Despite a mixed run, the 3rd season of the Apple TV+ science fiction series Invasion sets up for an interesting finale, with the two opposing sides, the WDC and Infinitas, having to deal with significant losses. Amidst all the chaos, the aliens and their true intentions take a backseat, while the warring human factions keep trying to hurt each other. This very human nature of interspecies conflict has always been a crucial theme in the series, and Invasion, season 3, episode 9, directly addresses it in the dialogue, with both sides remaining determined to carry out their respective plans and, essentially, exert dominance over the other.
Spoiler Alert
Does Mitsuki reunite with Nikhil and the others?
Invasion season 3 episode 9 begins with the WDC unit having set up a temporary camp inside the Dead Zone in their pursuit to reach the core of the downed alien mothership and blow it up. Nikhil Kapur soon heads out with a small unit of soldiers to do what is most important to him—look for Mitsuki. After Mitsuki had sneaked out of the WDC base just outside the Dead Zone, all by herself, there had been no contact between her and the others, and Nikhil now desperately wants to find her. It becomes evident later on in the episode that this is not just because Mitsuki is going to be very important for the mission, but more importantly, he cares for her and has started to develop feelings for her. Therefore, Nikhil is extremely dedicated to locating her in the vast forest, despite the soldiers constantly cribbing about how that is an impossible task.
Nikhil’s forte being technology, he uses the tracker fitted with the neural dampener that Mitsuki had been wearing for quite some time and is confident that it is still working correctly. Although the soldiers fear that the tracker on the dampener might have malfunctioned or, worse, been sabotaged by the aliens, he is unconcerned and brings on his usual corporate brashness to shut them up. It does not take very long for the group to find Mitsuki’s unconscious body in the forest, and by the looks of her, Nikhil immediately fears that she might have passed away. Noticing the tremendous amount of blood on her shirt, Nikhil even pulls it up to check the injury, only to find no wound or mark at all, even though some dried blood is still present on her body.
With the help of the soldiers, Nikhil brings Mitsuki’s body back to camp, where she is nursed back to consciousness and looked after by Aneesha, who is basically a doctor without a degree. Her situation is confounding to everyone at camp, especially after she wakes up and confidently reports how she had indeed been shot by one of the Infinitas scouts just a few hours ago. As we had seen at the end of the previous episode, Mitsuki had actually been healed by the gardener aliens, most possibly because she had earlier helped one of their own survive, and had guided it back home. This becomes clear to Mitsuki after a few minutes, and she reports the same to Aneesha, whispering how the aliens had saved her from certain death.
Although Aneesha and Nikhil are not very keen on believing this, they really don’t have much choice because of Mitsuki’s strange physical state. As per Aneesha’s diagnosis, there are clear signs of extreme shock and blood loss, which has made her pale and disoriented, all of which indicate that she had experienced physical injury. Plus, the sheer amount of blood on her clothes and the dried blood on her body also suggest the same. However, not a single scratch, let alone a wound consistent with the heavy blood loss, can be found on her body. This confirms that Mitsuki had indeed been healed by the aliens’ collective efforts. The realization of this slowly starts to make Mitsuki change her opinion about the aliens, and she is not afraid to express this either, stating how she is now interested in understanding the invasive beings more closely, despite having wanted to only kill them off earlier. The soldiers in the room are not happy to hear this, as they once again spew hatred against her for supposedly betraying her own species. But Mitsuki does not hesitate to chalk out the main difference between the aliens and humans, having experienced life with both species, and mentions how our lack of unity will ultimately make us lose against the far more united and harmonious aliens.
What had originally happened on the alien mothership?
Around the same time that Nikhil had set out to find Mitsuki, Trevante Cole had done the same, with his own squad, to find any trace of the Infinitas militias in the forest. While traversing the rocky terrain, Trevante slipped and fell down a ditch, coming in very close contact with one of the thick glowing alien vines that had shot out of the ground, and he instantly experienced flashes from his past. At first, Trevante can only see a flash of him having looked at the gigantic tree-like structure at the center of the mothership before he passes out and has to be taken back to camp. But in the tense moment before waking up, he actually remembers most of what had happened on the mothership when he had entered the place at the end of Invasion season 2, and it leaves him traumatized.
Trevante remembers waking up inside the mothership after having passed out from the pain inflicted by the aliens, and he had Caspar Morrow by his side the whole time. After having entered the spacecraft, Trevante had seemingly passed out from the effect of the alien defense system, and Caspar had helped him regain his senses by repeatedly reminding him how the pain was only in his mind and he was not actually being hurt physically. The aliens had been trying to spook the humans into believing that they were being hurt, and Caspar had pointed this out to Trevante. Once back to his senses, Trevante went on to stab the walls of the mothership with the shard he had been carrying to destroy it, and although it worked initially, the defense mechanism kicked in once again, inflicting pain upon Caspar this time.
More importantly, the aliens had established a crucial connection with Caspar by this time, essentially having corrupted his mind enough to take control of him whenever they wanted to. Thus, the alien hivemind took control of Caspar, evident from the blue glow in his eyes, and made him try to stab and kill Trevante with the very shard that had been working like kryptonite against all aliens and their structures. A scuffle followed, during which Trevante constantly tried to remind Caspar who he really was and how he was being controlled, but to no avail. It was during this scuffle that Trevante unintentionally stabbed Caspar, which caused the boy to bleed profusely and eventually die. This is why Trevante feels tremendous guilt, as he now remembers that it was he who had killed Caspar, despite having sworn to protect him at all times.
