SECRET INVASION: Fans Are Re-Evaluating The Finale Thanks To Emilia Clarke's Infectious Enthusiasm

SECRET INVASION: Fans Are Re-Evaluating The Finale Thanks To Emilia Clarke's Infectious Enthusiasm

A video of Secret Invasion star Emilia Clarke enthusiastically discussing her final scenes as G'iah has led to some fans changing their opinion on the show's divisive finale...

By MarkCassidy - Aug 04, 2023 10:08 AM EST
Filed Under: Secret Invasion

Secret Invasion proved to be one of Marvel Studios' more divisive Disney+ shows, and it's probably fair to say that even staunch defenders of the bleak sci-fi thriller were let down by the season finale.

The episode had its moments, but felt very rushed overall, and the final battle between CGI Super-Skrulls came in for a lot of backlash.

The sequence itself was reasonably well-orchestrated, but felt tonally inconsistent with the previous episodes, and responses to G'iah powering-up and displaying the abilities of various other MCU heroes were... mixed.

Even so, Emilia Clarke clearly had a lot of fun shooting these scenes, and seems to be very much looking forward to returning as one of the MCU's most powerful characters down the line.

A video clip of Clarke talking about her experience filming G'iah's big moment is doing the rounds online, and the Game of Thrones alum's infectious enthusiasm has resulted in some fans re-evaluating the finale and how they feel about this character in general.

So, a G'iah solo series when?

"In Marvel Studios’ new series Secret Invasion, set in the present day MCU, Nick Fury learns of a clandestine invasion of Earth by a faction of shapeshifting Skrulls. Fury joins his allies, including Everett Ross, Maria Hill and the Skrull Talos, who has made a life for himself on Earth. Together they race against time to thwart an imminent Skrull invasion and save humanity."

The series stars Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Cobie Smulders, Martin Freeman, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Charlayne Woodard, Killian Scott, Samuel Adewunmi, Dermot Mulroney, Christopher McDonald, Katie Finneran, with Emilia Clarke, Olivia Colman, and Don Cheadle.

Ali Selim directs and executive-produces, along with fellow executive producers Kevin Feige, Jonathan Schwartz, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Brad Winderbaum, Samuel L. Jackson, Ali Selim, Kyle Bradstreet and Brian Tucker. Kyle Bradstreet is also the head writer, and Jennifer L. Booth, Allana Williams and Brant Englestein serve as co-executive producers.

If you want to know my thoughts on Secret Invasion, and much more besides, you can have a listen to the first episode of the Roll Credits podcast below.

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CuChulainn
CuChulainn - 8/4/2023, 10:43 AM
Ah she's just adorable! Those eyebrows are so expressive they deserve their own spinoff.

Thought the series was a massive shambles tbh but everybody in it did their best with what they were given. Great performances inspite of uninspired writing.
Vigor
Vigor - 8/4/2023, 10:44 AM
I was entertained watching the finale and turned off my critical mind. Because the cgi impressed me. And my favorite thing was seeing Gravik turn into a jacked super skrull. I felt like a kid reading f4 comics

Then I go online and I'm like



But I totally get the complaints. Some people have articulated the shows issues very well
FrankieDedo
FrankieDedo - 8/4/2023, 11:16 AM
@Vigor - This. People thinks too much on superhero movies. I don't say that everybody should just accept everything, but at the end of the day it's goddamn people in tights. Marvel put the bar high, but it's part of the "game" to have something less impressive than the usual.

Also, this brings people more and more to judge stuff in black and white: it's awesome or it's utter shit. Secret Invasion wasn't anything exciting but it was entertaining, at least for the actors and actresses's work.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 8/4/2023, 11:41 AM
@FrankieDedo - If people are down on something they are predisposed to be hypercritical. The reverse is also true.
Usernametaken
Usernametaken - 8/4/2023, 11:50 AM
@Vigor - "turned off my critical mind. Because the cgi impressed me."
That's modern hollywood filmmaking in a nutshell.
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 8/4/2023, 12:28 PM
@Usernametaken - modern Hollywood or not. Artuer to popcorn flicks the goal of these things is to entertain the viewer HOWEVER they seeker to be entertained. They could be entertaining their mind or their inner child. Y’all really try to shame people for enjoying things
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 8/4/2023, 12:32 PM
@Vigor - you make me want to enjoy the finale that much more. Your positivity is much appreciated
Vigor
Vigor - 8/4/2023, 12:59 PM
@MyCoolYoung - thanks bud. Don't get me wrong, I feel like making Giah what they made her is sloppy story telling and potentially problematic, but I found joy in the finale. Pure entertainment

