Season 3 of the AppleTV+ science fiction series, Invasion, has started streaming this week, with the threat of an imminent alien invasion looming large over planet Earth once again after two years of complete peace. The 1st episode deals with only half of the central characters, following the narrative style implemented in the previous seasons as well, as it builds intrigue for what is to come. As Trevante Cole makes an unexpected return, Invasion season 3 episode 1 teases the real danger that humanity is soon about to face, also featuring a reunion between the ex-soldier and Jamila Hutson, although there is no sign of Caspar Morrow just yet.
Spoiler Alert
Was Trevante’s mission aboard the alien mothership a success?
At the end of Invasion season 2, Mitsuki had managed to learn that the trapped alien entity on the crashed ship was actually a portal, and through this discovery, it was realized that the aliens had a number of portals all over Earth, which could be used to enter the mothership. The authorities had naturally come to the conclusion that sending someone onto the mothership using the portal, armed with the shard that seemed to kill alien lifeforms instantly, would destroy the ship and put an end to the alien invasion once and for all. Trevante Cole had bravely stepped up to volunteer for this role, after making it his life’s purpose to protect humanity, and he was met by a version of Caspar Morrow, who had seemingly traveled to the mothership in spirit, through his connection with the aliens.
The opening episode of season 3 confirms that Trevante actually never came back, and so he was assumed to have died aboard the mothership. Since Caspar had used his mental connection with the alien mothership to travel to the place, his physical body remained at the medical facility in France, and it seems like his body showed clear signs of death at the time, because of which he is considered to have passed away as well. But the mission that they had set out on—to destroy the alien mothership—had actually succeeded, for the massive structure that had been hovering over the Earth’s surface for quite some time suddenly crashed and fell onto our planet’s surface. Although how the plan had been carried out was obviously not clear to anyone, since all connections with Trevante had been lost before the crash took place, humanity was considered to have finally won.
The mothership crashlanding on Earth does mean that a massive area of the planet is now destroyed and inaccessible to human beings, especially with spreading toxic fumes around the crash site, which has been termed the ‘dead zone.’ It is also reported that the hunter-killers, meaning the alien beasts that had been attacking humans and killing them over the past two seasons, also started retreating to the crashed mothership, particularly to the dead zone, with human lives no longer at risk at all. Around the same time, the authorities had also managed to track down the 12 portals that the aliens had placed to access their mothership and destroyed each of them. All these developments and measures had confirmed that the alien invasion was finally over, and human life could return to normalcy once again.
Two years later, when Invasion season 3 takes place, Earth is quite a changed place, with humans having returned to their usual ways, going out and celebrating with their loved ones, and enjoying sports and other recreational activities. The invasion did eventually wipe out the concept of nations, though, as all countries ultimately united to fight together with the creation of the World Defense Coalition. The WDC still exists, and it is the sole government in control of the entire world, with a new American, named Zhou, as the president of the coalition. The day of the fall of the mothership is celebrated as a day of independence for all humans, and the entire world still remembers and honors both Trevante and Caspar, without whose sacrifices this independence would have been impossible.
Why is Trevante’s return so mysterious?
Despite the calm and normalcy that has been in place for the past two years, the government naturally checks in on each of the portals on a regular basis, and the soldiers assigned to do this duty are utterly bored of it. However, the world is simply not prepared for what happens next, when an unnatural movement is detected at the portal site in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Initially believed to be the return of the aliens, the soldiers prepare for a tough fight, only to find that the living, but unconscious, body of Trevante Cole has washed up to the surface of the chamber above the place where the portal used to be. In the scene just prior to this, we actually see the portal, or rift, open up once again, in the form of the shimmering beam of light that Mitsuki used to communicate with back in season 2.
Trevante’s return is mysterious to say the least, with the man suddenly appearing out of the portal two years after he went missing, and it seems like he comes back to Earth only because the aliens wanted him to. There is no logic provided by the series, as of now, as to why he emerges at this exact time, why he comes out of the specific portal under the Atlantic Ocean, or how the portal opens up once again after having been destroyed by the authorities. What the soldiers, and especially their bosses, Jack Hollander, the head of defense of the WDC, and General Bryant, the head of military operations, are most concerned about when Trevante returns is the possibility of him being controlled by the aliens.
They openly state their fear to the ex-soldier, talking about how the world had already learned about the alien beings’ ability to take control of human minds and even mimic humans to lure others in. This was exactly what had happened when Mitsuki established communications with an alien that was seemingly pretending to be her beloved Hinata, back in season 1. Therefore, the authorities now feel that Trevante might also be corrupted by the alien hivemind and sent to Earth to wreak havoc, which is why they keep him in a containment chamber for a few days and keep the news of his return a secret. Eventually, the WDC does decide to give Trevante a hero’s welcome, but Jack Hollander still remains unconvinced about his true intentions, which possibly sets up a long-lasting feud between the two characters that will be explored throughout Invasion season 3. Hollander finds Trevante’s habit of always being the ‘last man standing’ quite suspicious, and he tells the ex-soldier so as well. First, Trevante had lost his entire army squad in Afghanistan in a reported alien attack, although he’d miraculously managed to survive it.
Then, at present, he somehow returns to Earth in a mysterious and almost supernatural manner, having lost Caspar, who is seen as the most important military asset for humankind because of his ability to connect with the aliens, and being the sole survivor once again. This might also be a tactic used by Invasion to make us start to suspect Trevante as well, although we will have to wait for any more leads on this theory, and also to understand how he returns to Earth all of a sudden and what exactly he had experienced in these past 2 years.
