Here is my Secret Invasion Episode 5 review and, though I’m enjoying the show still, this was my least favorite episode so far. There was nothing which ruined the show for me here. However, I think as a penultimate episode, this one left a little to be desired.

This is an NO SPOILER review folks, so I’m not getting into the weeds of the Episode 5 plot here.

However……. I am going to be getting into SPOILERS for previous episodes of Secret Invasion so far, so I’m giving that warning to anyone waiting to binge the lot.

Sorry this one is a little late folks, I was on vacation last week and only watched this episode Saturday.

Reassessing Episode 4

I feel like I need to address my review of Episode 4 first off. I complained in that review that the show was giving us a second fake out death in a row. However, it seems my assumptions on that front were wrong. That character really did die, properly, and I sort of feel like that needed to be hammered home a little more in the previous episode to create the correct emotions from the audience. As it was, I assumed it was a fake out death and I was therefore surprised to find out I was wrong.

Does that improve, or diminish my grade for Episode 4? Nope, because my criticism of that one point simply becomes a another criticism. This is the MCU, and therefore when people die for real, you kinda need to hammer that point home or we won’t believe it. Exhibit A, was Secret Invasion Episode 4.

Well, that’s that out of the way, so what about Episode 5?

What Works Or Not?

I had a few issues with some plotting for this one. The penultimate episode of a series usually sets up the finale, and I guess that is true here.. However, I was not really convinced by or engaged by that set up.

The bad guys are turning on one another, which is hardly inventive, or awful. At the same time, the reason things happened the way they did didn’t really track for me. Equally, there now appears to be a focus on a Macguffin which didn’t matter until this episode. That was a bit strange. In fact, we now have a situation brewing where the chief antagonist is going from being an extremist leader to simple villain searching for power.

A better written show, perhaps with more episodes would have created tension between the Skrulls through actions. For example the death I spoke about earlier from Episode 4 could have been teased out into a martyr type scenario. Instead we get power hungry baddie willing to kill his own people for insubordination.

RELATED: Secret Invasion Episode 3 Review: Still Enjoying!

Fury really does not get to do much this week, and I guess that’s also a reason I enjoyed it less. Jackson’s Fury has been the best thing about this show so far. However, after rescuing the Pres and having a chat with Rhodey, he is just allowed to walk away, again. Fury then meets up with Farnsworth and you think we are getting a cool team up. I think we got one decent scene in a car and that was it for Fury/Farnsworth, so far anyway. Ultimately, Episode 5 felt like the one where they had to get to the finale because they cut a couple episodes either prior to or during filming.

I think the transition of secondary leads is a little jarring in the penultimate episode also. So we had Fury as the lead, and Talos as the secondary lead, Giah, Farnsworth, Priscilla are all tertiary characters in the show. However now Talos is dead, it seems the plan is to have Giah get promoted in the secondary lead of the show. I have no issue with this as far as story structure goes. However, I don’t think you do that in the second last chapter of a book, unless the book has a sequel. It brings me back to the theory that this series was originally longer and had to be cut slightly.

Too Negative?

Look, I’ve enjoyed Secret Invasion so far, I have. However, some decisions taken around how to transition to the finale now have me worried the landing won’t be stuck at all. In one of my reviews I said I can’t really (so far) see how this all gets wrapped up neatly. I said this was a good thing. I don’t enjoy seeing the ‘strings on the puppets’ as it were when it comes to writing. They had hidden those strings well in earlier episodes. However, in Episode 5 I felt like I could suddenly see them all. It felt like the writer said, ‘damn, I need to work out how to end this thing’ and crammed in this one.

Now I feel like I could accurately predict several events that will happen this Wednesday. Sadly, I’m not sure they seem satisfying to the set up of the series so far. I guess we will find out if there are some surprises to come, but I’m not expecting much. Bad guy will die, hero will save the day, all other henchman will now follow Giah and go back to the way they were pre-Gravik. I can think of some endings which are better than that, so hopefully I’m wrong.

RELATED: Secret Invasion Episode 4 Review: No Mid Season Slog – Hallelujah!

Secret Invasion may have started like a classic paranoid spy thriller. However, I feel it may end like most superhero TV series do and I’m disappointed it’s heading that way. Didn’t hate the episode, but the writing seems to have been sidestepped by a committee looking to set up a finale this week and it shows. I would not be surprised to find out Secret Invasion‘s script was actually 8 Episodes long. However. perhaps I’m giving the writer too much credit and throwing too much shade at the studio with that one. Ergo, my Secret Invasion Episode 5 review grade is:

GRADE: B-

As always, let me know what you thought of my Secret Invasion Episode 5 review or leave your own in the usual place below. Oh, and remember folks, always keep your eye patch in a separate safe from your Gun. Imagine if someone were to have both at the same time? The horror! What did you think of Secret Invasion Episode 5?

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