Secret Invasion: Promises
June 28, 2023 12:37 PM - Season 1, Episode 2 - Subscribe
I think I would enjoy this show more if it had no plot at all, and were just Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Don Cheadle, and Olivia Coleman sitting in a room talking to each other.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 12:51 PM on June 28, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by 1970s Antihero at 12:51 PM on June 28, 2023 [5 favorites]
This episode really dragged for me, apart from the Don Cheadle/Sam Jackson scene, which was electrifying. There’s a reason these guys are big name stars, and for a few minutes they got to dig in and show what they can do, and it would be great to see more of it. The low point was the fight scene in the meat locker, which had me hitting the skip button.
posted by The River Ivel at 1:13 PM on June 28, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by The River Ivel at 1:13 PM on June 28, 2023 [3 favorites]
The Earth added a million Skrulls out of nowhere and nobody who keeps track of the population noticed?
The UK gov relatively recently realized their system of just asking people flying into Heathrow/Gatwick/etc if they planned on moving there in order to estimate how many EU citizens were immigrating to the UK was extremely flawed since a whole shitload of newly established low priced airlines specialized in routes between EU countries and UK airports that did not have the people asking these immigration questions.
I don't remember the estimates, but I believe it was about a million people. So yeah, that's happened in just the UK already.
posted by Back At It Again At Krispy Kreme at 2:37 PM on June 28, 2023 [10 favorites]
The UK gov relatively recently realized their system of just asking people flying into Heathrow/Gatwick/etc if they planned on moving there in order to estimate how many EU citizens were immigrating to the UK was extremely flawed since a whole shitload of newly established low priced airlines specialized in routes between EU countries and UK airports that did not have the people asking these immigration questions.
I don't remember the estimates, but I believe it was about a million people. So yeah, that's happened in just the UK already.
posted by Back At It Again At Krispy Kreme at 2:37 PM on June 28, 2023 [10 favorites]
I suppose things might be confused what with the Snap, but it sounds like the Skrulls showed up before that (and I guess snapped back too). I dunno, I'm thinking how you find housing for a million across wherever they landed at, got all the papers faked and histories faked, what have you. Even if they spread out, it seems like...a lot.
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:36 PM on June 28, 2023
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:36 PM on June 28, 2023
Fury had mentioned having a wife in Captain America Winter Soldier, what I missed in this episode as I have terrible face recognition let alone Skrull faces, is that it’s the woman who introduced Gravik to him in 1997 (via Inverse).
posted by ellieBOA at 5:19 PM on June 28, 2023
posted by ellieBOA at 5:19 PM on June 28, 2023
If I'm doing the math right, a million people would be 0.0125% of the world's population. Combined with their willingness to live in places like not-Chernobyl or wherever it is in Russia, plus the profound disruption of the Blip, and yeah, easily, or what BAIAAKK said.
This seemed a bit more focused and a bit less obviously standard leftover-Cold-War-paranoia SF. It's still possible that Maria's death was faked, but that would just be a retread of what Fury did in The Winter Soldier, so maybe not. I also liked the flashback scene of Fury essentially recruiting the refugees to be his personal shapeshifting agents; that further justifies the extent of infiltration of Skrulls into the general population of Earth, and gives yet another example of Fury doing an end-justifies-the-means thing that blows up in his face (see also: Project Insight, the Tesseract-powered weapons from the first Avengers movie). He sure likes to make work for himself, doesn't he?
Loved Cheadle, as usual. Can't wait for Armor Wars.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:46 PM on June 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
This seemed a bit more focused and a bit less obviously standard leftover-Cold-War-paranoia SF. It's still possible that Maria's death was faked, but that would just be a retread of what Fury did in The Winter Soldier, so maybe not. I also liked the flashback scene of Fury essentially recruiting the refugees to be his personal shapeshifting agents; that further justifies the extent of infiltration of Skrulls into the general population of Earth, and gives yet another example of Fury doing an end-justifies-the-means thing that blows up in his face (see also: Project Insight, the Tesseract-powered weapons from the first Avengers movie). He sure likes to make work for himself, doesn't he?
Loved Cheadle, as usual. Can't wait for Armor Wars.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:46 PM on June 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
The Earth added a million Skrulls out of nowhere and nobody who keeps track of the population noticed?
Assuming the MCU earth is broadly similar to ours, the population is around eight billion. In 1995 when the Skrulls first arrived, we were around 5.7 billion. A million people is what the global population has gone up by, what every four days or so?
