Olivia Colman’s Sonya Falsworth Is the Best Part of ‘Secret Invasion’

Disney+’s Phase Five-opening TV show Secret Invasion is heading to its final act this Wednesday. The series has been met with criticism regarding not taking full advantage of the Skrulls’ abilities and its plot devices to shock viewers. Nevertheless, an undeniable fact is it boasts an incredibly talented cast led by Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, with Emmy Award winner Ben Mendelsohn and nominee Emilia Clarke joining him in this outing of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Skrulls Talos and G’iah. But the most surprising addition to this ensemble is Academy Award winner Olivia Colman. While she’s no stranger to the small screen, Colman had yet to venture into the superhero genre — and seeing her in Secret Invasion makes us ask: “Why didn’t this happen sooner?”

RELATED: Samuel L. Jackson Says Nick Fury Is More Than a “Smart-Ass” in ‘Secret Invasion’ Thanks to Olivia Colman

Who Does Olivia Colman Play in ‘Secret Invasion’?

In Secret Invasion, Colman portrays MI6 special agent Sonya Falsworth, an old acquaintance of Fury. Not much is known about her past, other than she blames Fury for her flat being destroyed in the confrontation between Spider-Man (Tom Holland) and Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) in Spider-Man: Far From Home – which Talos, impersonating Fury, oversaw. She enters the series after kidnapping Fury, and they discuss his being out of shape since he came back from The Blip. Knowing this and with him having a past with Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir), she decides to keep him out of the loop.

Sonya and Fury go through their parallel investigations to uncover the Skrull conspiracy and, honestly, she’s way better at it. She’s always one step ahead of Fury’s discoveries. She tortures Brogan (Ben Peel) to get the names of the scientists working with Gravik to create the super Skrulls. When she eventually realizes her boss, Derrick Weatherby (Tony Curran) is a Skrull, she doesn’t hesitate to take him down – and even him to tell her the location of the scientists.

Olivia Colman Brings All Her Talents to ‘Secret Invasion’

Colman’s British sense of humor is an essential part of Sonya. She takes her own cheekiness and quirkiness and infuses the character with them. When she discovers Fury bugged her office by placing a seemingly invisible camera lens in her owl sculpture’s eye, she places the littlest eyepatch you’ve ever seen over it and renames him Nick Fury. Colman mixes her expertise in keeping her cool with fierceness and fearlessness and gives us Sonya. She somehow manages to make a torture scene look elegant and effortless. Even her escape after Gravik storms the location seems a piece of pie.

In Episode 5, “Harvest”, she reunites with Fury in Finland and we get to see a more human side of her. Firstly, she’s keen on road safety, as she curtly asks Fury to put his seatbelt on. Then she learns an important piece of information that flew past her – James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) is a Skrull. Finally, when she takes Fury to one of his graves (a dead man needs options!) she’s quietly astounded to learn Priscilla (Charlayne Woodard) is a Skrull. She finally meets Fury again at the same level of intel.

Colman as Sonya Falsworth is probably the most interesting addition in this latest entry to the MCU lore. She had been trying to join the MCU for years and she finally got it. Her character could prove to be a great behind-the-scenes mastermind, like Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, or a loyal and resourceful ally like O-T Fagbenle’s Rick Mason. Considering Thor: The Dark World, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Eternals take place in the UK, there are plenty of stories that can be told about Sonya. There’s even a possibility of including her in future projects (looking at you, Blade). What’s clear is that, no matter which side she is on in Secret Invasion, she’s going to win. Here’s to hoping there isn’t a twist making her a Skrull, and we can have more Colman and Sonya in the future.

Secret Invasion‘s finale premieres this Wednesday on Disney+.