Abhiroop Das
Co-created by Simon Kinberg and David Weil, Apple TV+’s ‘Invasion’ begins with a bottom-up approach to capturing an alien invasion on screen, showing how common people across the board are each affected in their own unique ways. While the protagonists, Trevante Cole, Mitsuki Yamato, and Aneesha Malik, eventually join forces in bringing the aliens down, the show also reminds us that moving on from trauma can be a challenging task. Marilyn, AKA Infinitas, becomes the narrative’s primary vessel in addressing that subject, as her entire cult doubles as a coping mechanism to process grief. However, as the layers begin to pile on, it becomes evident that the aliens have more going on behind the scenes than they let on. To that end, Marilyn’s endgame becomes one of the defining questions of this Science Fiction Thriller series, especially by the finale of its third season. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Marilyn’s Death Brings a Sobering End to the Infinitas Saga of Invasion Season 3
Season 3 of ‘Invasion’ ends with Marilyn, the leader of the Infinitas cult, dying at the hands of Aneesha Malik. While a huge chunk of the finale follows the cosmic battle taking place in the alien mothership, a second clash unfolds right outside its gates, between the cult and the World Defense Coalition’s unit, driven by a desire for vengeance. Upon locating and isolating Marilyn, Aneesha wastes no time in catching up and readies to take aim and shoot, only to discover that Marilyn has taken Mitsuki hostage. While this move gives the cult leader enough time to make her escape once again, it is not enough for her to reach the mothership. She is ambushed by Aneesha at the last minute, and a fierce exchange of blows and bullets ensues. In the end, Trevante, Nikhil, and Jamila successfully destroy the alien communication networks from the inside out, signaling the complete destruction of the mothership to those standing outside, including Marilyn.
The end of the mothership results in all of Marilyn’s dreams and beliefs crashing. This triggers a reckless counterattack on her end, allowing Aneesha to take a clean shot and end her opponent’s life. The cult leader’s crisis of faith is not abstract in nature, as it also eliminates the very real hope she had of reuniting with her dead sister. As this goal has propelled her in life thus far, her death, falling in sync with the destruction of the mothership, has a poetic angle to it. The death also serves as a moment of closure for Aneesha, whose husband, Clark, was shot to death by Marilyn in the previous episode. However, over the course of the fight, she realizes that killing Marilyn will not make things even, as she is also struggling to make sense of this new reality. To that end, Marilyn is as much a product of her twisted environment as she is the sum of her decisions.
With Marilyn gone, a vacuum now exists at the top of the Infinitas cult, and with no single successor embodying the belief system as well as she did, it is likely that the cult will disperse over time. Notably, despite the breakdown of its core ideology, the circumstances that have led up to it have not changed in the slightest. People’s desire to reunite with their loved ones. As it stands, we are yet to get an explanation as to how Marilyn communicated with her dead sister, and the chances remain that there is some truth to what she stated and believed in. Given the aliens’ surprise abduction of Mitsuki, the future might shed more light on the supernatural plane that Marilyn interacted with, further testing whether human souls really are collected by the extraterrestrial forces. Both Marilyn and Mitsuki have strong parallels, and despite the former’s death, her arc might be continued in some form by the latter.
Erika Alexander is Unlikely to Step into the Role of the Cult Leader For a Potential Sequel
Marilyn’s death means that actor Erika Alexander has very slim chances of reprising her role in a potential season four. First introduced in episode four of the season, titled ‘The Mission,’ Marilyn, originally known as Infinitas, became one of the most important players in the narrative, distinctly separating it from the storytelling patterns of the previous season. The fact that she has multiple names is also relevant, as it represents how she is wholly defined by her set of beliefs and the institutions that rise out of it. Marilyn’s demise does not necessarily mean that her footprints are gone from the show. As such, we might see more of Erik Alexander in the form of a flashback sequence, or in the scenes concerning the future of her cult. However, her character’s death makes it unlikely for her to have a continued proactive role in a possible continuation of the story.
Given the history of how ‘Invasion’ deals with character deaths, it cannot be said for sure whether Marilyn’s presence in the story has come to an end. In the finale, Caspar Morrow returns to the screen in the form of a ghost, and that opens the doors for many characters to potentially follow suit down the line. Thus, Marilyn’s emphasis on the preservation of souls and their unity with the alien lifeforms makes such a connection all the more possible. As such, a case can be made for Erika Alexander reprising her role with a twist, potentially even haunting Aneesha’s psyche. Alexander has expressed her love for the show and what her character brings to the table, describing it as a chance to balance the extraterrestrial side of the story with the human one.
Read More: Invasion Season 3 Ending Explained: Where Does Mitsuki Go?