I had the impression from Talos’ dialogue in the train car that they had been arriving gradually since he sent out the call. Spread over decades, no: no one would notice.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:43 AM on June 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
Assuming the MCU earth is broadly similar to ours, the population is around eight billion. In 1995 when the Skrulls first arrived, we were around 5.7 billion. A million people is what the global population has gone up by, what every four days or so?
I had the impression from Talos’ dialogue in the train car that they had been arriving gradually since he sent out the call. Spread over decades, no: no one would notice.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:43 AM on June 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
A somewhat slow, but still interesting episode. Pieces are still being put in place, which is fine, but I missed more action oriented goodness.
Notes:
--Gavik became Fury's adopted son, yeah?
--Olivia Coleman as Sonya Falsworth is fantastic, walking a line between charming and dangerous, like the mythos of a spy. She's been my favorite part of the episodes so far
--The Rhodey we're seeing on the screen is a Skrull, right? His conversation with Fury struck me as a bit off, like that's not how they'd talk to each, nor would Rhodey be so quick to fire him.
--Maria Hill isn't dead. Having her mom appear reeks of "no really, the character is dead, totally, we're being honest here this time!"
--Who was the General before Gravik?
--Oh look, the skrulls have DNA from several super beings and are doing experiments. Pro tip: have your laboratory in a separate place, with a bit of security, so other can't just wander in and discover it.
--Poor Brogan.
--Talos wins the award for worst guest ever. "Oh hey bro, just gonna sneak more people and not tell you about it until questioned, but we're cool, yeah?" On a serious note, it underscores the point that Fury and him are allies and friends, but that doesn't mean they totally trust each other.
--As a black man, I remain guarded about trying to use the Skrulls as a metaphor for black people in America. It doesn't work for me because the Skrulls weren't forcibly dragged to Earth.
--A major problem with going back and adding history in the MCU is that it rarely makes anything clearer. Example: Fury recruited Skrulls to work for him, beings that shown as being stronger than humans. It's odd that Fury didn't never managed to convince any to form some sort of super squad and said squad never appeared in Avengers, when the Earth was being attacked. Not a big deal plot hole, but a thing for sure.
--Time is very wobbly in this series. The Skrulls were around on Earth for about 15 years, while Carol and Fury tried to find them a new planet. Whatever happened with that? Then the snap happened in 2018, Fury returns in 2023, and it's not about 2025ish (I think). Talos complained that Fury hasn't been on Earth in years, like it's been a long time, but it doesn't seem like it's been that long.
—So the evil Skrulls’ plan is start a nuclear war among humans and since they have an immunity to radiation (implied by hiding out at a deserted nuclear plant), they’ll naturally come out on top. That doesn’t seem like a great plan, ‘cause nuclear bombs still create huge explosions and destroy a lot of infrastructure, but you be you Skrulls!
--Does Fury know his wife is a Skrull?
Overall, the show is fine, but it's not working as a spy thriller. There's little mystery about who is a Skrull and who isn't, along with the associated paranoia and guessing. The conversation between Rhodes and Fury feels like there's something else going on underneath, that Fury is testing and then realizing that Rhodes is a Skrull (hence the collapse outside the restaurant), but it it's not well written.
Looking forward to Maria Hill's epic, last minute return (yeah, I'm doubling down on this belief)!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:25 AM on June 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
Notes:
--Gavik became Fury's adopted son, yeah?
--Olivia Coleman as Sonya Falsworth is fantastic, walking a line between charming and dangerous, like the mythos of a spy. She's been my favorite part of the episodes so far
--The Rhodey we're seeing on the screen is a Skrull, right? His conversation with Fury struck me as a bit off, like that's not how they'd talk to each, nor would Rhodey be so quick to fire him.
--Maria Hill isn't dead. Having her mom appear reeks of "no really, the character is dead, totally, we're being honest here this time!"
--Who was the General before Gravik?
--Oh look, the skrulls have DNA from several super beings and are doing experiments. Pro tip: have your laboratory in a separate place, with a bit of security, so other can't just wander in and discover it.
--Poor Brogan.
--Talos wins the award for worst guest ever. "Oh hey bro, just gonna sneak more people and not tell you about it until questioned, but we're cool, yeah?" On a serious note, it underscores the point that Fury and him are allies and friends, but that doesn't mean they totally trust each other.
