‘Secret Invasion’ Episode 4: Love, Loss + A Shocking Revelation

Episode 4 of Secret Invasion, titled "Beloved," really shifted things into high gear for the Skrull invasion. It's tough to talk about this episode without addressing the spoilers, so we'll advise you here:  SPOILERS AHEAD.

In this episode, we find out who has been a mole, who's been aligning themselves with Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir), and there are some really close encounters with death. As we learned in episode 3 ("Betrayed"), Dr. Rosa Dalton (Katie Finneran) devised a way to create “Super Skrulls” with superpowers on top of their shapeshifting abilities. This will help them battle Earth's superheroes when they decide to take over the planet.

However, when we thought Emilia Clarke's G'iah had died at the end of the third episode, we were delighted to see she survived by using this new Super Skrull technology. We still aren't sure exactly what powers she possesses in this latest episode, but they saved her from her attack by Gravik. Hopefully, it'll be something that can further aid Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and her father, Talos (Ben Mendelsohn). She'll surely have the element of surprise on her side: Gravik thinks she's dead.

So far, we've learned that Fury's wife, Priscilla (Charlayne Woodard), is a Skrull. Through flashbacks in episodes 3 and 4, it seems quite apparent that they are really in love with one another. "The Blip" and Fury's post-"Blip "abandonment strained their relationship. This doesn't stop Priscilla from seeing that Fury has a powerful sense of righteousness. She tells him, "Home is worth fighting for, and the weak is worth protecting."

But we learn that Priscilla is working with Gravik after she met with Colonel Rhodes (Don Cheadle). During their conversation, she expresses that Fury was fired, which Rhodey laughs about because he knows it was Gravik shapeshifted as him when he killed Agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders). If you didn't already surmise that Rhodey is a Skrull like Priscilla from their meeting, he confirms it when he orders her to kill Fury. So, with this information, Rhodey has great influence over President Ritson (Dermot Mulroney) -- and he knows it. Cheadle's character is quite the A-hole, so it's fun to watch him say things like, "The President doesn't find out that the sun's come up unless I brief him."

Throughout this series, we see how innovative Fury can be. He's got the connections, the technology, and the guts to get to where he needs to be to stop Gravik. The narrative being pushed by Gravik, Rhodes, and now Priscilla is that Fury is essentially a broken man post-Blip and isn't as indispensable as he once was. Priscilla pushes this narrative onto Rhodey to get him to forget about his order for her to kill Fury. He coldly tells her, "You keep telling me what you’re not gonna do. I’m gonna show you what I am gonna do." Now that we know who all the moles are (we think), it's only a matter of time before Priscilla and Rhodey get exposed. Meanwhile, G'iah has a huge problem if Gravik finds out she survived, especially after he tells Pagon (Killian Scott).

Now that G’iah is free from Gravik, she meets with her father and sweetly tells him she's with him. But her mood quickly turns: she's unsatisfied with Talos' plan of saving the world and requesting amnesty. He plans to appeal to humanity's better angels by showing them that the Skrulls deserve compassion and aid. Disappointed, she calls him delusional. "That’s not who we are. And that’s not who I’ve become."

As they bump heads on the future of the Skrulls, Fury is set to face off with his wife back at home. Reminiscent of Mr. & Mrs. Smith's iconic fight scene in the kitchen, Priscilla and Fury act coy with each other, as if they don't know that they're both strapped up with guns. This doesn't matter, though, because they still love each other. Putting the cards (or guns) on the table, Fury tells his wife she is "by far and away" his greatest mistake.

With their lives on the line, we learn more about Priscilla's past as Fury asks her why she chose the body of the real Dr. Priscilla Davis. With only a few months to live due to a congenital heart defect, the Skrull asked her if she could have her body. The dying doctor gave her three conditions: 1. Bury her at sea (she did), 2. Be a daughter her parents (she did that, too), and 3. To never hurt Fury (sorry, darling).

