First Day
How were the aliens defeated?
Episode 10 of Invasion begins with big news. The aliens have been defeated, at least according to news reports across the world. Mitsuki heads home, wallowing in her own grief, while the rest of Japan celebrate the aliens being destroyed. There are big celebrations in the streets, as we hear through broadcasts that aliens have just collapsed in the street. It seems the nuclear strike has done the trick and killed them all.
What happens with Mitsuki?
Mitsuki is still conflicted over what to do with her life in the wake of her lover dying. With a backpack on, she begins wandering down the streets. Only, she runs into a Buddhist monk who convinces her to head up with him to his temple. Once there, he informs her that he believes that all of this was one big test. The alien invasion was simply Buddha’s way of testing the human resolve. As they talk, Mitsuki contemplates whether to become a monk, given one of their core beliefs is to let go of the past.
Up at the temple, Mitsuki awakens and uses her laptop to move the satellite dish remotely.
Does Casper survive?
Meanwhile, Trev brings Casper back inside the hospital, desperate to bring him back from the brink. He’s unconscious and in a rough way. He’s loaded into the MRI machine, with his life hanging in the balance. Both Jamila and Trev check the readings but he’s not responding. There’s no reactivity and the EEG is flat. Casper is dead.
Trev has given up and decides to leave. He refuses to watch Casper being taken off life support, despite Jamila’s protests for him to stay. “They can’t save him, okay?” He says, as tears sting Jamila’s eyes. Trev eventually walks away where all the people in the streets cheer, celebrating the end of the invasion. Back in the hospital, Jamila says goodbye to Casper, who passes away. Outside in the hallway, her mother shows up and the pair embrace once more.
What is the black substance on the ground?
Trevante does eventually manage to head back to base – but not before answering some questions about what he’s experienced. The officer in charge updates him on what they believe the aliens were doing. The strange black substance on the ground appears to be a hint that the aliens were looking to terraform the planet. This black substance allegedly releases a gas into the atmosphere, changing the air pressure. With what? Not sure. But clearly it’s not THAT toxic given Aneesha and her family managed to cross that black goo river without much trouble.
Trev uninterestingly checks out the pictures and eventually shuts the laptop, unwilling to engage further with this questioning. He just wants to go home.
After getting on the plane, Trev returns back home and tries to make amends with his estranged partner. He promises her he’ll get a new job and to try and do right by her now. Out by the beach, he checks through Casper’s sketchbook and finds strange symbols which actually read “star.”
What happens with Aneesha and her family?
Out in the woods, Aneesha tries to find Ahmed. Blood spatters on the tree seem to hint that he’s been killed. Eventually the trio make it up to an abandoned house where Aneesha sees news reports confirming that the aliens have been defeated. Luke is convinced they can return home now but Aneesha is not so sure. This ultimately tears the kids apart as they disagree with Aneesha’s plan to hold tight. They just want to go back to normality.
After saying goodbye to Ahmed, Luke wanders off and ends up throwing the metal shard in frustration through the forest. However, up in the sky he sees the northern lights and appears to react toward it.
Meanwhile, over in the Amazon Rainforest several helicopters show up toward a giant ship that’s crash-landed. Wearing hazmat suits, several scientists head inside and seem to make contact, with the walls vibrating just like that scene in Japan all those episodes ago.
How does Invasion end?
As the episode comes to a close, Mitsuki makes contact. Chatter seems to pick up on the radio. Casper inexplicably awakens after his brain has completely shut down, hinting that these aliens can control people after they’ve died.
Wandering through a strange dreamscape, Casper IS handed a red box which holds a compass inside. The same compass that was discussed with Mitsuki earlier in the episode. As he looks at the needle, it begins spinning inexplicably.
As all our characters seem to sense something amiss, we cut across to Trevante. The sea starts moving out rapidly, inexplicably changing to low tide as a giant, flower-shaped alien vessel comes into view on the skyline. The same aliens? Or a completely different kind? Either way, the episode comes to a frustrating cliffhanger ending.
The Episode Review
Invasion bows out with an episode of…not very much to be honest. Casper dies but then seems to come back again, potentially in the same way Captain Hoshi has, explaining that space swimming scene.