--As a black man, I remain guarded about trying to use the Skrulls as a metaphor for black people in America. It doesn't work for me because the Skrulls weren't forcibly dragged to Earth.
--A major problem with going back and adding history in the MCU is that it rarely makes anything clearer. Example: Fury recruited Skrulls to work for him, beings that shown as being stronger than humans. It's odd that Fury didn't never managed to convince any to form some sort of super squad and said squad never appeared in Avengers, when the Earth was being attacked. Not a big deal plot hole, but a thing for sure.
--Time is very wobbly in this series. The Skrulls were around on Earth for about 15 years, while Carol and Fury tried to find them a new planet. Whatever happened with that? Then the snap happened in 2018, Fury returns in 2023, and it's not about 2025ish (I think). Talos complained that Fury hasn't been on Earth in years, like it's been a long time, but it doesn't seem like it's been that long.
—So the evil Skrulls’ plan is start a nuclear war among humans and since they have an immunity to radiation (implied by hiding out at a deserted nuclear plant), they’ll naturally come out on top. That doesn’t seem like a great plan, ‘cause nuclear bombs still create huge explosions and destroy a lot of infrastructure, but you be you Skrulls!
--Does Fury know his wife is a Skrull?
Overall, the show is fine, but it's not working as a spy thriller. There's little mystery about who is a Skrull and who isn't, along with the associated paranoia and guessing. The conversation between Rhodes and Fury feels like there's something else going on underneath, that Fury is testing and then realizing that Rhodes is a Skrull (hence the collapse outside the restaurant), but it it's not well written.
Looking forward to Maria Hill's epic, last minute return (yeah, I'm doubling down on this belief)!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:25 AM on June 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
while Carol and Fury tried to find them a new planet. Whatever happened with that?
Guess this is revealed in The Marvels comming to a multiverse this november.
huge explosions and destroy a lot of infrastructure, but you be you Skrulls!
Well they seem pretty comfortable at the faux Chernobyl.
Does Fury know his wife is a Skrull?
Well obviously, would he have forgotten to slip on his ring unless he wanted to show his fake wife that he had a normal mans level of male disregard to the feelings of the domestic female partner? If it was his real wife he'd have been waving like a loon while walking up the driveway like a goof and shouting as he entered the door that he had to hit the bathroom quick, let alone a dramatic movie style romantic kiss.
Am hoping ex-mother-of-dragons is actually a good guy and has more scenes... and a spinoff.
posted by sammyo at 8:44 AM on June 29, 2023
Guess this is revealed in The Marvels comming to a multiverse this november.
huge explosions and destroy a lot of infrastructure, but you be you Skrulls!
Well they seem pretty comfortable at the faux Chernobyl.
Does Fury know his wife is a Skrull?
Well obviously, would he have forgotten to slip on his ring unless he wanted to show his fake wife that he had a normal mans level of male disregard to the feelings of the domestic female partner? If it was his real wife he'd have been waving like a loon while walking up the driveway like a goof and shouting as he entered the door that he had to hit the bathroom quick, let alone a dramatic movie style romantic kiss.
Am hoping ex-mother-of-dragons is actually a good guy and has more scenes... and a spinoff.
posted by sammyo at 8:44 AM on June 29, 2023
Yeah, I'm kind of leaning towards G'iah being a double agent, and Fury's presence is just kind of stumbling along providing a framework for everything that's going on.
I thought it was weird that they had all those lovely silenced weapons for the butcher shop fight, but then just used a good ol' loud gun to kill Brogan. And then just left his alien-ass corpse in the woods? That seems fine, I'm sure nobody will ever discover it.
And honestly, Maria is just spending time in Tahiti. It's a magical place.
posted by Kyol at 10:39 AM on June 29, 2023 [11 favorites]
I thought it was weird that they had all those lovely silenced weapons for the butcher shop fight, but then just used a good ol' loud gun to kill Brogan. And then just left his alien-ass corpse in the woods? That seems fine, I'm sure nobody will ever discover it.
And honestly, Maria is just spending time in Tahiti. It's a magical place.
posted by Kyol at 10:39 AM on June 29, 2023 [11 favorites]
A T.A.H.I.T.I.ed Maria sure would be a thing to see, given [REDACTED]
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:34 PM on June 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:34 PM on June 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
(and yeah, I was trying to remember what ended up happening there, or whether she could just get an LMD, or if that all depended on stuff that's been blipped out or hidden behind dr. strange's magic or declared as forbidden technologies by SWORD. Was that seriously only 3 years ago? Feels like a decade.)
