The Secret Invasion is here, and things are getting complicated. Like with many Marvel movies, the bad guys here at least have an understandable motivation. Years ago, Nick Fury promised to help the refugee Skrulls find a new home. For a lot of different reasons, that hasn’t happened, and some of the shape-shifting aliens are tired of waiting. One of their leaders, Gravik, is taking matters into his own hands and has launched a campaign of destruction, trying to get the humans to kill each other off so the Skrulls can take what’s left of Earth. And since they’re immune to radiation, they don’t care if they start a nuclear war. The stakes are high, as was demonstrated by last episode ending with the shocking death of Maria Hill. Now, things keep looking worse in “Promises.”

The episode starts off with a montage of scenes from 1995, when the Captain Marvel movie was set. This sets up the relationship between Fury and the Skrulls, and plays up some, as the title suggests, promises made. Then in 1997 in Brixton, London, Fury recruits some Skrulls to work for him, and again makes some big promises. As I said, I can understand the anger and frustration of the Skrulls at this point. Then we jump to where the last episode ended, with Gravik setting off a lot of explosions in Moscow, and the death of Maria Hill. It’s a real mess all the way around, although the talk about dirty bombs seems to have been just talk, as there’s never any mention of radiation.

Later, Fury is being smuggled out of the country with some help from Talos. They end up on a train and, after Talos helps him avoid a search party, they play a game from Fury’s past. You know that old saying about never ask a question you don’t want the answer to? Fury learns some shocking things and ends up sending Talos away as Fury tries to digest this news. Finally making it to London, Fury deals with some of the fallout from last episode. As the scene changes, the news covers some of what happened and what they believe is going to be the next step.

Not content with what he’s done so far, Gravik is getting the next part of his plan ready. He and Gia’h arrive at a very important meeting. Some alternatives are discussed, and then Gravik gets more of what he wanted. There’s very little opposition, and we see what one of the dissenters is up to as they go make a phone call. At the hidden Skrull encampment in Russia, Gravik is hailed as a hero while Gai’h finds a few suspicious things and goes to investigate. Elsewhere, Rhodey attends a meeting of world leaders and sums up the United States’ position bluntly. As he leaves, he gets a call from Fury, and doesn’t seem happy to hear from the man.

The two meet up in a bar, and it’s a very tense meeting. Fury has his own agenda, but Rhodey isn’t listening. Fury gets more bad news, and ends up showing that, despite what everyone seems to be thinking, he’s a long way from over the hill. They don’t part on the best of terms, and Fury is shaken by what happened. I have to admit, I was surprised myself. This is when Sonya Falsworth makes another appearance, as she completely steals the scene while interrogating one of the enemy. This is definitely not a character I’d want opposing me. As Sonya begins to learn some things, Gai’h finds some interesting information on her own, and we see nods to both Iron Man 2 and the Guardians of the Galaxy.

The episode wraps up with a few quick scenes. Sonya shows some excellent timing and makes her exit as a fight goes on around her. Gravik shows just how ruthless he is, and it seems to shake up Gai’h a bit. And Fury visits one of his many equipment caches, drives off, and ends the episode on a shocking note that has a lot of fans asking a lot of questions.

What I Liked: There wasn’t as much action in this episode, and that worked just fine. This is more an intelligence thriller than a superhero punch fest, and we needed to see some of the consequences of the first episode. I’m still holding out hope Maria comes back somehow. I liked seeing Rhodey, even if I didn’t like almost anything he did. Sonya is a fantastic character and Olivia Colman is doing an amazing job with her.

What I Didn’t: Fury really should have more allies and resources than we’ve seen so far. I was surprised by Talos’ big reveal and don’t blame Fury for being upset. I’m a little surprised Rhodey went along with what he was tasked to do.

This was another episode with a lot of big surprises. I’m very caught up in this story and hope to be able to watch the next one soon. I’ll give this a 3.5 out of 5, and am curious to see where this roller coaster goes next.