As pre-production on a new, lavishly expensive Apple TV+ show gets underway one would assume there are many, many meetings. Casting, crew, locations… there is much to be discussed. And surely one of the most important topics is the audience: ‘what do we want our audience to experience?’. So, if there was such a meeting, given that this big, new show is about personal struggles against the backdrop of a seemingly irresistible alien invasion, was a decision made to challenge the audience in the same way? Did someone venture the idea that the audience should perhaps suffer as much as the characters do? Because it’s beginning to feel like it.
Looking pretty and sounding great will only get you so far. It’s impossible to argue that Invasion doesn’t look the part, and the soundtrack is wholly immersive. But look deeper and this is a show that appears to be stumbling along, filling in time until the finale. And it’s entirely possible that the finale will deliver, but whether Invasion has earned the right to redemption is questionable. And will anyone still be watching?
Getting back to this episode there is more bleakness on screen. Calling the previous instalment Hope now seems a little ironic as, while showing glimpses of potential in the storylines involving Casper, Mitsuki and Aneesha, it’s increasingly difficult to see how these threads will satisfactorily come together.
There is work to be done on the final two episodes, and many questions to be answered, not least of which being is Sam Neill still alive?
And Trevante’s a bit of a dick, isn’t he?
Invasion streams on Apple TV+. Read our reviews of previous episodes:
