Invasion 1.4: "Alpha Male"

Written by Juan Carlos Coto
Directed by Sergio Mimica-Guzzan

In which some of the hurricane survivors begin showing symptoms of a dangerous disease, which strikes at the heart of Russell’s effort to overturn Underlay’s regional lockdown…


It’s another week of incremental plot progression and inconsistent characterization, which makes me wonder if this series is going to make it past the end of the year. The story is interesting enough, but it really feels like nothing is happening. Add to that a bad habit of jumping characterizations around like a ping-pong ball, and this is a series on life support.

I don’t want to say that, but like “Threshold”, each episode seems designed around plopping bits of information about the main arc into a given episode and then trying to develop a story around it. In this case, it’s all about how being one of the “possessed” gives a person a powerful immunity response. That’s all well and good, but more needs to be built around it, and the disturbing relationship between step-siblings Kira and Jesse doesn’t cut it.

I’m getting a but concerned about the fact that the writers haven’t dropped any clues as to why some people are “possessed” while others are killed. One easy speculation would be genetics; perhaps those who are killed don’t have something that the “aliens” need to make the “possession” process work. For that matter, all these quotes around the words are an indication of how little we know.

But one thing is certain: Underlay knows exactly what the “aliens” want and he’s using every possible situation to ensure that it happens. He genuinely believes that this is the right thing for everyone. My guess is that the “aliens” need some kind of foothold on the human population and that the hurricane was a cover for their arrival. For all we know, the “aliens” know about something coming, and they are trying to ensure that those in the area survive it.

As interesting as that would be, we’re still a long way from getting any definitive answers, and that’s probably why the ratings are suffering. There’s also the question of characters that change on a dime. In the previous episode, Larkin seemed to understand the value of a secret, even if she wasn’t all that bright in terms of self-preservation. Now, she’s pissing off Underlay even more by forcing him to confide in her and then breaking his already fragile trust. She’s lucky she’s not “possessed” or alien junk food by now.

It’s also too easy for Russell and Underlay to be enemies at this point. I think it would be far more complicated and interesting if all of these people in this extended family had a more complex relationship, much like Russell and Mariel in the previous episode. This episode made it too easy for people to point accusatory fingers at Underlay; it’s better when his motives are more shaded in grey.

Perhaps the worst part is that I liked the pilot. I like the concept. I even think I could come to like the characters a lot more. It’s just that the pacing is so incredibly slow, and even if the story is meant to speed up over time, if the network decides to cancel the series, there will be little return on investment. I hope to be proven wrong on all counts, but right now, I feel like this series is teetering on the edge of the cancellation knife.

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 6/10