The Marvel TV series commenced its row with a major character death in the first episode itself, and now the Secret Invasion episode 3 ending has pushed for yet another tragedy. Previously, the last week’s entry had also left in a Super-Skrulls tease, and that, too, finds its solid foundation in the new episode as Gravik speaks the foreboding term into existence onscreen, and also hones the newly acquired abilities to heal himself.
Premiering on July 5, 2023, with a runtime of 41 minutes, the latest episode titled “Betrayed” witnesses the reunion of Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) and Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), who with the help of Sonya Falsworth (Olivia Colman) uncover a rebel Skrull plot. It also focusses on Gravik’s (Kingsley Ben-Adir) determination to uncover the traitor’s identity, and prevent his plans from being compromised in the long run. The absurdity of Gravik’s plan is that his aim is to bring about peace, much like what we saw Ultron doing in the What If…? series. And his solution for it is the same as well – extinction of the human race.
So the new episode already lets us know that Fury knows all about what Varra’s human form looks like, and he’s very much aware that Priscilla, his wife, is a Skrull after all. Yet, he’s also not sure about how what became of her in his absence, i.e. if she ever got back in touch with Gravik or not, and so his suspicions take flight.
Secret Invasion Episode 3 Ending Explained
Who Dies At the End of the Episode?
Well, unfortunately, Emilia Clarke’s character, G’iah, had it coming. Playing both sides, but mostly the good one on her realisation of Gravik’s “end of the world” level plans, Talos’ daughter starts spilling inside information to her father. However, Gravik is always a step ahead of her, and he sniffs the possibility of her being the traitor in his midst early on. Yet, his suspicions have no ground to hold on to, and so, he pushes for another plan to motion in order to catch her red-handed.
Earlier, in their discussion about who could’ve possibly outed the whereabouts of his base, Clarke’s character blames it on Brogan, but Gravik had already sensed the air changing around her. He deliberately pushes for the nuclear attack that is captained by Commodore Robert Fairbanks aka Bob, a high ranking official personnel of the US government. And at this point in the story, you must’ve caught the gist that everyone around Gravik, especially the members of the Senate and the political higher-ups are all Skrulls, so the infiltration is very real.
As Gravik finally uncovered the Skrull spy’s true identity, he shot G’iah straight in the chest, leaving no room for discussion or mercy. Cobie Smulders’ Maria Hill died the same way in the first episode (at least that’s what seemed to have happened). However, what ticks me off here is that some of the most crucial women characters are being put down one after the other. Does Secret Invasion really plan on eliminating all these characters, or is something else at play here?
In alternate fictional universes much like the ones designed by Marvel, death is not the end, and I’m not just quoting T’Challa here, but I’m also referring to the possibilities of all these deaths not being tragic ends to these character arcs at all. While the truth will only be revealed as we move closer to the last episode, for now, we can only believe what we’re seeing.
So, till some new plot twist emerges, G’iah is dead indeed, or she could just be playing dead. For all we know, she already knew the stakes were high on this mission, she could’ve just been wearing a bulletproof jacket, and pretending to have died to mislead Gravik. Patience is the key to all our doubts right now, all shall be revealed soon.
Is Priscilla Fury in Cahoots With Gravik?
The first few moments of the third episode follow a grave conversation between Fury and Priscilla aka Varra, the Skrull. As we finally catch on to the reality that Fury knows all about her being a Skrull, he also points back to the old days when she introduced an orphan Gravik to him. It’s equally a reminder for him that one way or another, she’s also had a soft spot for Gravik since the beginning, and with Fury gone all these years – first, without his intentions, due to the Blip, and then his voluntary exit to the space station, again cutting off ties with her wife, the probability of her having turned back to Gravik is quite high.
She’d basically been abandoned the second time around and her anger against him was equally valid and justified. However, Fury raises a rational query by asking her what became of her in his absence. She may have denied her renewed connections with Gravik at first, but the final scene of the episode proves otherwise.
It almost seems like she’s been pulled back into the fight by Gravik, and while she may not have been able to directly convene with him, the ease with which she spoke to one of Gravik’s soldiers (who also weirdly sounded somewhat like Rhodey, is it just me?) on the phone is yet another evidence of her having stayed in touch with Gravik’s side of the fight.
The talks about Colonel Rhodes in this show possibly being a Skrull had already set social media ablaze with the previous episode’s premiere. And again, as Fury made it clear – no one calls him Nick – with Rhodey being one of the envoys of the US government, there’s a big chance of him being held captive by Gravik as well while a Skrull, with his face on, struts around posing as him.
A new Secret Invasion episode will release on Disney+ Hotstar on July 12, 2023, at 12:30PM IST.
Also read: Secret Invasion Episode 2 Ending Explained: What Has Nick Fury Been Hiding About His Personal Life?