After last episode, I was close to dropping “Secret Invasion.” As I stated in my last review, I found it to be crowded and clunky, with its pacing all over the place and its action was unconvincing. Episode 2: “Promise,” however, offers a glimmer of hope. 

Episode 2 deals with the aftermath of Episode 1, specifically Gravik’s (Kingsley Ben-Adir) attack on Russia, which he framed the United States for. Russia is falling for it, but America isn’t taking it seriously, so much so that Col. James “Rhodey” Rhodes/War Machine (Don Cheadle) provides answers on the president’s behalf to the world. 

Rhodey also meets with Nick Fury (Sam Jackson) to fire him, which is the most compelling scene in the show. Fury is trying to warn Rhodey of the danger of Gravik’s Skrull invasion and asks for his support but is instead cast aside. This episode also delves into racism in the Marvel world, noting that Fury is old enough to have experienced segregation, which informs his worldview that humans will not accept Skrulls — humans have trouble coexisting with other humans. 

That becomes an issue, because that is precisely what Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), former leader of the Skrulls, wants. He reveals that he invited all 1 million free Skrull survivors to Earth, hoping that humanity will be willing to share their world. 

This episode is named “Promises” for the broken promise Fury made to the Skrulls in the 1990s; in exchange for their cooperation and help protecting Earth, he would find them a new world. Almost 30 years later, the Skrulls are still waiting and it’s become apparent that there might not be another world for them out there; Earth might be as good as it gets. 

This also fleshes Gravik’s motivation out, though I don’t understand the practicality of wiping Earth clean of humans and having his own people start from nothing (nuclear attacks would destroy all infrastructure on Earth, and while the Skrulls are immune to radiation, they are vulnerable in almost every other way humans are). Alas, I think his character is going the way of Karli Morgenthau, the villain of “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” who had an understandable motivation, but her response was far too out of proportion to what wronged her for her to be taken seriously. 

The spy and espionage elements of the show finally work this episode, particularly a sequences where Gravik tracks down a follower captured by MI6 and kills him for giving into torture. It gives a sense of brutality that these shows often lack, though it is almost spoiled by inappropriate humor. 

“Secret Invasion” Season 1: Episode 2 “Promises” gets an 8/10