Apple TV+’s sci-fi series Invasion brings its second season to an end with an eventful finale, which, staying true to the series’ defining traits, concludes with another cliffhanger and a greater number of questions raised than answered. The problem is, unlike Lost or From, sci-fi series that had enough material and ideas to speculate and explore, Invasion follows a fairly simplistic narrative course and is already plagued by pacing issues, which makes holding on to predictable information pretty irritating.
In the previous episode, to find out about her daughter Sarah, Aneesha and the Movement faction infiltrated Project Idabel at invasion ground zero—Oklahoma—where they freed Trev and Rose from captivity. Aneesha went to free Sarah but, in the process, got both of themselves caught, while Trev led Rose and Movement leader Clark to the site where catatonic townsfolk—who were previously abducted and mind-wiped by aliens—are being kept. Mitsuki and Caspar were able to link their consciousness to the alien portals to reach the other side—the hive mind of the aliens in the mothership, which controls all their activities. With an opportunity to finally bring an end to the alien crisis, the world gears up for a last stand, and the finale, titled Old Friends, New Frontiers, delves into that.
Spoilers Ahead
Friends In Need: How Did Trev Finally Reunite With Caspar?
As the episode begins, viewers are taken to the Project Amazon site, where Mitsuki is still reeling from her mental afflictions sustained during her last connection with the alien hive mind, while Dr. Maya Castillo observes her closely. Mitsuki wakes up and recalls the events, when she finds a mystical interconnectivity with the remnants of the previous entity to establish a connection with the hive mind, and at once, she starts pondering about how ‘normal’ her state of mind is at the moment. Maya tries to comfort her, but at the same time, she knows the reality that, with Mitsuki’s knowledge about the portal being known to WDC, they have no choice but to push through in order to save humanity, no matter the cost. Surprisingly, Nikhil is not present for the entire episode, and his fate has not been addressed since “Cosmic Ocean.”
At Project Idabel, Rose is shocked, aghast at the sight of her husband Billy and the rest of the townsfolk in stasis, until she is alerted by Trev about the fact that despite their best intentions for the victims, they need to leave this place before WDC catches up. Rose is initially adamant about taking the townsfolk with them, but as Trev promises her that they will try to release the victims from their mental agony first by breaking the mind control, Rose reluctantly agrees. Soon enough, a WDC soldier apprehends the trio but gets easily knocked out by the combined effort of Trev and Clark. However, as Trev hears a familiar voice from General Mitchell’s quarter, he is distracted and decides to check it out, and Clark and Rose have no other option than to flee.
It’s the voice of his young friend Caspar, whom Trev easily recognizes, whom he rescued during the events of the previous season, learned about his psychic connection with aliens, and whose cryptic artwork has helped him uncover many secrets regarding the invasion, including Project Idabel, which he has infiltrated as of now. Unable to keep his excitement in check, Trev greets Caspar, alarming General Mitchell and other WDC soldiers, but as they consider detaining him, Caspar vouches for him, which makes WDC President Benya Mabote ask the general to reconsider his decision. Caspar shares details about the portal, the psychic space—a map of which has been charted by the teenagers who share a connection with alien hive mind much like him—and the president is of the opinion that some soldiers are needed to be sent inside the portal to assess the option of counterattacking against the aliens in their most vulnerable spot. The former Navy SEAL, Trev, argues he should join the band, as he feels that working with Caspar’s clues, he knows about the intricacies of the situation better than any other soldier, and also that the fact remains that he is afflicted with a savior complex. However, due to his constant insubordinance to the authorities, the president promptly declined his request.
How Was Mitsuki Able To Control The Portal? Did The Malik Family Finally Reunite?
The responsibility of controlling the portal entity to allow WDC soldiers to enter the hive mind rests on Mitsuki, and Maya assures her about being there to support her at all times. Mitsuki’s mental state is gradually deteriorating; with her memories fading away, there is not much which she can hold onto. However, as Benya puts the heat of expectations on the duo and rushes them to take charge, Maya obliges by confirming Mitsuki will be able to shoulder the monumental task.