Why does Jamila travel to the United States?
Invasion season 3 episode 1 also shows Jamila Huston at present, now a teenager living a fresh life in London, along with her new friends, possibly from college, and a boyfriend named Jahan. Despite moving back to London, Jamila does not seem to be in touch with Alfie, Monty, or any of her school friends. She has evidently moved on from the traumatic incidents she had experienced 2 years ago, although she still struggles with the grief of having lost Caspar, who was not only her love interest for a short time, but most importantly her best friend, from time to time. Jahan is a supportive partner who understands Jamila’s struggles and respects her past, and the genuine love that they share is quite obvious from the very first scene.
But Jamila’s settled life is naturally rocked when she suddenly learns of Trevante’s return to Earth on the news, as she is immediately reminded of Caspar’s death. She is initially confused about whether she should do anything or try to make contact with Trevante, but Jamila makes up her mind after seeing a painted tribute to Caspar at an exhibition. Therefore, she and Jahan soon leave for the United States in order to attend the grand event that is being hosted to welcome Trevante, who is considered humanity’s hero and Earth’s savior, back to the planet. She gets hold of a pass to the event through the acquaintances she has at the WDC.
Jamila’s intention behind traveling to the US and attending this event is to not only personally welcome Trevante back, but more importantly, question him about Caspar’s final moments. As it turns out, Jamila still has feelings, which might well be just friendly emotions, for Caspar, and so she has always yearned to know what happened to her best friend and how exactly he died. There is currently only one man who can give her these answers, or so she thinks, and therefore she does not hesitate to attend the event and reach out to Trevante right in the middle of his speech.
What does Trevante remember about the past?
Ever since his return, Trevante has been making certain claims about the aliens not being dead yet, and about their imminent second invasion. When he is asked by the authorities to clarify the matter and present solid proof about his claims, Trevante just cannot remember any significant details to report as proof. He only has a very strong hunch, as he calls it a ‘scratch at the back of his head,’ which makes him sure that the aliens are going to attack once more, and eventually, he can only remember flashes from his time on the mothership.
He eventually sees himself standing inside the mothership, facing the center, where an enormous tower stretches up towards the sky, with it also seeming to be the main power source of the whole ship. But before Trevante can do anything, he is thrown backwards, possibly out of the mothership and down towards planet Earth. He also recalls seeing something lurking within the blue walls of the mothership, although the nature of this being, whether alien or not, could not be determined by him. Trevante did try to break down the spaceship using the metal shard at the end of season 2, but nothing seemed to have happened, and so it seems like the mothership had been destroyed not because of human effort, but possibly because the aliens themselves wanted it scuppered, for whatever reason.
At present, he reports his flashes of memory, and also his strong belief, almost premonitions, about the return of the aliens, to the authorities, but nobody seems to bat an eye. The humans, including the higher authorities at the WDC, do not want to even consider the possibility that the alien civilization around the Earth’s atmosphere hasn’t been wiped out, and they want to stick to their stories of success. When Trevante reports all this to Jack Hollander, he feels that the ex-soldier is lying to create chaos on Earth, on the orders of the aliens. Bryant, the army general, is more understanding and sympathetic towards him, but he too does not take Trevante seriously, believing that he is suffering from extreme PTSD.
Interestingly, Trevante gets the longest memory flash when Jamila hands him Caspar’s EEG report from the exact moment the boy had passed away. This suggests that there is still a connection with Caspar somehow, even though the boy is dead, at least in the physical sense. It might be that Caspar, who is spiritually trapped with the aliens, has successfully established a connection with Trevante, although the latter cannot yet understand it. Towards the end of the episode, Trevante is also seen having sudden painful jolts in his head, during which time his eyes flash blue, which was earlier an indication of a human being in control of the alien hivemind. Whether this is indeed what is happening will only be clear in the episodes to come.
Are The Aliens Really Back?
Invasion season 3 episode 1 leaves no room for doubt about the aliens actually being back, with another invasion clearly imminent in the days to come. Towards the very end of the episode, Trevante notices the birds in the sky flying in the same unnatural pattern as in season 1, which possibly means that the alien lifeforms are already quite close to Earth. It is only a matter of time before they reveal themselves once again, which is going to spell doom for humans, since the leaders refuse to take Trevante’s claims seriously, and the world has resumed its usual activities. In fact, the episode begins with a brief scene of a family in the United States celebrating the independence and watching the President of the WDC speak on the 2-year anniversary of the fall of the mothership. On that very night, the man of the house is attacked and killed by an alien hunter-killer, after the family dog was also dealt with in a similar manner. Therefore, the aliens are already here, and they might take an even more fierce shape in this season.
Where are Trevante and Jamila headed to?
Invasion episode 1 ends with Trevante deciding to leave the welcome party, essentially to flee the soldiers keeping him under tight surveillance, so that he can do something about the imminent invasion. After having tried to alert the authorities multiple times, he decides to take things into his own hands, and he is soon joined by Jamila. Encouraged by her boyfriend, Jamila decides to put an end to her woes and traumas once and for all, by accompanying Trevante and giving him a chance to explain himself. Therefore, the two are headed to people whom Trevante considers to be experts on aliens, and it is most likely that they will now try to find and reunite with the other set of central characters, Aneesha and Mitsuki. But as the alien attack is already closer than it seems, it is possible that Trevante and Jamila’s journey will be interrupted, and the two sets of characters will remain away from each other for a significant portion of Invasion season 3.
