Resurrection was a great early season episode that perhaps suffered a little from the weight of having to reintroduce Nick Fury to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, lay the foundations of the plot without overusing expository text (not always succeeding) and create a bombastic situation. , as was the attack in Moscow and, mainly, the death of Maria Hill, to show seriousness and commitment. Promises, which does not carry that burden, arrives to show that what we saw a week ago was not a lie and that Secret Invasion promises (he, he, he) to be a different miniseries in this superheroic universe, either because it does not have superheroes , or because it has something that has been increasingly rare in works of the genre: quality multifunctional dialogues that develop the plot, build its characters and naturally work with relevant socioeconomic subtexts without underestimating the viewer.
Picking up where the opening episode left off, but making use of cleverly inserted flashbacks right off the bat to help contextualize and explain Gravik's actions in light of Nick Fury's unfulfilled promise to find the Skrulls a new home, Promises works. A succession of sequences that do the opposite of what is normally expected from series like this, that is, they value conversation, dialogue, leaving the action almost completely aside. On the macro side, we have the exalted spirits of the world powers (and not so powers) being left unanswered by a Colonel James Rhoades loaded with an unexpected arrogance for the character who works almost as a spokesman for the presidency of the bellicose Reagan Era, which works perfectly for a series that tries to emulate the Cold War. Don Cheadle, impassive and self-assured, makes his character climb a few steps in the MCU's internal hierarchy by rejecting the allegations against his country, basically saying that no one there has the power he has behind him, in a very efficient sequence, yet How deliberately boastful.
And Cheadle's differentiated presence in the series doesn't stop there, since, in the next moment, we see Rhoades sitting at the table with a Nick Fury who comes with his hat in hand asking him for help like a brother until the moment he realizes that this new Rhoades is definitely not the good old War Machine of yesteryear. The tense dialogue that takes place between the two is one of the best examples of how Brian Tucker's script manages to work on the development of the plot without losing depth, without failing to comment on something latent and present in the conversation between two people of African descent who know very well that they got to where they are just as easily as people with less pigmentation. And it's phenomenal to see Samuel L. Jackson transform his character in front of the cameras, without for a moment doubting the realism of what we are watching. Fury starts out weakened, almost subservient, but little by little, in the face of Rhoades' coldness, he gives clues to the old Fury, changing posture and tone of voice, until he, in the blink of an eye, takes physical control of the situation by subduing and disarming the security guard who wants to take him away, he utters that clever phrase - "I am Nick Fury. Even when I'm out, I'm in." - surgically created to make the viewer vibrate and fulfills this exact function and, the next moment, already outside the restaurant, reverts to the tired Fury, clearly untrained and out of shape, panting on a bench.
But this is not even the first time that a dialogue of this quality is seen in the episode, since the conversation between the same Fury and Talos works exactly the same way, but with another function. There is the same subtext in the story that the protagonist tells about his past when he could only travel in the segregated carriages of the trains and that serves to make it clear to his friend that he knows there is something he has not told, something that he extracts right away. : The silent invasion of the Skrulls is not about to happen, it has already happened. Talos' "benign" betrayal, of course, is not well received and opens a gigantic gate that puts all humans in this universe in check, something that is immediately amplified in the great sequence in which Gravik executes his coup d'état before the Council Skrull made up of very important personalities of world politics.
To those who ask themselves "where are the superheroes who release lightning from their hands?", the script hasn't forgotten about you either and delivers not one, but two answers. On the one hand, Fury doesn't want the superheroes involved right now to prevent the Skrulls from turning into them, which is a weak-sounding excuse that carries its logic. On the other hand, Gravik is acutely aware that the Avengers are a problem, with much of the episode devoted to G'iah's discovery that the Skrulls are likely experiencing power-ups a la the Super-Skrull of the comics. With samples of Groot (I don't need to say who it is, do I?), Cull Obisidian (from Thanos' Black Order), an ice monster from Jotunheim (from Thor's mythology) and even the Extremis nanotechnology created by Maya Hansen and Aldrich Killian (from Iron Man 3, better known as the most underrated and misunderstood Marvel movie that I will defend to the death) precisely with the aim of going head-to-head with the flashy suits.
