Secret Invasion Episode 2 Review - 7 Ups & 3 Downs

The biggest shock of Secret Invasion's first episode wasn't that Everett Ross was a Skrull. Obviously, this was a huge revelation and would take some beating, but the death of Maria Hill, a character who had been around in the MCU since 2012 was devastating.

As with any character death, there has to be a reason for it, the writers can't just kill off established and developed characters just because. Maria's funeral, and more specifically the conversation between Fury and Maria's mother confirmed exactly why the decision was made, but it isn't particularly convincing.

It makes sense, in principle. Nick Fury is a battered, beat down version of who he once was, and he is utterly on his own. He has no allies left, he has even been fired by Rhodey and fell out with Talos, and can't call on the Avengers for help. Maria's absence will rob Fury of his closest confidant, while also giving him something to fight for. Her mom told Fury not to let her death be for nothing.

Here’s the thing though, in the first episode Fury said himself that literally the fate of the entire human race is at stake. He didn't need any more motivation than that. And as for being alone, by its very nature Secret Invasion doesn’t allow Fury to trust anyone, so the writers could have just had that mistrust drive a divide between Fury and Maria if they wanted to. There was absolutely no need for her to be killed off.