Invasion 1.16: "The Fittest"

Written by Juan Carlos Coto
Directed by Fred Toye

In which Russell and Underlay hunt down Christina as the young hybrid’s pregnancy develops more quickly than anticipated, while Mariel decides to tell the children what has changed…


It feels like forever since “Invasion” was on the air, and that’s a good thing. It’s good because the series hasn’t been gone for all that long, but the story has improved dramatically enough that any extended wait is difficult to handle. This episode begins with the same level of tension that dominated the previous installment and lets it evolve in some disturbing directions.

Now that the season arc has turned to the “resolution” phase with this mini-arc involving Christina and her child, the revelations and implications continue to pile up, making a lot of the groundwork from earlier in the season a lot more tolerable. I wouldn’t say that the slower pace was absolutely necessary or that every detail from earlier episodes connects to the present, but we wouldn’t care about the characters if the relationships and personalities hadn’t been explored.

For instance, Larkin’s adventure on the military base earlier in the season finally pays off in this episode with the delivery of very important information for Russell and his allies. He now has solid evidence on how badly Underlay’s plans have spiraled out of control, and more than a little reason to suspect that Underlay and Szura are working together.

Underlay speaks to the question of survival, which seems to suggest that he has learned something about the past history of the “aliens” from Szura. Still, he knows just enough to understand how much is being kept from him, and that his version of survival may not align with the more primal impulses of the hybrid mentality. The migrant workers looked like a school of very focused sharks, intent on living in their own way within their territory and eliminating any threat to that way of life. It reminded me of a National Geographic special, and I mean that in a good way.

Christina’s plot thread is not quite as strong, though it slips into serious and disturbing directions with relative ease. The writers seem to confirm that Christina is particularly nuts, not just more aware of her hybrid nature, and Elisabeth Moss does a great job of shifting moods. She moves from terrified to serene to domineering to seductive as if the transitions were perfectly normal. Russell’s idea, about how the hybrids might be a bridging species to something else, may not be far from the truth. It’s also quite possible that the aliens are dying and need to create hybrids to breed (which is a far more disturbing concept).

The heart of the episode, however, must be the awkward decision for Mariel to explain, in very general terms, how she has changed to her children. Just as it’s important for Russell and Underlay to come to terms and find common ground, if the “family” metaphor is going to work, it’s equally important for Mariel and Larkin to work together. The central conflict is really taking shape: the desire for everyone to find a way to live together facing off against the desire for two species to see to their own survival. Apply that to the families in general, and the metaphor is coming along nicely!

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

Final Rating: 8/10