Invasion Season 1 Episode 7 review: Death, chaos, and the fear of the unknown

3/5

Story:

Aneesha and her family find a safe harbour at a refugee camp, the kids in England return to London, Trevante Cole helps a local family get to Kabul, and Mitsuki is close to finding out more about Hinata and the aliens.

Review:

The well-crafted sixth episode filled with plenty of thrills and spills was followed by yet another slow and methodical episode. To its credit, the episode does push the narrative forward and there is significantly more focus away from Aneesha’s (Golshifteh Farahani) storyline as Aneesha and her family had an entire episode dedicated just for them previously. Unfortunately, the other storylines do not get the same treatment but have just the right amount of screen time to remain relevant to the overarching narrative.

Shamier Anderson’s character, Trevante Cole, has possibly the best character development so far. The American occupation of Afghanistan and its parallels to the alien invasion has been subtly woven into the narrative. The nuanced writing of Anderson’s performance elevates Cole, and it works as a commentary on the war in Afghanistan. His hostility to the locals, even those who are trying to offer him aid, is a reflection of the US’s handling of the war on terror.

There are poignant moments of humanity sprinkled in Cole’s arc that are intended to redeem him from the demons he’s wrestling within himself. Redemption is something he does taste towards the end of the episode as he relinquishes the one thing that grants him power, his technological superior machine gun, in order to help secure safe passage aboard the last flight out of Kabul for the Afghan family he had come across. It is tragic that similar scenes did play out in real life in recent months when the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.

There is however very little context in terms of Mitsuki’s storyline. From what was once an intriguing plot line, it has turned into a laborious affair. The cliffhanger towards the end of the episode lacks conviction and falls short in keeping the audience intrigued or invested in what comes next. However, young Casper’s storyline has taken an interesting turn of events as the children arrive in London, ravaged by the aliens. In a way, it is visually identical to Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later after Cillian Murphy’s character wakes up from a coma in a post-apocalyptic London. This storyline has finally begun to show glimpses of what it could offer and could be significant come to the end of the season.

Verdict:

While the episode is far from being the perfect follow-up, it most certainly does deliver on a couple of storylines.