I also just don't judge as harshly as most. I enjoy simple shit haha
Usernametaken
Usernametaken - 8/4/2023, 1:32 PM
@MyCoolYoung - Not really no. I don't mind people liking bad stuff, I like bad movies and tv shows too, but I still think the bar shouldn't be at their level.
LukeCage2155
LukeCage2155 - 8/4/2023, 2:28 PM
@Vigor - But I get the complaints. Some people have articulated the issues of the show very well. Agree to Disagree.
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 8/4/2023, 3:48 PM
@Vigor - not gonna lie, I think it's VERY problematic. No way they don't end up retconing this lol
dagenspear
dagenspear - 8/4/2023, 5:08 PM
@FrankieDedo - Or some people ignore the problems. You and others doing that doesn't mean others should.

What usual? They've done fairly little that's impressive, to me.

And actors and actresses' work doesn't make it good or automatically engaging/enjoyable.
StSteven
StSteven - 8/4/2023, 8:26 PM
@Vigor @MyCoolYoung - Ya know, I actually enjoyed the entire show, but I think that I kinda knew what I was getting into and set my expectations accordingly. Obviously we all knew it was goin to be more spy espionage stuff (a la "C:WS" but on a smaller scale), which I think that it did serviceably enough. But what else did it do: Here's my listing/brain dump on it now that I've had some time to digest it (and the last one is a doozey):

1. It gave Fury an actual character arc (which he so far hasn't really had much of in the MCU as he's been more or less of a one-dimensional character). PLUS it puts him right where he needs to be for "The Marvels". Basically back to being a badass again after working through his PTSD following the Blip.

2. It established the concept of "Super Skrulls" so now when the F4 have to deal with that (eventually), the GA will already be familiar with the idea. How they handle G'iah remains to be seen, but I doubt that we'll see Skrulls pop up for a while in the MCU.

3. It gave us a watered-down version of the actual "Secret Invasion" storyline, but one that I think focused on the whole "who can you trust?" idea which ultimately resulted in the divisive finale where the US President basically declared war on any and all Skrulls, which leads to...

4. (Grab a beer because this one is going to rather long but follow me here): So, how do you go from a planet which loves and celebrates superheroes (the Avengers, etc.) and even accepts aliens like the Skrulls, Asgardians, etc. as their own to a society which fears and hates them? Starting to see where I'm going with this? I think that by the POTUS doing what he did at the end of "SI" is starting to lay the groundwork for the X-Men and mutants in general. To me it makes total sense. A society doesn't just suddenly shift from "superheroes and aliens and all the other different people are awesome" to fear, hate, and anger. That kind of thing takes years to happen. Just look at what's happened here in the US over the last several years. I'm not going to go off on a political rant here, but it didn't happen overnight is my point. So my point is that by the POTUS declaring Skrulls enemies of the US, even though we know that there are good Skrulls and bad Skrulls, and some of them now have super powers (G'iah), sound to me like Marvel is really starting to lay the foundation for a world where when the mutants (and eventually the X-Men) finally emerge, it will be a world VERY adverse to aliens, mutants, and superheroes in general.

I could be WAY off with this theory, but there was obviously a reason that the POTUS did what he did and why Fury objected to it, and I think that it goes WAY beyond the Skrulls. In which case folks might looks back on "SI" differently. We'll see...
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 8/4/2023, 10:46 PM
@StSteven - I actually think your assessment is 100% correct. President just waged war on the skrull and we 100% know thunder bolt Ross will be president next. He loathes unchecked super powered people and the X-men are full of them. Where he pops up next is captain America NEW WORLD ORDER or at least formerly titled. The rumor is talmut will be mined for adamantium. It all connects
Slotherin
Slotherin - 8/4/2023, 11:00 PM
@StSteven - man, that's ruckin cool
StSteven
StSteven - 8/5/2023, 3:58 PM
@MyCoolYoung - Good point about Ross. I have a feeling that he will take the current POTUS (Ritson)'s anti-Skull policy a step further when mutants show up. This is just laying the groundwork. And one politician running on a platform of taking the previous one's policies and turning them up a notch sounds awfully familiar.We could even see a reinstatement (or different version) of the Sokovia accords again, possibly as the Mutant Registration Act (remember Kevin was a producer on "X-Men").
StSteven
StSteven - 8/5/2023, 3:58 PM
@Slotherin - Fingers crossed.
DrReedRichards
DrReedRichards - 8/4/2023, 10:45 AM
Any and all frustration or complaints with the show have little to do with her. She deserved better, and so did Olivia Colman and Kingsley Ben-Adir.