Most of the chapter though is taken up with celebrations across the globe as the alien threat is thwarted and everyone celebrates their big win… until they don’t. We also don’t see any debris crash down to earth or any repercussions to firing a nuke into space, it’s all played off like a big, triumphant win for humanity. And what’s with the aliens asking them for help? That was never really resolved, along with a few other loose ends that have been hastily waved away.
If we’re to believe what the officer was telling Trev, it would appear that the aliens wanted to terraform the planet for…reasons? If that’s the case, could it be that they wanted humanity’s help to try and make part of the planet habitable for themselves? But why go through the bother of doing that? There are literally hundreds of thousands of planets out there, even in the “Goldilocks zone.” We’re clutching at straws here because honestly, Invasion doesn’t really resolve anything here, it just sorta shrugs off its Invasion…and then launches another one.
It would appear that the aliens are all connected telepathically, potentially through the mother ship which was blown up. Getting rid of that seems to have had a domino effect on all the other aliens down on the ground, passing away and ending up lifeless.
We’ll have to wait and see what season 2 has in store for us after these tepid 10 episodee.
Invasion bows out with an indifferent shrug, waving away its alien invasion threat before bringing it back into focus for the final 3 minutes. Is this a good plan? Or a shallow, baited ploy for a renewal? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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You can read our full season review for Invasion Season 1 here! |
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Episode Rating
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I quite like it, especially the multiple plot lines, but one thing bugs me, how could shape shifting prickle balls actually build anything such as a ship or a weapon?
I mean you need hands don’t you?
Late to the Invasion party, just got Apple on an Xfinity free-months promo while waiting to subscribe for the much-delayed Masters of the Air (due to strike and lack of new content not already wrapped, we can surmise).
Yes, Invasion season 1 has flaws but what series offerings don’t? Easy to be an arm-chair critic without regard to the multifaceted creative challenges of mounting a multi-part series in total length like 5 films put together.
In artistic tone (wistfully melancholic soundtrack elements especially) Invasion season 1 seemed somewhat derivative of the beautifully excellent film, Arrival, my favorite scifi screen offering which gets better on repeat viewings. But nothing tops Arrival for me (maybe Dune 2 will), so glad Invasion season 2 starts soon. The only question is whether to watch each episode or binge the whole season after Oct. 25.
I enjoy imagining show runners sitting around with their writers going,”what if the linguists in this story weren’t brilliantly courageous like Amy Adams in Arrival but a bunch of bickering turf-wielding academic jerks who couldn’t see the trees for the bark?” And “what if instead of needing our help in the future (and arriving on earth now with a common-language gift) the aliens were galactic imperialists willing to either colonize or murder humans brutally but if the latter in a way where the aliens might mistakenly think it was self-defensive?” And “what if the aliens in Invasion could give humans an extended experience of interconnected consciousness that our mortal physical bodies cannot sustain?”
Cue Sam Neill coming back in Season 2; oh please!! Also hoping its the same (if shape-shifting) aliens instead of some other more devious bunch who actually grow stronger from the radiation when nuked.
IMO, the Invasion series is more like a fantasy series like Lost than a classic sci-fi series. I wouldn’t be too surprised if it had more to do with the afterlife than real life, which might explain the many inconsistencies that appear along the storyline.
Aneesha’s family might have died after their home been stricken by falling satellite or perhaps Hoshi spacecraft debris. Trevante might have died just after he had hallucinations seing his wife in the desert. Mitsuki is seen lying unmoving on the dish of a radio-telescope and might have commited suicide after she lost all hope of finding Hinata alive. All the children, including Caspar, might have died when their bus was stricken by a falling burning russian satellite.
Look forward to see season 2!
I’m kind of surprised that people think that a massive spaceship crashing to Earth should have basically ended civilization. Yes, it was way larger than the comet/asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs. But the difference in the impact of something falling out of orbit and an asteroid hitting the Earth at maybe 50,000mph is astronomical.
