Marvel Studios has definitely struggled to stick the landing with its Disney+ TV shows and, unfortunately, Secret Invasion's finale was no exception.
Clocking in at a mere 38 minutes, there was no time to spare as Nick Fury set off to confront Gravik in an effort to put an end to his war. The Skrull Rhodey, meanwhile, is doing everything possible to convince President Ritson to nuke Russia, though the imposter starts panicking when he's told Fury is closing in.
That's impossible, of course, because the former S.H.I.E.L.D. Director is in New Skrullos going head-to-head with Gravik. Poisoned by the radioactive atmosphere, the weakened Fury hands over The Harvest after Gravik reminds him how he's failed the Skrulls (we also learn that the face he's wearing belongs to the first man he was sent to kill by Fury as a child).
Gravik activates his Super-Skrull machine - with Fury still inside because it obviously won't work on a human - and becomes truly unstoppable. However, as he goes to deliver the killing blow to his former mentor, Fury appears to reveal that he too is a Skrull...until we learn Gi'ah has taken his place!
There appears to have been a switch off-camera as Fury really is in that hospital alongside Sonya Falsworth and desperately tries to convince the President that Rhodey isn't who he claims to be.
As things escalate, Fury guns down the imposter and Ritson calls off the attack on Russia, narrowly avoiding World War III.
Back in New Skrullos, Gi'ah (who also gained all of The Harvest's powers) goes to war with Gravik in a CG-heavy battle that sees her take revenge for the death of her parents by blasting a hole through her former leader's chest.
Ritson, meanwhile, shows his true colours by declaring every off-world species on Earth an enemy combatant, vowing to kill each remaining Skrull. That only inspires vigilantes, resulting in needless killings of humans and aliens alike.
Elsewhere, Sonya finds a warehouse full of humans who have been replaced, and Fury returns to space alongside Varra. He reveals that the Kree have agreed to enter peace talks with the Skrulls, and after accepting his wife for who she is in her alien form, they share a kiss, embrace, and return to S.A.B.E.R.
The episode also featured a huge Rhodey revelation you can read about by clicking here.
Secret Invasion started strong, but the finale once again feels like Marvel Studios' attempt to cram a movie's entire third act into a single episode of television. Rushed, messy, and lacking in answers (and surprises), it's a mostly disappointing effort which fails to live up to those early instalments and will likely sour many fans on a series that could have stood alongside the MCU's best.
What did you think about the Secret Invasion finale?