I mean, kind of coming around on that that's the other sort of problem with this as a series - it depends not only on people remembering a not particularly beloved movie from 4 years ago (who are the Kree again? Why are the Skrull on the run? Why does Fury look 20 years older than he did the last time we saw him?), it also has ties in to the Kree seasons of Agents of SHIELD, which had even fewer viewers than Captain Marvel.
posted by Kyol at 12:53 PM on June 29, 2023
I mean, kind of coming around on that that's the other sort of problem with this as a series - it depends not only on people remembering a not particularly beloved movie from 4 years ago (who are the Kree again? Why are the Skrull on the run? Why does Fury look 20 years older than he did the last time we saw him?), it also has ties in to the Kree seasons of Agents of SHIELD, which had even fewer viewers than Captain Marvel.
posted by Kyol at 12:53 PM on June 29, 2023
--Olivia Coleman as Sonya Falsworth is fantastic, walking a line between charming and dangerous, like the mythos of a spy. She's been my favorite part of the episodes so far
My guess is that's she's a Kree agent hunting down the remaining Skrulls, and will end up being the real villain of the show.
posted by Uncle Ira at 7:04 AM on June 30, 2023 [3 favorites]
My guess is that's she's a Kree agent hunting down the remaining Skrulls, and will end up being the real villain of the show.
posted by Uncle Ira at 7:04 AM on June 30, 2023 [3 favorites]
I realize this may be thinking too hard about a comic book series, but if the Skrulls are mostly hanging out in Chernobyl, wouldn’t they be detectable with a Geiger counter? And potentially making the humans around them ill?
posted by tautological at 8:26 AM on June 30, 2023
posted by tautological at 8:26 AM on June 30, 2023
Well, I gather there's a certain amount of orbital radiological monitoring of Chernobyl that can tell when trucks pass through the region due to disturbing the soil, so it's not like they'd _really_ be keeping things on the down low. But comix logix, sooooo....
posted by Kyol at 11:39 AM on June 30, 2023
posted by Kyol at 11:39 AM on June 30, 2023
I'll be honest one of the things that really jarred me and Shepherd was the casual jokey use of threatened genocide from Rhodey and Fury re: Slovakia being annoying. "Tell them I will carpet-bomb them," "Just carpetbomb them."
I'm still mad about Maria Hill's death (her mom should have smacked Fury), Olivia Colman is the only one having fun in this thing, and god, this show is so dour despite it all.
posted by Kitteh at 4:19 PM on July 1, 2023 [4 favorites]
I'm still mad about Maria Hill's death (her mom should have smacked Fury), Olivia Colman is the only one having fun in this thing, and god, this show is so dour despite it all.
posted by Kitteh at 4:19 PM on July 1, 2023 [4 favorites]
My guess is that's she's a Kree agent hunting down the remaining Skrulls, and will end up being the real villain of the show.
I mean, her name is "FALS(e)WORTH..."
posted by synecdoche at 11:52 AM on July 2, 2023
I mean, her name is "FALS(e)WORTH..."
posted by synecdoche at 11:52 AM on July 2, 2023
This is not the "dog person" representation I want.
Don't look at the cast in IMDb, if you don't like possible spoilers.
posted by Pronoiac at 11:52 AM on July 2, 2023
Don't look at the cast in IMDb, if you don't like possible spoilers.
posted by Pronoiac at 11:52 AM on July 2, 2023
This felt prettt flat. Stumbly. The Russia storyline sits uneasily in 2023 and the lame bits of this feel a lot like the lame bits of Falcon & Winter Soldier.
I like the idea of Olivia Colman as a Kree agent but Fury knows her from way back and the Kree don’t really do infiltration that way…
posted by sixswitch at 9:34 PM on July 4, 2023
I like the idea of Olivia Colman as a Kree agent but Fury knows her from way back and the Kree don’t really do infiltration that way…
posted by sixswitch at 9:34 PM on July 4, 2023
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* The Earth added a million Skrulls out of nowhere and nobody who keeps track of the population noticed? While I absolutely agree that humans can't coexist with each other anyway, clearly the Skrulls have been blending in until now enough not to be causing problems.
* FURY GOT MARRIED?!
* TO A SKRULL?!
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:50 PM on June 28, 2023 [6 favorites]