Not one of my favorite sci-fi movies “Arrival” had similar slowness and continuity issues but a much better movie in my opinion. Invasion had lots of slow musing characters, wailing kids and too many unresolved plot lines. I fast forwarded through the slow predictable areas hoping for something amazing but nothing!
By contrast, Minority Report, Inception, Ex Machina, Blade Runner, Martian, Alien, Prometheus, 2001 Space Odyssey are some of the sc-fi movies that I will never forget.
I really loved this show but given all the plot holes and lack of cohesive explanations I don’t really understand why I liked it so much. 😆 Had a hard time getting past the orbital nuclear explosion and the planet ending sized intact ship crashing to earth with no damage to the environment. Did anyone wonder if the alien things on the ground were not really aliens but actually weapons?
Thinking about the sheriff’s demise in epp 1. He was disappointed that there was no great purpose to his life and was irritatingly entitled. It fit with the Buddhist monks’ view that we should enjoy what we get.
Again the sheriff’s was blessed with a quick death. Probably berating St Peter now
I loved this show. I can appreciate the comments padding it, however a science-fiction episode hast to leave openings for the imagination to fill-in. That for me was a hooker! I couldn’t stop watching this show! Superb! Brilliant! Cannot wait for season two.
As Su says “complete crap”. Although I think he’s being too kind.
$200 million!!! It’s hard to imagine that any competent producer wouldn’t have cut their losses by Episode 3 at the very latest. By then, they had plenty of non-functioning holes in the ground available to hide any evidence it ever existed.
I can’t believe the one or two commenters on here trying to equate the fact that a lot people think this show is not very good with the tired old trope of “You’re wacist !!”
Very childish .
I agree with many of criticisms about Invasion Season 1, I think the format and logic of the series was deliberate with multiple loose ends to leave the audience “wondering”.
Has faults, but compared to most TV these days, had me hooked; fact that have to wait for season 2 to answer some of the questions is frustrating, but can’t wait for it. Did have the feel that the writers didn’t know where it was going (think different episodes were written by different people), like some sort of open ended jazz riff, not tight and cohesive like one person’s mind created it, like with a book. But as I say compared to shoot em up sci fi it’s a step up and doesn’t assume viewer has the attention span of a fish, which guess most viewers do have these days and TV gives em what they want..
This is slow, boring and a waste of time. Just because there is almost no action or special effects does not make it cerebral. Most of the characters are not likeable and the scenes are ridiculously impossible … like a bunch of kids climbing a 1000+ foot vertical cliff with no gear and no one falling. Surprised Sam Neill participated in this annoying fiasco.
This was monumentally bad writing, acting (except for the British kids) character development and directing. For those who claim that this show has some sort of literary or cerebral value please read a good book some time. The pacing was atrocious and the sophomoric attempts of these characters at expressing human emotions and drama was appalling. I had more of a connection to the aliens than to any human in this farce of a drama. It’s a maudlin melodrama masquerading as a story with substance but manages only a counterfeit insight into human relationships. For instance, I for one have never doubted that a lesbian relationship can be filled with love and devotion. I didn’t need to be beaten over the head by it. There is so much less here than meets the eye.
Won’t bother watching season 2. So much time wasted on “emotional” scenes people moping around just. So much of the soldier wondering around could have been cut out.
Season 1 was good, but would have been much better if I could have actually seen the picture! The nighttime scenes or those inside were so dark, it was impossible to actually see the characters and the scenery. This seems to be a common trend in today’s cinematography. It is so annoying staring at a scene and not being able to make out figures and the background. And, yes I was wearing my glasses. Almost half of the show was unwatchable!
I genuinely enjoyed this programme. A really different and very slow burning take on the standard alien invasion drama. Beautiful looking series, the aliens were quite unique and felt otherworldly and inscrutable. Also, the use of Japan and the Middle East made it feel truly global. Fascinating stuff. The big thing that I think a lot of people are missing about this programme is it was never about the invasion, it was about the characters.
Agree with everything Barny & Vonda K Bellante said. A very poorly written show.
