Tamal Kundu
As ‘Invasion’ makes a conscious choice of focusing on the human drama over the science fiction and military aspects of the narrative, much about the show’s supposed villains, the invading aliens, stay wrapped in shadows as the first season comes to an end. This is not to say that the show doesn’t reveal enough information to keep us, the audience, interested. All four main characters find their places in the overarching and interconnected plot — the roles they are supposed to play in humanity’s struggle for survival.
In the penultimate episode, the humans seem to score an unexpected and overwhelming victory, apparently destroying the enemy ship with nukes. As the world celebrates what they believe to be the end of the invasion, there are signs that make the four main characters realize that it’s not over. If you are wondering whether the aliens are back at the end of ‘Invasion’ season 1, this is what you need to know.
Are the Aliens Back at the End of Invasion Season 1?
Yes, the aliens are back at the end of ‘Invasion’ season 1. In the final sequence of the season, Ward and Learah watch, both stunned and horrified, as a colossal alien spaceship appears on the horizon. Throughout most of the season, the main characters don’t even know that an alien species have invaded Earth. It is only after the US president goes on TV and makes the formal declaration that they realize what is happening.
Before that, they had theories that included terrorists and even an attack from an enemy state. Except for Casper (Billy Barratt), all the main characters are inherently pragmatic, so they never imagined that what’s happening could be caused by aliens in their wildest dreams. And even when they do, their struggles mostly remain very human.
However, all four of them have their share of alien encounters. Aneesha’s (Golshifteh Farahani) son, Luke, finds a mysterious artifact or the Claw, with which Aneesha later kills an alien. Ward’s entire unit is killed during a confrontation with an alien spaceship. Mitsuki’s (Shioli Kutsuna) secret girlfriend, Hinata, is an astronaut who seemingly dies in a collision between her space shuttle and an alien spaceship. But Mitsuki refuses to believe this and holds on to the hope that the other woman is still out there. Casper’s brain has somehow become linked with the communication channel of the aliens. He can tap into it whenever he has a seizure.
In the penultimate episode, the human reaction to the invasion accidentally synchronizes. As Mitsuki communicates with the one she thinks is Hinata, giving the US government the chance to get a lock on the enemy ship. Meanwhile, Casper has an induced seizure and gains access to the communication channel through which the aliens function like a hive. He tells them to stop as they come for him, and they simply become immobile. This is when the nukes hit and bring the ship down.
As the rest of the world believes that things will go back to normal now, Aneesha feels a strange sense of dread. Her instincts are proven true in the last few moments of the season finale. Luke sees that there are ripples on the dark surface of the Claw. The Downed spaceship in the South American rainforest becomes active. And Casper, who is clinically dead, has a vision where Hinata’s father, Ikuro, appears before him and gives him the compass, just like he gave it to his daughter. Casper goes toward the direction where the compass is pointing, and a bed of alien flowers seems to come alive as if it’s expecting something to happen.
Mitsuki is still connected to the radio telescope and gets an automated message. When she accesses the satellite, she starts hearing the same sound as when she communicated with the aliens earlier. Meanwhile, standing on a beach, Ward and his wife witness the arrival of the spaceship.
Why Are the Aliens Invading Earth? What Do They Want?
It seems that, like any invading force in human history, the aliens are after the resources and want to colonize. The US government thinks that the black substance that the aliens are spreading is for terraforming. The substance metabolizes, releases gases into the atmosphere, and changes the air. Before the apparent destruction of their ship, they were planting the black substance across the Earth, transforming the planet one small area at a time.
However, it appears that they have realized that humanity has some options that can prove to be devastating for them. Like any traditional colonizer, they have directed their entire might towards a supposedly inferior enemy that defeated them in the first engagement. The juggernaut ship seems to be draining Earth’s oceans, presumably not just to steal water but also to make Earth inhospitable for humanity. They have apparently given up on their earlier plans of invading Earth in steps and now want to squash humanity with all their powers.
Read More: Shows Like Invasion