Jamila Hutson is terribly aggrieved after hearing of what had actually happened to her beloved Caspar, and she is angered at Trevante as well but eventually forgives him on the advice of Clark Evans. Jamila forgiving him and encouraging him to try and remember more makes Trevante actually unlock his memories, after having evidently suppressed them out of guilt. Before dying from the grave wound, Caspar had come back to his senses and used the shard to strike the core of the mothership, which had caused him and Trevante to be thrown back due to the pulse that emanated from the core. The shard in Caspar’s hand also tore through the fleshy walls of the chamber, further damaging the mothership, and it is now finally clear how it had crashed. In the process, Trevante had been thrown into a space that he calls a ‘blind corridor,’ in which the aliens could not see or sense his presence. It is by hiding in this corridor, seemingly for two years, that Trevante had survived and stayed undetected from the aliens, but how he then returned to Earth still remains a mystery.
What are the Infinitas militants up to?
Somewhere else inside the Dead Zone, Marilyn Tanner, or Verna, as her real name seems to be, leads her team of militants towards the alien mothership as well, aiming to confront the WDC unit and stop them from attacking the aliens. Verna also has a personal motive behind this plan, as she wants to rescue her nephew, Joel, who is currently being held hostage by the WDC. As they march through the forest, Verna and her team meet up with the militant scouts from the previous episode, led by Konrad. When asked about Carmichael’s whereabouts, Konrad tells Verna that the man could not make it, but does not mention how exactly he had died.
The power struggle and lopsided dynamics continue to exist in the group, and this becomes most evident when Konrad just shoots a man dead for having asked for some extra oxygen and also having questioned the real motives of Infinitas. The man’s questioning is taken to be an unnecessary show of audacity, as well as a lack of trust in the group’s principles, both of which are treated by only one means—a quick bullet to the head. Verna actually supports Konrad’s treacherous act and threateningly asks others if they too are losing faith in the Infinitas cause, as if they have any real choice. Despite having initially seemed like an honest rebel, Verna turns out to be no different from a dictator, and this becomes even more clear by the end of the episode.
What is the WDC unit’s ultimate plan of action?
While the WDC soldiers find Mitsuki and bring her back to the camp, they still remain concerned about the bomb that had been put together with the shard materials and by dismantling all the weapons and ammunition. Mitsuki had taken the bomb in her backpack as she had ventured into the Dead Zone back in Invasion season 3 episode 7, meaning that the bomb is still missing at present. In the previous episode, Mitsuki had actually gotten rid of her backpack in the forest, and she now tells the soldiers about its exact location. Despite their doubts, the soldiers immediately search the area, for the bomb is the most crucial element in their plan, and they eventually find it in intact condition.
Once the bomb is retrieved, Trevante, Nikhil, and Mitsuki consider their next plan of action, which is going to be the final one of their mission, as they are so close to the mothership, and Invasion season 3 is also so close to wrapping up. Although Mitsuki had managed to spot the entrance to the mothership in the previous episode by following the gardener aliens, walking straight in there is not a viable option for the team, as there will obviously be defense mechanisms. Based on the revelations earlier in the episode, it seems to have been confirmed that the mothership had crashed after a crucial part of it had been damaged by Trevante and Caspar. But not the entirety of the ship has been damaged or has ‘died,’ which is why newer alien beings are still coming out from it. Therefore, it is bound to counterattack as soon as the humans try to enter and launch an attack.
Having learned of the blind corridor that Trevante had used to stay alive for a long time, the WDC unit plans on entering the mothership through this very corridor so that the aliens cannot see or sense them. At the end of the episode, Trevante, Jamila, and Nikhil are led to the entrance of the mothership by Mitsuki, who is bound to follow them, meaning that the finale will take place inside the alien spacecraft or in its vicinity. But whether the WDC mission will succeed remains unclear, for it could be that the aliens had intentionally let Trevante live and return to Earth in order to pass on all this information, and the blind corridor is actually not so blind after all. It might also be that Mitsuki will ultimately turn against the humans in order to help the aliens survive, although this seems less likely. Lastly, it would be interesting to watch if another new alien species emerges, as Trevante earlier recalled seeing more intelligent and evolved aliens resting underneath the walls of the mothership.
Does Clark die in the end?
While Trevante and Nikhil head for the mothership, there is still one more matter to deal with for the WDC team, as they had found out about the location of the Infinitas militants. The soldiers had openly stated that they too would be found by the militants soon, as both parties had come very close to each other, and so the WDC team remains prepared for an attack. Aneesha and Clark stay back near their camp, as the camp tents are set up as a trap. Surely enough, the militants, led by Verna, reach the spot, and some of them enter the tents to kill the WDC unit. In return, they die the most brutal death as the whole place blows up. Verna, unfortunately, had not been among this group, and so she remains alive and orders her militants to attack the soldiers.
A heavy gunfight ensues, in which the WDC team loses important soldiers, and Aneesha is shot at as well. As Clark runs towards her to check on her, he takes down Konrad as well, killing the hateful militant. Ultimately, the Infinitas members have to retreat after Verna has to shoot her own nephew dead so the WDC soldiers cannot use him as a pawn for negotiation. This clearly shows her main priority, which is to save the aliens at all costs, for she still wholeheartedly believes that the aliens are here to reunite us with our dead close ones. But she still chooses to take revenge for Joel’s death, and she shoots Clark at the very end of Invasion season 3 episode 9. Ultimately, Aneesha survives, having been saved by her body armor, but Clark Evans dies, as he had been shot in the head, meaning that this is the second time we see Aneesha lose a husband in Invasion. But unlike the previous time, she had genuinely loved Clark, and so she vows to take vengeance against Verna, which will be satisfying to watch in the season finale next week.