Hey Bill,
Thanks for commenting. As someone who watches TV shows from the world over, including Korean dramas, Mexican telenovelas and both mainstream and indie titles across the globe, the championing of different races is actually one of the best parts of Invasion. Of course, this recap and review is just my opinion and the beauty of this medium is that everyone has their own thoughts and interpretation of what we’ve seen on screen.
The standalone house invasion episode, for example, was a particular favourite for me. In terms of story beats and narrative progression, those are the elements that I take heed to and why the show didn’t work for me. I can assure you nothing I wrote above is even remotely motivated by race.
I’m happy you enjoyed the show and with a second season on the horizon, this isn’t the last we’ll see of these characters!
Thanks so much for commenting and taking the time to read this review!
-Greg W
This review is your opinion, but that’s all it is. I LOVED this series, especially episode 9. I thought ep 9 was one of the best sci fi episodes in a long time. I think people have a problem when characters they aren’t used to are centered in mainstream storylines. This show has plenty of diversity and not in the usual tokenized areas. To be honest, characters of color anchor the story and I have a feeling that’s an issue for a lot of folks who are used to the main sci fi characters being white/european or straight. You have two Japanese queer characters, a brilliant female Harvard trained “almost” doctor of Middle Eastern descent who has the resilience of Job, a teenage romance between Casper and his black female friend, and an assertive African American soldier who walks into situations assertively instead of demuring. I promise you that’s part of the problem as many reviewers look at this series and try to give it two thumbs down. But they will never admit that’s the reason they don’t like the show.
Terrible writing, awful one dimensional characters, stilted dialogue and constantly unexplained inconcistencies throughout the entire show.
Electricity, gas and water were all shutdown, as were cell phone services and air travel. But Trevante gets to London from the middle east anyway, somehow, to make a phone call, from a payphone… that amazingly still works.
All air travel is shutdown, but Trevante gets on a plane to the U. S, THE SAME Day, that the Alien ship is bought down… A civilian plane, full of passengers, with stewardesses no less.
The evacuated burning London is suddenly full of people celebrating the end of the Invasion. Not shell shocked or mourning their losses as it has literally been 5 days since this crap fest started.. 5 days! .. No..Partying.
Aneesha and kids after somehow and with no explanation have escaped the feral rednecks who, after killing the soldiers and her man-child husband, have just lost interest in her? Who cares. Find an abandoned fire station (lucky!) where she tells them she’ll NEVER let them out of her sight… Cut to 10 minutes later and her son wandering alone in the woods. Honestly. And this is cerebral? For what? A goldfish?.. . A Guinea pig? And that’s just the final episode. The previous 9 were worse. This is a terrible show in every way. From poor character development to terrible writing. Good cinematography and a nice musical score give it the impression of having depth. But it is only smoke and mirrors.
It had highs and lows and I look forward to answers next season. Here’s a thought: what if the black aliens were asking for help to protect them from the aliens that arrived at the end of episode 10?
Great show, the negative comments I would disregard. It’s cerebral and different not your typical action predictable bullshit. Appreciate outside the box style. Almost like a David Lynch style movie. Please hurry for season 2. It’s meant for smart people and not basement dwelling, negative fatso types.
Aneesha’s kids are the worst. Total brats. I was hoping the alien got them. I would rather have had the Dad survive then have to watch and listen to them whine about food, toys, and having to move. Hello, alien invasion. Mommy doing the best she can.. This series was a snoozer at best. Way to much time with the communication piece. We got it …the Casper kid is a conduit, the JASA chick is the person who warns everybody..Yada yada. The Soldier’s journey was a little unbelievable but I guess they had to get him to London. So he could hook up with the tweens and be the protector until we could get the kid under and see what this alien thing was about… Personally I want Sam Neil back. His storyline was way more interesting. Aneesha ‘s started out pretty decent but, her kids killed it for me. The lost lover parts grated on my nerve as well. We get it you miss her. Snoozefest. Overall I don’t know if I will tune in for Season 2.
I guess I really liked the series.
But at this point I really couldn’t tell anyone why anything happened. It’s a weird show and I don’t think it’s good strategy to basically never resolve or explain anything to the virwiers.