General Mitchell meets Aneesha to try to coerce her into joining the WDC’s side, as he wants to know how the mystical alien shard works against the aliens. He also states that, thanks to the information Sarah provided, he knows about her son, Luke, sharing a special connection with the shard and alien entities, who is now with the Movement forces. Concerned about her son’s safety, Aneesha agrees to help in whichever way she can if the general reunites the duo with Luke. Meanwhile, the Movement takes cover in the town, contrary to the stance of the leader, Clark, Hanley, and some other members, who believe that they should leave Aneesha to her fate and escape. All of a sudden, Luke feels the connection with a pack of hunter aliens who are heading towards the town to seek out another portal entity stationed there—the one that was abducting the townsfolk from the beginning. He also learns that WDC soldiers are arriving to locate the portal, and they will inevitably be ambushed by the hunter aliens, which leads Luke to request Movement members to stay and assist.
In Orléans, Caspar once again prepares to go under and establish a connection with an alien portal, and despite Jamila’s initial wish to assist him in the psychic state by being a mental support for him, Caspar manages to convince her not to. The other gifted teenagers share the psychic space to assist as well, but they get connected with Luke, who is currently trying to convince the WDC soldiers (who by now have surrounded the Movement) to join hands with the Movement to put on a defense against the upcoming hunter aliens. With the combined help of the gifted teenagers, Luke is able to stop a bunch of hunters, which proves the credibility of his warning, and the two parties decide to put their differences aside for the time being and work together. In the meantime, Sarah and Aneesha arrive at the spot as well, assisted by General Mitchell, as do Rose and Trev, assisted by the WDC, as they attempt to send soldiers through the portal.
At Project Amazon, returning to the threshold chamber, Mitsuki miraculously resurrects the remnants of the thought-to-be deceased portal entity and uses her mental connection to locate the portal entity in Oklahoma town. Maya’s unwavering emotional support and verbal recollection of the memories she shared with Mitsuki help her firmly establish a connection with the entity and obey her psychic command. As the entity is forced to reveal its shapeless, abstract form in front of the people, it tries to attack Luke, who is saved by Clark in the nick of time. Finally, the Malik family stands together with Clark and his daughter Ryder—the ones who helped the family so much to finally reunite. The selected soldiers, wielding the mystical shard, attempt to breach the portal, but the entity fights back and incapacitates all the soldiers. Mitsuki realizes that she has to let go of all her emotional and mental ‘humane’ connections to be able to control the entity long enough. She shares her realization with Maya, tearfully parts ways by removing her neural connections, and eventually manages to control the entity.
Did Caspar Ttake Trevante In The Right Direction?
At Oklahoma, assessing the entity to be in a neutral state and seeing the portal to be open, Trev decides to take it upon himself to save humanity and takes the specialized gear from the incapacitated soldiers to attempt an entry inside. He takes his leave from Rose, and General Mitchell decides to finally let him have his way, handing him over the alien shard as well. As Trev enters the portal, scenes move in a sequence to show President Benya praying, Caspar establishing a connection, and Mitsuki pushing her mental capacity to the limit, finally succumbing to the pressure moments after Trev reaches the other side.
Inside the hive mind realm of the mothership, Trev navigates his way through the phantasmagorical landscape and tries to use the alien shard on the maze-like living structures when he is alerted by someone’s presence. It is once again Caspar who has subconsciously entered this realm, and Trev breathes a sigh of relief, knowing he will not be alone in this outlandish terrain. Caspar is familiar with the realm as he, along with other gifted teenagers, has spent considerable time here, and he starts leading Trev to the central location of the mothership, where a gigantic neural node is located, which might be the way to learn everything about the invasion and stop it. However, as the finale ends, viewers are given the biggest tease, as Caspar’s eyes glow and move differently, mimicking those of the aliens, which suggests that he is being controlled by the aliens as previously suspected. What does the future hold for Trev? We don’t know for sure, and whether this attempt is a ploy by aliens that will put humanity in an even more severe condition—both of these questions can be answered only when a third season airs next year.