It may seem out of context, but I am forcing myself, regardless of anything, to talk about her: what to say about Olivia Colman, huh? Her character Sonya Falsworth, from MI-6, was introduced in the first episode in a tête-à-tête with Nick Fury and I confess that I didn't expect to see her back so soon because Colman is Colman and not... an Emilia Clarke of life , but behold, we have her back starring in a scene that carries a certain encore in idem, but that just having her is worth the episode. After all, when could we imagine having this actress, apparently having fun like there's no tomorrow, ripping off an alien lizard's finger (oops, was I politically incorrect here?) and injecting whatever-whatever into her derrière ( French twice in the same paragraph, oh là là!) to torture him and this right before he crawls through a tunnel to escape? Will we get her back, gun in hand, to fight alongside Fury in the miniseries' climax? It will be a massacre, because, after all, there's no way to win any fight against these two together!
And, just when we thought the episode was over, behold, we got another twist, only this one is the exact opposite of the tragedy that was the death of Maria Hill: Nick Fury, who knew, married a Skrull (her name is Priscilla, according to the credits, lived by Charlayne Woodard, who, in turn, lived the mother of Jackson's character in the Body Closed Trilogy). If he knows she's a Skrull, well, he's Nick Fury and Nick Fury, even in his old age, is still "fashionable" Nick Fury, so yes, he knows. We can glimpse, there, a little more of the secret life of the character that has been unveiled in the series and that, of course, has a very close connection with the destiny of the alien race that, by all indications, already commands a large part of the planet with few people. Knowing your neighbor might have green skin, pointy ears, and a grooved chin. This additional and unexpected layer for Fury is welcome, as it helps to humanize the character who is normally seen as more invincible than the Hulk.
Already in its second episode, Secret Invasion confirms that it did not come to play, but to offer a miniseries that has everything to be of high quality on its own merits and, of course, affect the entire MCU in the process. Let's just hope this isn't just an optical illusion or a series that looks like something, but turns out to be something else.
Picking up where the opening episode left off, but making use of cleverly inserted flashbacks right off the bat to help contextualize and explain Gravik's actions in light of Nick Fury's unfulfilled promise to find the Skrulls a new home, Promises works. A succession of sequences that do the opposite of what is normally expected from series like this, that is, they value conversation, dialogue, leaving the action almost completely aside. On the macro side, we have the exalted spirits of the world powers (and not so powers) being left unanswered by a Colonel James Rhoades loaded with an unexpected arrogance for the character who works almost as a spokesman for the presidency of the bellicose Reagan Era, which works perfectly for a series that tries to emulate the Cold War. Don Cheadle, impassive and self-assured, makes his character climb a few steps in the MCU's internal hierarchy by rejecting the allegations against his country, basically saying that no one there has the power he has behind him, in a very efficient sequence, yet How deliberately boastful.
And Cheadle's differentiated presence in the series doesn't stop there, since, in the next moment, we see Rhoades sitting at the table with a Nick Fury who comes with his hat in hand asking him for help like a brother until the moment he realizes that this new Rhoades is definitely not the good old War Machine of yesteryear. The tense dialogue that takes place between the two is one of the best examples of how Brian Tucker's script manages to work on the development of the plot without losing depth, without failing to comment on something latent and present in the conversation between two people of African descent who know very well that they got to where they are just as easily as people with less pigmentation. And it's phenomenal to see Samuel L. Jackson transform his character in front of the cameras, without for a moment doubting the realism of what we are watching. Fury starts out weakened, almost subservient, but little by little, in the face of Rhoades' coldness, he gives clues to the old Fury, changing posture and tone of voice, until he, in the blink of an eye, takes physical control of the situation by subduing and disarming the security guard who wants to take him away, he utters that clever phrase - "I am Nick Fury. Even when I'm out, I'm in." - surgically created to make the viewer vibrate and fulfills this exact function and, the next moment, already outside the restaurant, reverts to the tired Fury, clearly untrained and out of shape, panting on a bench.
