Golshifteh Farahani in Invasion Season 3Image via Apple TV+
By
Jeff Ewing
Published 44 minutes ago
Jeff Ewing is a critic, entertainment journalist, interviewer, and screenwriter in LA with a life-long love of horror and film history. He has an M.S. in Sociology from the University of Oregon, and a B.A. in Philosophy from Eastern Washington University. He's been writing about horror and sci-fi film and TV for fifteen years, with bylines in Collider, Inverse, Slashfilm, Looper, The Playlist, Forbes, and elsewhere.
Jeff also has contributions in a number of Pop Culture and Philosophy books, and co-edited two books: Alien and Philosophy and Stranger Things and Philosophy. In this track, he founded, hosts, and produces the monster podcast Humanoids from the Deep Dive, which digs into the history, themes, and meanings behind favorite monsters and monster movies/TV series.
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Apple TV's Invasion, from The Martian producer Simon Kinberg, took a minute to find its footing with audiences. Bolstered by high production value and a talented cast, the series set itself apart by following a diverse set of independent protagonists, scattered across the world in the middle of a deadly alien invasion. Season 1 took place across three continents, giving a ground-level view of the chaos that's unique among high-concept sci-fi series. In the U.S., Aneesha Malik (Golshifteh Farahani) works to safely shepherd her children, Luke (Azhy Robertson) and Sarah (Tara Moayedi), through the deadly extraterrestrial attack. The Japanese leg of the series centers on space engineer Mitsuki Yamato (Shioli Kutsua), who loses her love amidst the alien crisis. The series' third leg follows American Army Ranger Trevante Cole (Shamier Anderson), who comes to protect epileptic schoolboy Caspar Morrow (Billy Barrett), a boy with a strange psychic connection to the invaders. While Invasion was clearly high-concept, well-executed, and starred a talented cast, it didn't find an audience overnight. That's largely down to two unique attributes that have only just begun to pay off in the series' third season.
'Invasion' Season 2 Jumped Forward in Time To Add More Action
Invasion Season 2Image via Apple TV+
Dividing Invasion from the onset into three unique stories with distinct protagonists and journeys is great on paper, but it leaves some confusion as to why we're watching these characters, how they're related, and if the stories will ever combine. Invasion is certainly a meditative, slow-burning show that deserves patience, but asking viewers to upend their preexisting conceptions of traditional sci-fi storytelling proved a tall ask.
While Season 1 introduced the overwhelming alien threat, Season 2 was set months later in the throes of an all but conquered world. The beginning of Season 2 sees a brief respite, following the forces of Earth's otherwise unsuccessful nuclear response to the menace from the stars. Aneesha is again on the lam, kids in tow, while Trevante has succeeded in going home, but Caspar and his experiences in London haven't left him. The shift so far forward in time is somewhat of a rarity in series like this, but it allowed the otherwise slow-moving Invasion to have a dramatic change in circumstances in a relatively short time.
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Posts By Jake Hodges Oct 18, 2025As a consequence, Season 2 transitioned Invasion away from a grounded, intimate series about the personal consequences of an extraterrestrial apocalypse and into one that's a little more action-heavy (though still centered on emotional, frequently personal narratives). On the one hand, this did solve the series' challenge of overcoming its slow initial pacing. In its freshman outing, many episodes lacked sufficient spark to make that kind of narrative work (as detailed in our Season 2 review). There were still intimate moments in its sophomore affair, but the pivot was still a hefty one relative to the approach in Season 1. It was ultimately a step-up that benefited Invasion's storytelling. On the other hand, the show's continued embrace of distinct protagonist storylines still made it hard to fully comprehend for audiences used to typical storytelling and narrative structure. The showrunners wisely amplified the series' pathbreaking female characters to a greater extent, but lingering audience curiosity remained over when, if ever, we'd finally see fan-favorite characters share the screen.
'Invasion' Season 3 Unites Its Protagonists for Its Best Installment Yet
Trevante grips his head with an expression of agony in a space suit in Invasion Season 3.Image via Apple TV
In Season 3, Invasion pulls off the final transformation en route to cementing its legacy as one of Apple TV's best sci-fi series. Its latest installment retains the stellar performances, personal-level storytelling, top-tier SFX, and increased action alongside the emotional moments of its predecessors, but finds new levels in a renewed focus on tactical considerations in the efforts of Earth's forces to take the planet back. It also finally commits to something that fans have clamored for ever since falling in love with its characters back in Season 1: Invasion finally brings everyone together. It was a smart move that rewarded Apple TV in the streaming charts, delivering what fans had wanted and wondered about since 2021.
Each of the major protagonists of Invasion brings a unique character arc, distinct locations, and a fresh feel to their respective scenes. Fans came to care for these multiple protagonists, all with emotional journeys and interesting potential, but it wasn't until uniting their journeys in a stellar third season that their true potential finally shone fully. Aneesha needs more answers than ever, having discovered that her son Luke has had emerging psychic abilities of his own. Trevante makes for an ideal partner in this harrowing situation, given his confusion and regret over Caspar's fate on board the alien mothership. Both Shamier Anderson and Golshifteh Farahani deliver excellent performances, but it's exciting to see them together, and their unique experiences have brought the characters to a place that's ideal for their new collaboration. Like the aliens plaguing the Earth in its world, Invasion is a series that has continued to evolve, and is now the best it's ever been.
Invasion
TV-MA
Drama
Science Fiction
Release Date
2021 - 2025-00-00
Genres
Drama, Science Fiction
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