Secret Invasion – Season 1 Episode 3 “Betrayed” Recap & Review

Betrayed

Episode 3 of Secret Invasion begins with members of the Council gathering at the Skrulls base. Gravik informs them that Pagon, Beto, and one more Skrull have been sent to infiltrate the Royal Navy. The plan is to initiate a missile strike on a key UN target and stir the pot once again. While the humans fight amongst each other, the Skrulls can take advantage of their vulnerability.

In a flashback to 1998, NYC, we see Fury meeting Priscilla. She is actually Varra, who was stationed with Talos when the refugee Skrulls escaped their colony. In the present day, even though Priscilla is excited to see Fury back, she is upset that he “stayed away” for so long.

During the finger-snapping, Fury was also erased. Priscilla was made a widow and then during the Blip, when Fury came back, she had to undo all her heartbreak and return to normalcy. None of this has been easy for her and Fury’s mysterious ways have only made it harder. There are still question marks about whose side Priscilla is on.

Meanwhile, Gravik questions G’iah about the police learning the location of their safe house. Gravik previously got Brogan executed for his apparent betrayal., but there is a part of him who feels G’iah might be the mole.

Gravik travels with G’iah to London, where the former meets Talos at the National Portrait Gallery. In the car, Gravik mentions in a conversation on the phone that the UN Plane carrying the delegation will arrive at Neptune’s coordinates in the night. When he is gone, G’iah surreptitiously messages someone this information, indicating she is the mole. But the identity of the person on the other end is still unknown.

Talos warns Gravik against continuing his plan to erase humanity and take Earth for the Skrulls. When Gravik incites Talos by saying he should have sent G’iah to him in a body bag, we suddenly see everyone around their table get up and take Gravik’s shape. They are all Skrulls and Gravik’s loyal followers. Talos tells them that humans are the most formidable when they’re threatened. He also promises Gravik that he will inform all the nations who their “common foe” is. Talos wants humans to know the difference between those Skrulls that are overcome by Gravik’s sickness and those that aren’t.

Fury meets Talos in London. They do not exchange apologies for what they said to each other the last time they met. Fury warns Talos that the Skrulls have someone valuable in the US government. But Talos wants Fury to ask for his help by embarrassing him. Understanding the gravity of the situation, Fury does so.

We learn that Neptune is a submarine which has been infiltrated by Skrulls. It will be used to launch a strike at the UN delegation. Fury calls Sonya and informs her of this plan. Sonya is herself dealing with a mole within her ranks and cannot help. She instead tells Fury the name and address of the Captain manning the sub; Robert Fairbanks.

During their commute, Fury and Talos fight about their existing relationship for 30 years. Both of them claim to be helping the other and making themselves sound indispensable. Talos alludes to the invisible spy network of himself and 19 other Skrulls who always gave the upper hand to Fury. They arrive at the house but their plan of tip toing around is blown instantly. Fury and Talos shoot their way in. It turns out that Fairbanks has already relayed the message. The officers in the sub are stumped at the orders. When they ask him to negate the order, Fairbanks ridicules Talos and calls him “the shell of the general” he once was. He stalls giving the codes that would stop the strike.

In the sub, all preparations are made to strike. Talos kills Fairbanks and calls G’iah for the termination password. At the Skrull base, alerts are raised of a comm breach. G’iah peruses through the real Fairbanks’ memory at the base and gets the codes. The launch is successfully averted and Talos asks G’iah to run. Her cover has been blown. As she is trying to escape, Gravik stops her. He points a gun at her and says that “finding the traitor was more important than the strike.” He asks her to turn around but G’iah wants him to shoot her from the front. Gravik does not hesitate to pull the trigger and shoots her.

Priscilla leaves the house and goes to the bank. She opens a vault and finds a gun inside. She is asked to meet Gravik at St. James Church in an hour’s time, which is an indication that she is working for him.

The Episode Review

Even though episode 3 of Secret Invasion was not as action-packed, we still got some great story progression. The shocking ending will certainly inspire confidence among viewers for the rest of the season to be even more compelling. Although Secret Invasion has the typical Marvel signature on how conveniently things can happen, the show does pack some worthy surprises.

If this is indeed the end of Emilia Clarke’s stint on the show, her arc was quite underwhelming. Some would have expected a performer of her stature to play a more central role. Unfortunately, she was hardly seen in the last three episodes. Varra’s loyalty hangs in the balance and she can definitely be a trump card going forward.

Given the nature of Skrulls, the creators have a lot of license to experiment and weave their way out of tough situations with ease. Both Talos and Fury have been given adequate attention in terms of their arcs. But at this point in the series, it is Gravik who is stealing the show.