Invasion

I was excited when I saw the trailer for this new Apple series. After the first couple episodes, I kept telling myself it is going to get better. There is something here, I feel it. Yet, this feeling I had about the series never materialized on screen. Instead, what we get are a series of interwoven life stories that are, if I am being honest, at times not that interesting. The science fiction element seems to get lost at times, which is where my disappointment stems from. A pity, as there is clearly potential here. Overall, it's not too bad, but sci-fi fans, no doubt, will be disappointed.

I'll admit, I'm only three episodes in at writing this and I shall revisit once I've hit my limit, or should I actually end up liking it (Strong doubt).

I am all for slow burn and methodical set ups but so far this is nothing but a long hard slog. There are just too many character back stories to build up with which is by no means confusing but I just now have four story arcs spanning three episodes and zero care for any of them. It may not be so bad had the acting not been mediocre at best, or if everyone didn't already seem so bloody depressed.

So far; it's poorly written with garbage dialogue, the pacing is all over the plane and there's no likeable characters, all of that's had me reaching for my phone to fill a good chunk of the 58 min running time.

I'm a sucker for a good apocalypse and alien invasion story. Invasion showed a lot of potential in the beginning, delivering plenty of mystery around the aliens, their arrival and how they operate.

Sadly, there are two things letting this show down. Firstly, the editing and production. The first season in particular spent time building up an interesting scene, only to cut away to a different character's storyline before the climax. We would return to the original story layer, by which point our tension has diminished. Secondly, there is too much focus on human love stories. Each of the main characters has a love interest, most of which are in some form of conflict. This detracts away from the actual mystery and drama around the alien invaders.

It's a shame, really. The acting and visuals are solid, and the build up of the aliens and invasion themselves are actually pretty good.

Annoying and completely stupid acting actors. Rarely seen a more unlikeable main character than Aneesha. The series is absolutely average, although the first season is significantly better than the second one. In the second season, the actors rarely acted logically in my opinion. The series can easily be watched on the side, it doesn't require uninterrupted attention. Unfortunately, the spark doesn't really jump over in terms of the characters, cast and above all sympathetic characters would probably have helped. Average entertainment, I stuck with it, but would have expected and hoped for much more.

I really loved the first season and so looked forward to the second one. But what a waste. The kid who hates his mother and has one deeply annoying emotional register for the entire series - I cringe when he's on the screen, as well as his cliched ever-suffering mom - just no! Enough. The Mitsuki character is the only one with whom I'm now engaged, other than the actor Shamier Anderson's soldier. Anderson acted his socks off in the first season. But he had a role. But where is he now? And don't get me going on the stereotype hipper than hip tech boss, who knows what's best for everyone - omg, what were they thinking? It's as if they took all the weak aspects of the first season and focused on those at the expense of everything that was truly riveting in the first season - its visual beauty and the mystery of love and friendship in a time of horror and the unknown. What a shame. I'll keep watching it until the end, but my expectations are completely blown.