rocket hits his armored car.

When Talos starts to hit the window of the car using his Skrull super strength, he is shot by one of Gravik’s lackeys. Even though heavily wounded, Talos is still determined to smash the armored window.

When the president is saved, Talos is carried by someone. But Fury deduces that it is Gravik in disguise. Gravik quickly stabs Talos to death and when Fury shoots Gravik in the face, it is revealed that Gravik is a Super Skrull who heals real fast.

The big question is: Is Talos really dead? Just like G’iah is? Because if so then the Skrulls are without a leader which makes them prone to even more recruitment by Gravik because the first line of defense is gone. So now what?