Sam with Ben and Don, less so. They knew what they had in their hands.
xfan320
xfan320 - 8/4/2023, 10:47 AM
Being cute doesn't give you a PASS, Disney...

DO BETTER.
FireandBlood
FireandBlood - 8/4/2023, 10:47 AM
Glad she had fun, because I didn’t
JFerguson
JFerguson - 8/4/2023, 10:47 AM
The show should have been devised as a send off for Samuel L Jackson's run as Fury. Like, why do we still need him around in the MCU again?
JFerguson
JFerguson - 8/4/2023, 10:49 AM
@JFerguson - Also Gi'ah is a garbage character. Sorry Emilia, you were in the worst MCU property by far.
CaptainCheese
CaptainCheese - 8/4/2023, 10:53 AM
Lipstick on a pig. Lipstick on the show as a whole! NOT that Emily is a pig. She's f*cking gorgeous!
TheOtherOn
TheOtherOn - 8/4/2023, 11:23 AM
@CaptainCheese - She would be lipstick in your scenario anyway, pig is the show! 😉
TyrantBossMedia
TyrantBossMedia - 8/4/2023, 10:56 AM
“ INVASION: Fans Are Re-Evaluating The Finale”

We are?

Clearly Mark is taking some liberties with his opinion and hasn’t been paying attention because:

Rotten Tomatoes: 7%
IMDB: 5.6/10
Meta critic: 3.9

You can put lipstick on a pig but it’s still a pig…..unless you’re shilling for Disney.
TyrantBossMedia
TyrantBossMedia - 8/4/2023, 11:03 AM
and I finally watched GOTG3.

It was just okay. I’m quite happy that I didn’t waste money seeing it in the theaters.

Too long. Too many battles and plot twists.
Where is Rocket?
Where are Drax and Mantis?
Where is Nebula?
Where is Quill?
Where is Gamora?
Rescue the animals
Rescue the Kids
Fight the guards
Fight the other guards
Fight the other guards

Not concisely written. The team dynamic is sometimes there and sometimes not.

The best part was Rocket’s backstory and after they saved him…then all team up to get the High Evolutionary. That simple.

Also, as I predicted the High Evolutionary did no it have the robot face that he had in the comics.

Not excited about Gunn’s DCU especially with him casting so many heroes in Superman. It’s going to be another convoluted mess like this was.
mountainman
mountainman - 8/4/2023, 11:42 AM
@TyrantBossMedia - I liked it personally but I get your perspective. I thought it was overall better than 2 and Rocket’s story, along with the HE failing at building the perfect society, were both interesting.

The only part that didn’t sit right with me is the sequence in the middle on the science planet with the guards in the goofy suits. And I wasn’t a fan of Adam Warlock’s characterization.
TyrantBossMedia
TyrantBossMedia - 8/4/2023, 11:50 AM
@mountainman - The first half was solid. As with most of Marvel's movies it started to fall apart in the third act.

Yes, I absolutely hated what they did to Adam Warlock. He was basically wasted.
mountainman
mountainman - 8/4/2023, 12:25 PM
@TyrantBossMedia - I’d say the second act was the weakest part (besides the Rocket flashbacks).

The finale worked better than most MCU 3rd acts in my opinion. The saving of the kids, HE turning straight tyrannical on his creation, the hallway scene.

I get what you are saying overall. Lots of goon battles, several members of the team had weak arcs, and the villains weren’t as strong as they could be.

For what it was, it was the best MCU film in years. I know the overall quality has been down so I am grading on a curve here. But I think it was actually better than vol 2. And it had less goofy humor than a typical Gunn flick.
marvel72
marvel72 - 8/4/2023, 4:49 PM
@TyrantBossMedia - I enjoyed it and it's the best Marvel has put out in a while,I do think some overhyped it but yeah a fitting ending.

I didn't like their portrayal of Adam Warlock, he was just off, not how I see Warlock.
MarioT1000
MarioT1000 - 8/4/2023, 8:05 PM
@TyrantBossMedia - Why is Gamora?
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