Invasion 1.8: "The Cradle"

Written by Julie Siege
Directed by Ernest Dickerson

In which the discovery of a baby abandoned by its mother leads Mariel and Underlay to disturbing discoveries about the changes within the community since the hurricane…


I’ve been complaining about the pacing for this series for quite some time, so I was pleasantly surprised by this episode. It didn’t move the story forward too far, but a lot was covered and it was handled well. Suddenly there are new levels to the complexity of the story, and while this is still an unusual exploration of dysfunctional family dynamics, it’s no longer just that.

I was under the impression that Underlay was aware of what was happening, since he was the first (or so we are led to believe) to be changed. Now it makes a little more sense. This is very much like “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”, in that the people changed are not quite who or what they think they are. The original person is dead, but the copy runs around with limited understanding of their own nature.

The result is actually quite interesting: Underlay has been running around, sure that this is all for the better, as if his body was super-charged. Now he knows the truth, that he’s been dead for years and he’s really something else, an “alien” with his memories and personality. More than that, he’s completely unaware that the other “aliens” have more or less awareness of their true nature.

So the end of the episode is not just a lie to Mariel, but a lie to himself. He’s in serious denial, and he may even think that he can remain in charge. It’s going to be a lot harder for him to do that, though, because Mariel clearly has a lot less understanding of her new nature than, say, Christina.

Speaking of Christina…what a creepy character! I’ve always been on the fence with Elisabeth Moss. On the one hand, she has a very sexy line delivery, but she also has a very down-to-earth look. In that respect, she’s similar to Kari. Elisabeth did a great job in this role; it was unnerving to see Zoey Bartlet like that!

I think we’re supposed to assume that the skeleton found in the pilot was, in fact, Underlay himself. That would make sense in terms of the wedding ring found with the bones, though it could still be Underlay’s first wife. A bigger question surrounds the role of the military. Are they trying to contain exposure and prevent the “invasion”? If so, why would Underlay be working with them? Why would Underlay show Larkin the military activity in the first place?

Even the family-oriented scenes were more energetic than usual. Russell’s incredibly stupid mistake with Larkin was appropriately cringe-worthy, and Mariel’s concerns about her emotional state was well communicated. I hope that the season continues along this same vein in the future, because if the writers can make it this interesting every week, I might stop asking myself why I’m still watching the show.

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

Final Rating: 8/10