Review: Secret Invasion, "Home" | Season 1, Episode 6
Marvel's spy thriller experiment ends with a whimper
Something must have gone wrong, right? There’s no way Marvel’s big, splashy Nick Fury series was supposed to end with three 33-minute episodes and one of the most non-committal finales I’ve ever seen. Secret Invasion’s copious ADR has long hinted at a series that was chopped up in the editing room. And “Home” somehow has both the piecemeal feel of an episode stitched together in a panic, and also the unearned confidence of a finale that—at least at one point—was seemingly supposed to tease a second season.
It's hard to imagine we’re gonna get that second season, however, given that I can’t remember the last time an MCU property made less of a cultural impression than Secret Invasion. The nerd podcasts I listen to have stopped recapping it, no one I follow on Twitter is discussing it, and nearly everyone I’ve spoken to about it in real life doesn’t realize that it exists. It’s a wild state of affairs that an adult-oriented Marvel thriller starring Samuel L. Jackson can have so little cultural impact. And it’s telling that Kingsley Ben-Adir will almost certainly come away from this summer better remembered for his small supporting turn in Barbie than for his central role as an MCU villain. (And deservedly so, he’s great in Barbie!)
It’s not just a matter of viewership, either. Save for Inhumans and the first season of Iron Fist, it’s hard to think of an MCU series that failed in its artistic goals more than Secret Invasion. And that’s mainly because at no point in these past six episodes did I ever feel emotionally invested in Secret Invasion’s characters. Despite the best efforts of a talented cast, every player felt like a pawn to be moved around, rather than a living, breathing person. And each episode felt like a complete roll of the dice as to which relationships we were supposed to care about and why.