Emilia Clarke Responds To Secret Invasion Backlash With Perfect Comeback

Poor Emilia Clarke has had a less-than-stellar track record with fan-favorite franchises. Her most recent credit has been her contribution to Marvel's "Secret Invasion," which has only received middling critical reviews so far. While adapted from one of the most beloved arcs in Marvel comics, the limited series failed to meet the mark. Right off the bat, the show features the disrespectful death of Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), who has done her time for over a decade. Next on the list was Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), whose demise was a massive squandering of opportunity.

But more than anything, what disappointed fans was the lackluster "Secret Invasion" ending. In the shortest episode of the season, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) strangely takes a backseat to G'iah (Clarke), who is the one to battle evil Skrull Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir) in the climactic conclusion. This was salt in the wound for fans who had hung on for six episodes only to be disappointed. But the tiny pinprick of light in the darkness was Clarke's response to the backlash. The "Game of Thrones" actor put everything in perspective during press for "Secret Invasion," explaining that even if there are disappointing choices made in her roles, complaining about it doesn't help much.

"We've already done it," Clarke noted jokingly, "so there's not much I can do." The actor's charisma is a reminder that she is just one person in the Hollywood machine who is doing her best.

What should have been a story revolving around how Nick Fury continues to sacrifice moral ethics for the quote-unquote greater good, devolves into another predictable superhero fight. More humorous Marvel fare like "Deadpool" and "She-Hulk" has made a point of satirizing superhero tropes, but Marvel resolves everything with a battle sequence. "Secret Invasion" had also been building up conflict between Fury and Gravik, which ultimately doesn't matter.

Instead of a face-off between the two, G'iah takes revenge for her father's death and absorbs all the powers from The Harvest. Taken from the DNA of untold numbers of super people, the Skrull is now presumably the most powerful character in the Marvel universe. Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) has barely had a chance to spread her wings, and she is already overshadowed. This moment is not earned, especially with the six-episode count. 

This unsatisfying conclusion feels particularly bad just because of Clarke's previous work. To her credit, the actor can't be blamed for the divisive finale of "Game of Thrones" and where her character ended up. But it will be a while before anyone forgets Daenerys Targaryen's descent into madness. For being the biggest show of the decade, the last episodes of "Game of Thrones" were treated so cavalierly that it felt like they were written that way on purpose. But while it still stings, maybe it's time to leave Clarke out of it.