It Took 6 Episodes, But Invasion Finally Became The Show Apple Promised

It took much longer than anticipated, but Apple TV+’s Invasion finally gave audiences what they wanted to see twice within the same episode. Invasion has certainly not been a clean sweep critically, with several outlets lambasting the series’ pacing and lack of action to date. Yet the Apple TV+ original show may have just won a few detractors over, with Invasion‘s sixth episode showing rich narrative promise for the remainder of the season.

Invasion episode 6, “Home Invasion,” singularly focuses on the Malik family who becomes trapped with Patrick Mitchell and his wife within their home. As an initially unseen alien presence ransacks the house and hunts its inhabitants, Aneesha (Golshifteh Farahani) and Ahmed (Firas Nassar) work to protect their children from harm. The alien unceremoniously devours the Mitchells, and Ahmed is also grievously wounded before the Maliks manage a miraculous escape from the blood-strewn farmhouse.

As a result, episode 6 has finally given Invasion audiences what they have wanted since the beginning of the alien-centric drama. Invasion‘s aliens have finally been shown at the fore of Invasion‘s narrative, with the Maliks engaging in a visceral, close-quarters struggle against a clearly visible extraterrestrial. “Home Invasion” also doubled down on its fanservice, with the unlikeable and cowardly Ahmed finally receiving comeuppance in the episode.

Apple TV+’s Invasion was certainly in no hurry to grant a clear alien reveal for its audiences, with prior episodes only showing glimpses of an unseen enemy. Most of these blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scenes arrived in the Kandahar arc of Invasion, with Trevante Ward (Shamier Anderson) and his doomed platoon being picked off by the looming, off-screen alien threat. Apple TV+’s Invasion undoubtedly was initially set up to trade action for exposition, with the series focussing almost singularly on character development for its multicultural groups spread across the world.

Yet Invasion episode 6 has completely subverted this expected structure, centering a whole, tense episode around a single alien stalking the Malik family. Invasion finally shows the alien feeding, attacking, and dying, all in detail – which has been a common complaint as something missing and leveled against Invasion‘s narrative from the off. The visceral nature of “Home Invasion” brings audiences face to face with the mysterious species plaguing Earth, with the unnamed life-form skewering and consuming several victims in its giant serrated maw before Aneesha manages to kill it. This first, unprecedented, and detailed look at the aliens on the ground in Invasion sets the Apple TV+ global epic series up for a thrilling conclusion that looks well placed to deliver the action that its initial previews so heavily leaned upon.

There is also another long-awaited moment within “Home Invasion,” as the cowardly Ahmed finally receives punishment for his heinous actions across the series to date. Invasion’s global season 1 epic has seen Firas Nassar’s Ahmed attempt to abandon his helpless children several times, brazenly lie to his wife, and commit particularly galling infidelities that result in his mistress falling pregnant. Before episode 6, Ahmed escaped repercussions for his cowardice, but “Home Invasion” duly delivers a semblance of justice for his character. While trying once more to flee (leaving his wife and children alone), Ahmed is skewered by an alien tendril before he staggers out to the family car. While Ahmed is still alive at the end of the episode, his injuries point to an impending death as Aneesha drives into the night. Invasion has certainly taken a while to ramp up to any kind of action, but its latest episode finally gave fans what they have wanted since the Invasion season premiere.

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