Draft:Betrayed (Secret Invasion)

"Betrayed" is the third episode of the American television miniseries Secret Invasion, based on Marvel Comics comic book crossover "Secret Invasion". It features a faction of shapeshifting aliens, the Skrulls, have infiltrated all aspects of life on Earth. The episode is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. It was written by Roxanne Paredes and Brian Tucker, and directed by Ali Selim, who joined the series by May 2021.

Samuel L. Jackson reprises his role as Fury from previous MCU media, along with Ben Mendelsohn as Talos, with Kingsley Ben-Adir, Emilia Clarke, and Olivia Colman also starring. Selim joined the series by May 2021 to direct all episodes.

"Betrayed" was released on Disney+ on July 5, 2023.

Plot
Gravik reveals to the Skrull Council that he intends to create Super Skrulls using the collected foreign DNA, and that he has sent some of the rebels to infiltrate the Royal Navy in order to launch missiles at a United Nations aircraft. Gravik later meets with Talos to negotiate a parlay, but discussion breaks down when the former threatens to kill G'iah. G'iah secretly sends Talos information about the attack, while Nick Fury meets with him and pleads to work together again. Fury contacts Sonya Falsworth and learns the name of the Naval Command Headquarters' officer in charge, Commodore Robert Fairbanks. Fury and Talos arrive at the HQ and interrogate Fairbanks, but the latter provokes Talos to kill him. Talos contacts G'iah, who acquires Fairbanks' authorization code, allowing them to abort the launch in time. G'iah attempts to run away, but is spotted by Gravik, who suspected her of betrayal, and is killed. Meanwhile, Priscilla secretly contacts an unknown person, wishing to speak to Gravik, but is denied.

Development
In September 2020, Kyle Bradstreet was revealed to be developing a television series for the streaming service Disney+ centered on Nick Fury, which was revealed that December to be Secret Invasion. Samuel L. Jackson was reprising his role as Fury, co-starring with Ben Mendelsohn in his MCU role of Talos. Ali Selim joined the series in May 2021 to direct, originally to split the episodes with Thomas Bezucha; Bezucha left the series before production began, and Selim ultimately directed all six episodes. Marvel Studios' Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Brad Winderbaum, and Jonathan Schwartz served as executive producers on the series alongside Jackson, Selim, head writer Bradstreet, and Brian Tucker. The third episode, titled "Betrayed", was written by Roxanne Paredes and Tucker.

Casting
The episode stars Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Ben Mendelsohn as Talos, Kingsley Ben-Adir as Gravik, Emilia Clarke as G'iah, and Olivia Colman as Sonya Falsworth.

Filming and visual effects
Filming took place at Pinewood Studios, as well as Hallmark House, from September 2021 to April 2022, with Selim directing, and Remi Adefarasin serving as cinematographer. Eben Bolter served as the cinematographer during additional photography which lasted for four months.

Visual effects were provided by SDFX Studios, Lola VFX, Barnstorm VFX, Tippett Studio, Cantina Creative, Bot VFX, Luma, Phantom FX, One of Us, Base FX, and Zoic Studios.

Release
"Betrayed" was released on Disney+ on July 5, 2023, and was made available on Hulu along with the first and second episodes from July 21 to August 17, 2023.

Audience viewership
According to Whip Media's TV Time, Secret Invasion was the most watched original series across all platforms in the United States during the week of July 9, 2023. According to Nielsen Media Research who measure the number of minutes watched by United States audiences on television sets, Secret Invasion was the seventh-most watched original series across streaming services for the week of July 3–9, 2023, with 426 million minutes watched, which was an 8.2% decrease from the previous week.

Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 38% approval rating based on 16 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Knotted with cumbersome twists that are more likely to draw groans than gasps, Betrayal [sic] feels aptly titled as far as viewer investment is concerned."