In their openness with each other, Fury recites her favorite poem -- “Late Fragment” by Raymond Carver -- before the two fire away at each other. They both purposely miss. Laughing, Fury says, “I don’t know if we should get divorced or renew our vows.” And so the couple solidify their loyalty to one another despite being different species. There is a question that still weighs on Priscilla's mind, though. She asks Fury if he would have fallen in love with her "true self." As he walks away to leave, he sighs and says, "Guess we’ll never know."

After spiking his "favorite liquid lunch" with Rhodey, Fury uses nanotechnology to track the government mole. Hesitant on the highly expensive alcohol being poison, Fury literally admits, "No, nanotechs!" Too bad for Rhodey for not realizing this was the truth. With Talos at his side, the duo track Rhodey to find the President under attack by Gravik. Pushing the Russia-at-war-with-the-US agenda, Gravik speaks in Russian to ensure the President's security believes the Russians are behind this.

But Fury's got a sawed-off shotgun and goes to work to get the President to safety (that's one way to get re-hired). In an effort to rescue the President, Talos is shot, and the Americans want to shoot him after he begins to change back into a Skrull. This final scene in the episode is wild because as one person is saved, another must be sacrificed. The moment Gravik saw an opening, he grabs Talos while disguising himself as an American soldier. G'iah "died" in the last episode, and but we think that Talos is gone for good. Meanwhile, we're left wondering, how long has Rhodey been a Skrull? Has he always been a Skrull in every MCU film? Is the real Rhodey still alive?

There are just two more episodes of Secret Invasion. Episodes drop on Disney+ Wednesdays at 3 am ET.

2021 and 2022 were packed with new Marvel Cinematic Universe shows on Disney+. But now, the deluge has slowed down a bit. The last episode of She-Hulk: Attorney At Law aired back in October 2022. But we’re about to get a new fix of weekly episodes. Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury will headline his own series - Secret Invasion - which will see him take on the shape-shifting Skrulls. The six-episode series kicks off on June 21.

Fury has made several appearances in the MCU, but sometimes it’s just for a brief moment or two in a film’s post-credit scene. Here, we’ll track his storyline and also add appearances by a few other characters who we’ll see in Secret Invasion, including Don Cheadle’s James “Rhodey” Rhodes (who we’ll see in his own War Machine film, Armor Wars) and Martin Freeman’s Everett K. Ross. Here are the movies and shows you should check out before Secret Invasion kicks off.

Yeah, Fury appeared in several other MCU films before this one. But Captain Marvel takes place in the ‘90s, and it’s a much younger Nick Fury who we meet here (thanks to some de-aging digital filters). This is also the beginning of the story of the Skrulls, so if you watch just one MCU film before Secret Invasion, make it this one. By the way, we think Secret Invasion will lead into The Marvels, due out in November, which will also feature Teyonah Parris’s Monica Rambeau, who we met as a child in Captain Marvel. (The origin of her superpowers is told in the first Disney+ series, Wandavision). Keep in mind that one of the post-credits scenes, the one with the Avengers, jumps decades into the future. It takes place between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. But this film introduces us to the Skrulls, an alien race of shapeshifters, including Ben Mendelsohn’s Talos. Sharon Blynn plays Soren, Talos' wife.

The film that kicked off the MCU. We learn about S.H.I.E.L.D., via Clark Gregg’s Agent Coulson. Fury makes a cameo in the post-credit scene, telling Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark that he’s “not the only superhero in the world” and that he wants to discuss the “Avengers Initiative” with him. We also meet James “Rhodey” Rhodes in this film. Back then, he was played by Terrance Howard.

