Secret Invasion is officially part of the Marvel zeitgeist as of its Disney Plus premiere yesterday, and the first episode caused quite the ripple effect throughout the internet; between the show’s controversial choice to enlist AI for its opening sequence, earth-shattering secrets getting revealed, and certain plot beats that caused some fans to threaten legal action against Marvel Studios, the impact of its arrival simply can’t be overstated.
That’s all without going into some of its finer nuances, such as the grittier tone, more mature genre leanings, and, of course, its marriage of both Marvel veterans, rousing newcomers, and a host of characters unique to the franchise. Indeed, this combination of players is bound to be nothing short of supremely kinetic.
Of all the series’ newcomers, we don’t expect anyone to match the linchpin power of G’iah, the daughter of Talos and a high-ranking warrior in Gravik’s Skrull sect; the first episode laid the foundation for a delectable emotional arc, and we can’t wait to see how she evolves going forward.
G’iah, of course, is played by none other than Emilia Clarke, who we assume was chosen solely for the fact that any Disney franchise role that has an apostrophe in the name immediately has to go to her; a pattern that was started by her role of Qi’ra in Solo: A Star Wars Story, and one that Clarke cheekily mused on in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
“Oh my God, me and the names. You know what? Yeah. Both of these ladies went through the wringer in trying to find a name. They went all the way around the houses, all the different names, and for some reason, I am an apostrophe kind of gal. And I don’t know why! They couldn’t just have one name and then another name. Never mind that. They popped them together, put a little apostrophe, and there we are.”
It seems that Clarke just has a thing for radical uses of punctuation in her character names. At this rate, though, we reckon that G’iah is going to radically ravage much more than just our preconceptions of grammar over the course of Secret Invasion.
Secret Invasion is available to stream on Disney Plus. New episodes will release every Wednesday until the series finale on July 26.