Secret Invasion Episode 2 Humanizes Nick Fury More Than Anything Else In The MCU – And We Have Questions

This post contains spoilers for "Secret Invasion" episode 2.

Through dozens of movies and eight television shows in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we haven't really learned very much about Nick Fury's personal life. The former S.H.I.E.L.D. director and fan-favorite super spy has played his cards incredibly close to the vest, even among his most trusted colleagues and recruits. We learned a tiny bit about his childhood and military background in "Captain Marvel," and early in episode 2 of "Secret Invasion," Fury reminisces with Talos about being a kid and taking the train from Alabama to Detroit with his mother. It seems as if his guard is truly down as he talks with an old friend, and it's nice to see him humanized a little. That moment is one of the scant few times we've learned anything significant about this mysterious character's past.

In 2014's "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," there's also a scene in which Fury shows up at Steve Rogers' apartment and explains that his wife kicked him out of his own place, apologizing and saying he had no place else to crash. "I didn't know you were married," Steve says. "A lot of things you don't know about me," Fury responds. 

But it's worth noting that this exchange in "Winter Soldier" can't be taken entirely at face value, because Fury knew that the compromised S.H.I.E.L.D. agency was listening in to their conversation, and he was actively trying to throw them off the scent. So the idea that Fury was married didn't seem particularly concrete ... until the final moments of this week's episode of "Secret Invasion." And hoo boy, it seems like our old pal Nick might be in a bit of a complicated marriage. How much he knows about those complications, however, is still an open question.

After being ignominiously fired by Rhodey, Fury climbs in a Range Rover he's been keeping in a secret storage facility and hits the open road. Before he arrives at his destination, we see a Skrull woman wearing human clothes and jewelry cutting vegetables in a kitchen. Fury pulls in, walks up to this house, and goes inside. But when he walks into the kitchen, the Skrull woman has now taken the form of a human woman. 

"Aren't you forgetting something?" she asks, and he responds by picking up a wedding ring and dramatically reinserting it onto his finger. "Happy now?" he says, and they kiss as the episode comes to an end.

When Marvel.com shared character posters for "Secret Invasion," they referred to her as "Priscilla," but that's essentially all of the official confirmation we have about her at this stage. There are rumors she might work for S.W.O.R.D., but in terms of textual information from any official MCU property so far, we have precious little to go on.

The episode's ending presents three possible scenarios. The first is that Nick Fury's wife is a Skrull, but he doesn't know about her true identity. In a show that could easily fall into a series of surprising "gotcha!" reveals about who is and is not a Skrull, this reveal at the end of the second episode would be a nice change of pace. The knowledge of Fury's wife's true nature would also provide a nice bit of dramatic irony moving forward as we wait for the other shoe to drop and Fury inevitably finds out. Narratively, this would also be a great way to underscore the revelation that there are far more Skrulls on Earth than Fury previously thought: The Skrull "invasion" is so extensive that one of the world's best spies married one without even knowing! Tons of drama could be mined out of what this Skrull could learn from Fury and report back to Gravik and his allies as Fury struggles to comprehend the larger picture of what's going on.

The second scenario, which is potentially more interesting, is that Nick Fury fell in love with a Skrull and married her. But that option raises another question: If Fury knows about his wife's Skrull status, why would she change back into her human form when it's just the two of them home alone together? Perhaps we'll find out.

The third scenario, the most ridiculous of the bunch, is that Fury knew he was marrying a Skrull, but she doesn't know that he's known all along about her true identity. This would be a "long con" scenario, proving once and for all that Fury is willing to do absolutely anything to acquire the intelligence necessary to get the job done. If the show is looking for a big "gotcha" moment as it comes to a close, this could be the type of twist they have in mind.

We'll find out which option the writers chose as "Secret Invasion" continues to roll out on Disney+.