This was the first MCU film to feature Jackson as a main cast member. This is also where Don Cheadle took over the role of James “Rhodey” Rhodes. We also meet Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff, aka the Black Widow. At the beginning of the film, she’s spying on Tony Stark, per Fury’s orders. At the end of the film, Agent Coulson reports about the discovery of a “hammer” in the desert in New Mexico. Which leads right into…

Like in the first Iron Man film, Agent Coulson gets a lot of screen time here, representing S.H.I.E.L.D., and Fury just shows up in a post-credit scene. But Thor is a crucial film if you want to see The Avengers, as Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is introduced here. Loki is the main villain in that film. But before we get to that…

Chronologically, this comes before the other films; the story takes place during World War II. But Fury shows up at the end of the film, which takes place in the (then) present day, and he tells Chris Evans’ Steve (Captain America) Rogers that he’s been asleep for nearly 70 years.

Nick Fury and Agent Coulson were the connective tissue that tied the MCU together. In The 2012’s The Avengers, we saw both of them putting together the MCU’s first super team, which included Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Black Widow, Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce (Hulk) Banner and Jeremy Renner’s Clint (Hawkeye) Barton. The team members don’t really trust Fury - or each other - but that’s part of what made it so interesting. This is also where we meet another important S.H.I.E.L.D. agent: Cobie Smulders’ Agent Maria Hill, who we’ll see more of in Secret Invasion.

In which Nick Fury dies. Well, we were meant to think that he was dead after being wounded by Bucky Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier (played by Sebastian Stan). Agent Hill recovers his body and we later learn that he’s still alive. S.H.I.E.L.D., however, is not: it’s been infiltrated by Hydra, and this has been exposed to the world. Fury allows the world to think that he’s dead.

In a story that has aged well and feels a bit too on-the-nose, here the Avengers take on Ultron. It is basically a story of A.I. gone horribly wrong. Nick Fury comes out of hiding to help the Avengers, along with Maria Hill and Janes Rhodes.

The story that all of the Marvel films had been leading up to. The interstellar being called Thanos had been on a quest to acquire all of the Infinity Stones. In this film, he was successful, giving him the power to “snap” out half of the creatures in existence. Including, as we learn in the post-credits scene, both Fury and Agent Hill (in their only appearance in the film). But not before Fury uses his beeper to summon Captain Marvel.

The heart-pounding conclusion to the previous film. Fury and Hill don’t show up until the end when they pay tribute to one of the MCU’s greatest heroes at a private funeral.

After cameos in two Avengers films, it was fun to have both Fury and Hill back as cast members in the MCU. Fury is apparently trying to reach Spider-Man, but Peter Parker is more interested in his school trip and blows him off. Fury, of course, isn’t one to take “no” for an answer, and he and Hill draw Spidey into a new adventure. But in the post-credit scene, we learn that Fury and Hill are actually Talos and Soren, and the “real” Fury is in space on a Skrull ship. We don’t see the “real” Maria Hill, and we’re left wondering: how long has Talos been impersonating Fury on Earth? This is the last we’ve seen of Fury until Secret Invasion.

It’s not quite an essential film, and it’s one of the weaker films in the MCU. Neither Fury nor Hill is in it, but Rhodes is. The film had later implications for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and it might also influence Armor Wars, which will focus on Cheadle’s Rhodes.

Neither Fury nor Hill is in this film, but Rhodes is, and it explains how he lost the use of his legs. It also introduced Martin Freeman’s CIA agent Everett K. Ross, who will also appear in Secret Invasion. The film did a lot of heavy lifting: besides having a compelling story that saw the Avengers being torn apart, it also introduced Spider-Man and Black Panther to the MCU and welcomed Ant-Man (who had debuted in his own film in 2015).

Again, no Fury nor Hill here, but this film continues Agent Ross’s story. Here, he joins forces with Chadwick Boseman’s King T’Challa to save the world from Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger and Andy Serkis’ Ulysses Klaue (whom we first met in Avengers Age Of Ultron).

The film is the last time we see Agent Ross, who teamed up with the Wakandans again. This upsets Julia Louis-Dreyfuss’s Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, the head of the CIA, who - we also learn - is Agent Ross’s ex-wife. (She was first introduced in the 2021 series Falcon and the Winter Solider, which also featured a Cheadle cameo).