As a television show, the several plots spend too much time preparing for content that may or may not develop I.e. Sam Niel, Casper’s death, Mitsuki’s father’s presence. If only they would edit the script and throw away the scenes they lose interest in.
The ship crashing in the Amazon looks larger than the asteroid that ended the dinosaurs … with minimal damage to the Earth somehow. Yes, it’s a TV show. Yet it’s odd Apple TV+ also has a (quite interesting) documentary on the realities of that very asteroid. Also, that alien ship looks as though it is still intact for the most part. Questions – (1) So the two on the beach were just watching the water disappear until suddenly they saw the (I guess that’s another alien) ship, correct? (2) Is the sheriff the guy from Jurassic Park? (3) Is he really dead? (4) Are any of them really dead? (5) How do the drawings in the notebook actually point to the kid’s early contact – don’t a lot of kids draw that sort of dark stuff (Yes, even with the Japanese for “Star” in it)? (6) Where did that black shard that kills the aliens come from exactly? (7) What’s the deal with the doctor who made out with the doctor mom – was he eventually one of the ones hunting her? (8) Isn’t ‘Their here for our water/planet’ already overly used plot material (via “V” and so on)? (9) The “help” was the first nice show twist for me. In season 2, maybe it will be shown to be a signal from others fighting these aliens (hopefully). (10) Anyone watching “Foundation” as well (So far, it’s not perfect, but I do LOVE that show)?
One of the most BORING season finales I’ve ever seen.
There had better be another season…..I had to beg my husband to watch this show with me as he hates cerebral stories. I explained to him that all will be revealed in season 2……sure am hoping for a season 2!!
Ok series, but way too many long lasting scenes with the actors just starring in awe for minutes.
Show started off good, slowed down, came to a grinding halt… The finale was so stretched out. Nothing to say. The same over and over. He’s dying… he’s dying… He’s brain dead… he’s more brain dead…check again… he’s still brain dead… he’s finally made it to the morgue because a dozen scans found him brain dead… he finally wakes up (surprise!)… If I was going to renew Apple+, this was the nail in the coffin.
I loved it, definitely left wanting more. I agree if you didn’t enjoy it stick with the fact and the furious lol.
A thoughtful show about characters and not overly concerned with action or revealing (if they even know) the reasoning for the invasion. I really enjoyed the layered human perspectives and if they can pull everything together over the next season or 2 it may be a fabulous show. If not, it will be stuck churning in the mud, never progressing the arc.
Some people don’t appreciate quality thought provoking programs that keep you wanting more. Invasion is that type of program for me!! I can’t wait for season 2 to begin. The wait will be torture .
Yet another TV show that has a season finale that isn’t a season finale. I’m used to it by now, and I don’t even see it as a flaw if I’m assured another season. We’ll see about next one I guess.
It seems to me that it was pretty clear that no one was asking for help and that it was the aliens themselves who were pretending to ask so as not to be attacked, what makes you think they were really asking for help?
Ends like The Man Who Fell to Earth. The aliens take our water. Remember the Bowie poster?
short and simple. This show sucks.
10 episodes of nihilism. Entirely futile. Almost made me wish for an actual invasion to put an end to it.
Hey, thanks for commenting! Apologies re. The renewal, we received this episode ahead of release last week which is when the recap was originally written. It seems Apple renewed this 2 days ago, hence the widely reported news. Thanks for the heads up, really appreciate it!
Glad you enjoyed the show, we love slow burn dramas over here (half of our top movies of the year are slow burns!) But Invasion felt lacking in every department. Each to their own of course, thanks again for taking the time to comment, really appreciate it!
-Greg W
It’s been widely reported that the show has been renewed for season 2. A simple Google search would have told you that.
I’m delighted at that news. If you don’t like slow-burn dramas with an emphasis on character development go watch Fast & Furious or something.
Shows like this should be applauded.
What a complete waste of time. Thanks apple for creating characters we don’t like or want to like except for the English boy and girl and thanks for all the time wasted trying to learn Japanese. I mean really what the hell kind of virtue signaling is this. All I did was speed through that part with my remote. By the end, I held on hoping and all I saw was sappy b.s.
This show is complete crap.