First Day
How were the aliens defeated?
Episode 10 of Invasion begins with the big news that the aliens have been defeated. Mitsuki heads home, wallowing in her own grief, while the rest of Japan celebrates the aliens being destroyed. There are big celebrations in the streets, as we hear through broadcasts that the aliens have just collapsed in the street. It seems the nuclear strike has done the trick and killed them all. ..
What happens with Mitsuki?
Mitsuki is still conflicted about what to do with her life in the wake of her lover dying. With a backpack on, she begins wandering down the streets. However, she runs into a Buddhist monk who convinces her to head up with him to his temple. Once there, he informs her that he believes that all of this was one big test. The alien invasion was simply Buddha’s way of testing the human resolve. As they talk, Mitsuki contemplates whether to become a monk, given one of their core beliefs is to let go of the past. ..
Mitsuki, who had been unconscious for hours, woke up and used her laptop to move the satellite dish remotely. ..
Does Casper survive?
Meanwhile, Trev brings Casper back inside the hospital, desperate to bring him back from the brink. He’s unconscious and in a rough way. He’s loaded into the MRI machine, with his life hanging in the balance. Both Jamila and Trev check the readings but he’s not responding. There’s no reactivity and the EEG is flat. Casper is dead.
Trev has given up and decides to leave. He refuses to watch Casper being taken off life support, despite Jamila’s protests for him to stay. “They can’t save him, okay?” He says, as tears sting Jamila’s eyes. Trev eventually walks away where all the people in the streets cheer, celebrating the end of the invasion. Back in the hospital, Jamila says goodbye to Casper, who passes away. Outside in the hallway, her mother shows up and the pair embrace once more. ..
What is the black substance on the ground?
Trevante is eventually able to head back to base – but not before answering some questions about what he’s experienced. The officer in charge updates him on what they believe the aliens were doing. The strange black substance on the ground appears to be a hint that the aliens were looking to terraform the planet. This black substance allegedly releases a gas into the atmosphere, changing the air pressure. With what? Not sure. But clearly it’s not THAT toxic given Aneesha and her family managed to cross that black goo river without much trouble.
Trev shuts down the laptop and doesn’t want to continue the conversation. He just wants to go home.
Trev returns home after getting on the plane and tries to make amends with his estranged partner. He promises her he’ll get a new job and to try and do right by her now. Out by the beach, he checks through Casper’s sketchbook and finds strange symbols which actually read “star.”
What happens with Aneesha and her family?
Aneesha and Ahmed are out in the woods when they see a blood spatters on the tree. They think it might be Ahmed, but they don’t know for sure. Eventually they make it to an abandoned house and Aneesha sees news reports confirming that the aliens have been defeated. Luke is convinced they can return home now, but Aneesha isn’t so sure. She wants to hold tight to what she has, which is her family.
Luke walks off after saying goodbye to Ahmed and throws the metal shard in frustration through the forest. However, up in the sky he sees a bright light and appears to react toward it. ..
How does Invasion end?
As the episode comes to a close, Mitsuki makes contact with the aliens. Chatter seems to pick up on the radio. Casper inexplicably awakens after his brain has completely shut down, hinting that these aliens can control people after they’ve died.
As Casper watches the spinning compass, he begins to feel a sense of foreboding. He knows that something is going to happen soon, and he doesn’t know what it is.
As the sea starts moving rapidly and inexplicably changing to low tide, our characters start to sense something is amiss. They cut across to Trevante, who tells them that the aliens have come. But what kind of aliens? Or a completely different kind? Either way, the episode comes to a frustrating cliffhanger ending.
The Episode Review
Invasion ends with a episode that is not very much. Casper dies, but then seems to come back again potentially in the same way Captain Hoshi has, explaining that space swimming scene.
The bulk of the chapter is taken up with celebrations around the world as the alien threat is thwarted and humanity celebrates its big win… until they don’t. We also don’t see any debris crash down to earth or any repercussions to firing a nuke into space, it’s all played off like a big, triumphant win for humanity. And what’s with the aliens asking them for help? That was never really resolved, along with a few other loose ends that have been hastily waved away. ..
If the officer is telling the truth, it seems that the aliens wanted to terraform the planet for some unknown reason. However, there are literally hundreds of thousands of planets out there, and even in the “Goldilocks zone.” We’re grasping at straws here because honestly, Invasion doesn’t really resolve anything here. It just sort of shrugs off its Invasion and launches another one.
It seems that the aliens are all connected telepathically, potentially through the mother ship which was blown up. Getting rid of that seems to have had a domino effect on all the other aliens down on the ground, passing away and ending up lifeless.
After these tepid 10 episodee, we’ll have to wait and see what season 2 has in store for us. ..
As the invader bows out, it seems like a good plan. But after 3 minutes of watching, it’s clear that this is just a ploy to get more viewers. What was the point?
