The second season of Apple TV+’s sci-fi drama Invasion has returned with an intriguing first episode, which introduces some new characters and organizations while building on the previously established arcs of the former ones. The first season ended with humans being able to nuke down the alien mothership thanks to Mitsuki’s search revealing its coordinates and Casper’s neural connection with the alien lifeforms turning them ineffectual, only to discover the arrival of an even larger spaceship and their cavalry. After the tragic death of her husband Ahmed, Aneesha started adapting to a survivor lifestyle along with her children Luke and Sarah. In the aftermath of the second phase of the alien attack, the Earth has gone through some significant changes in a short period of time, which the first episode titled “Something’s Changed” focuses on.
Spoilers Ahead
How Is Earth Coping After The Second Phase Of Attack?
Four months have passed since the second, larger alien ship entered Earth’s atmosphere, and since then, humankind has been brought to its knees. Every major global sector has fallen, millions have lost their lives, and over thirty percent of Earth has been covered with poisonous alien spores. The world governments have joined to form a World Defense Coalition governance, which is tasked with ensuring the survival of the remaining populace, and the episode begins with Coalition President Benya Mabote addressing the public to hold on to hope. However, as with any optimum position of power, the Coalition has given rise to an insurgency group known as the Movement, which seeks to diminish the control of government and military by plundering and performing every kind of anti-authoritarian act.
Mitsuki’s New Role
The scene shifts to Osaka, where a chaotic situation has arisen due to a vicious alien assault that has sent people running for their lives. Mitsuki makes her appearance; a far cry from the nature of her previous job as tech administrator at JAXA, she is now a woman of action as she valiantly stands in between the scared mob and the aliens. Using fire-based traps and molotovs, Mitsuki lays waste to the horde of aliens (fire was established as one of their weaknesses last season). She is trying to move on from the death of her lover, Hinata, in her own way, as it seems that she considers that all the lives she is saving might compensate for her personal loss and guilt in the long run.
Who Abducted Mitsuki, And What Was The Reason?
All of a sudden, a squad of agents arrives in a chopper and forcibly takes Mitsuki with them. Considering them to be agents of the Coalition, Mitsuke lashes out and chastises them for not letting her save the lives of the people, to which the leader of the agents retorts that they captured her for that very reason. Boarding a private jet, the group arrives at the Amazon rainforest, the site where the first mothership was shot down. At present, an entire exploration station has been set up to learn more about the alien technology so that a deterrent method can be synthesized.
Reaching the interior of the station, Mitsuki meets rich investor and exploration enthusiast Nikhil Kapur, under whose command she was abducted and brought to the station. Nikhil acknowledges Mitsuki’s contribution, as previously only she had been able to decode the extra-terrestrial communication, which resulted in getting their coordinates and striking the first mothership down—the single small victory of humankind that would have been impossible without Mitsuki. This is the reason why Nikhil wants her to venture inside the mothership, which they believe is still very much ‘alive’.
How Are The Maliks Holding Up?
Having to live as survivors since the death of Ahmed, the Malik family, led by Aneesha, has turned to full-on scavenging mode, looting gas stations and whatnot. After her eldest son, Luke, delays excessively during a time-sensitive situation, Aneesha berates him, reminding him of his father’s death as an example that even in this post-apocalyptic world, human beings are more dangerous threats than aliens. With the experience Aneesha had in the last season, with her family being targeted for their religious differences, it is no wonder she has decided to form a cocoon around herself and her family.
Later, Luke gets into a disagreement with Aneesha regarding her decision to never settle in a particular place. The children are growing up fast, but they are yet to mature enough to notice the discrimination, prejudices, and other real-world horrors.
A New Direction: Who Is The Prisoner?
Aneesha’s fears come true when the family goes to check up on another gas station for supplies, and Luke gets caught stealing petrol cans from soldiers. Aneesha tries to keep the situation from escalating and fakes her identity, but as soon as the alien metal (with the capability of killing alien life forms) gets discovered in her vehicle, her cover is blown. The Maliks get taken inside an army vehicle with all their belongings, where they meet another prisoner.
The seemingly well-meaning prisoner offers Aneesha help, stating that he is against the military as well and they need to trust him for some reason. As a band of armed militants sabotage the military convoy, it is revealed that the prisoner is, in fact, a leader of the insurgency group known as the Movement. After incapacitating the army unit, the leader urges the Malik family to come with them and offers shelter. Aneesha is hesitant at first but eventually decides to take up the offer.
Did Casper Come Back To Life?
At the mothership, the demons of the past return to haunt Mitsuki, as, during a psychoanalytical session conducted by Nikhil’s associate, Dr. Maya Costillo, her relationship with Hinata is brought up. She reacts badly and quits mid-session, which prompts Maya to assess her as mentally unfit to enter the core area of mothership, as the strong neurological surge experienced inside the area has nearly killed even the most capable scientists. However, Nikhil firmly believes that only Mitsuki holds the key to turning the tide of the battle against aliens in favor of humans, and he pursues her to venture inside the core anyway, with Maya accompanying her.
The core of the fallen mothership holds an enormous power source, but the doorway to it is guarded by a formless, energy-form being, which is the reason for the scientists getting their memory erased and cognition destroyed while attempting to enter the core. Maya warns Mitsuki of the possibilities of such consequences before she enters the doorway wearing a specialized tether suit. To the absolute shock of Nikhil, Maya, and other observers, the being reveals its true form—a shimmering, hypnotizing, resplendent, almost Lovecraftian abstract creature—as it reaches out to Mitsuki. The creature seems calmer than ever, and in a surprising turn of events, Mitsuki plays David Bowie’s “Ground Control to Major Tom” inside the chamber, which prompts the being to change its colors almost in a happy state and try to reach out to Mitsuki even more. Mitsuki knew Hinata’s love for the legendary singer’s craft; does that mean Hinata’s consciousness is somehow trapped in this creature? Point to be noted: for some reason, Maya had referred to it as’she’.
On the other hand, possibly triggered by this event, the alien metal starts humming on its own, and in an undisclosed location, an unconscious Casper is seen to be hooked up to medical apparatus, being observed by a couple of medics. Whatever the nature of the connection between Mitsuki and the being was, it triggered the neurological senses of Casper, who is in a comatose state. Perhaps the details regarding the creature will be revealed in the next episode, along with Trev’s whereabouts as well.