But this is not even the first time that a dialogue of this quality is seen in the episode, since the conversation between the same Fury and Talos works exactly the same way, but with another function. There is the same subtext in the story that the protagonist tells about his past when he could only travel in the segregated carriages of the trains and that serves to make it clear to his friend that he knows there is something he has not told, something that he extracts right away. : The silent invasion of the Skrulls is not about to happen, it has already happened. Talos' "benign" betrayal, of course, is not well received and opens a gigantic gate that puts all humans in this universe in check, something that is immediately amplified in the great sequence in which Gravik executes his coup d'état before the Council Skrull made up of very important personalities of world politics.
To those who ask themselves "where are the superheroes who release lightning from their hands?", the script hasn't forgotten about you either and delivers not one, but two answers. On the one hand, Fury doesn't want the superheroes involved right now to prevent the Skrulls from turning into them, which is a weak-sounding excuse that carries its logic. On the other hand, Gravik is acutely aware that the Avengers are a problem, with much of the episode devoted to G'iah's discovery that the Skrulls are likely experiencing power-ups a la the Super-Skrull of the comics. With samples of Groot (I don't need to say who it is, do I?), Cull Obisidian (from Thanos' Black Order), an ice monster from Jotunheim (from Thor's mythology) and even the Extremis nanotechnology created by Maya Hansen and Aldrich Killian (from Iron Man 3, better known as the most underrated and misunderstood Marvel movie that I will defend to the death) precisely with the aim of going head-to-head with the flashy suits.
It may seem out of context, but I am forcing myself, regardless of anything, to talk about her: what to say about Olivia Colman, huh? Her character Sonya Falsworth, from MI-6, was introduced in the first episode in a tête-à-tête with Nick Fury and I confess that I didn't expect to see her back so soon because Colman is Colman and not... an Emilia Clarke of life , but behold, we have her back starring in a scene that carries a certain encore in idem, but that just having her is worth the episode. After all, when could we imagine having this actress, apparently having fun like there's no tomorrow, ripping off an alien lizard's finger (oops, was I politically incorrect here?) and injecting whatever-whatever into her derrière ( French twice in the same paragraph, oh là là!) to torture him and this right before he crawls through a tunnel to escape? Will we get her back, gun in hand, to fight alongside Fury in the miniseries' climax? It will be a massacre, because, after all, there's no way to win any fight against these two together!
And, just when we thought the episode was over, behold, we got another twist, only this one is the exact opposite of the tragedy that was the death of Maria Hill: Nick Fury, who knew, married a Skrull (her name is Priscilla, according to the credits, lived by Charlayne Woodard, who, in turn, lived the mother of Jackson's character in the Body Closed Trilogy). If he knows she's a Skrull, well, he's Nick Fury and Nick Fury, even in his old age, is still "fashionable" Nick Fury, so yes, he knows. We can glimpse, there, a little more of the secret life of the character that has been unveiled in the series and that, of course, has a very close connection with the destiny of the alien race that, by all indications, already commands a large part of the planet with few people. Knowing your neighbor might have green skin, pointy ears, and a grooved chin. This additional and unexpected layer for Fury is welcome, as it helps to humanize the character who is normally seen as more invincible than the Hulk.
Already in its second episode, Secret Invasion confirms that it did not come to play, but to offer a miniseries that has everything to be of high quality on its own merits and, of course, affect the entire MCU in the process. Let's just hope this isn't just an optical illusion or a series that looks like something, but turns out to be something else.