Secret Invasion Episode 1 Ending Explained: Is THAT Character Really Dead?!
WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Secret Invasion episode 1.
Marvel’s Secret Invasion episode 1 ends with Maria Hill’s death in a massive twist that will have major repercussions for the MCU. After appearing in Spider-Man: Far From Home, sort of, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) properly reunited on-screen for the first time since Avengers: Endgame. As Far From Home had already established, Nick Fury went to space shortly after Tony Stark’s funeral and had been working at SABER ever since. Fury’s absence from Earth set the stage for Secret Invasion episode 1’s story, including the fact that Hill was disappointed by how Nick never reached out.
Secret Invasion season 1, episode 1 also quickly set the tone for the rest of the episode and the show as a whole by revealing that Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) was one of Marvel's Skrulls in disguise. When Everett Ross was replaced by a Skrull and what happened to the real one is still a mystery. However, Secret Invasion episode 1’s biggest twist was Maria Hill’s death at the end of the episode, which raises the stakes for the remaining Secret Invasion episodes.
Maria Hill's Death & Killer Explained 
Maria Hill died in Secret Invasion episode 1 during a non-official mission in which she, Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), and Nick Fury tried to stop Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir)’s Skrull group from bombing a public place in Russia. Gravik’s plan in Secret Invasion seems to involve elevating the tension between the world’s nuclear nations to the point World War III happens and dooms humanity once and for all. The Skrull’s “secret invasion” had already been behind several terrorist attacks, and now Fury believed that he could prevent the next one. Maria Hill died after the trio failed to stop the bombing. Hill was shot dead by Gravik posing himself as Nick Fury.
Maria Hill’s death in Secret Invasion episode 1’s ending was tragic by itself, but the circumstances of it made it even worse. The last thing Hill ever saw was Nick Fury shooting her, except that it was not Fury at all. Gravik used his shapeshifting powers to pose as Fury and help Maria Hill get back on her feet only for him to shoot her right away. Hill’s death proves that no one can be trusted in a story like Secret Invasion, where any MCU character could be a Skrull in disguise. In addition, Gravik killing Maria Hill shows how ruthless the newest MCU villain is.
Secret Invasion episode 1’s ending also shows that G’iah, Emilia Clarke’s Marvel character, will be a very layered protagonist. G’iah had seemly switched sides and gave Talos key information on Gravik’s plan. This is why Nick Fury, Maria Hill, and Talos were confident that they could stop the Skrull’s latest bombing attack, even if they did not have any help or allies. However, Secret Invasion episode 1’s ending suggests that G’iah never betrayed Gravik and instead walked her father and his partners, including Maria Hill, right into a trap.
Was Maria Hill A Skrull & Could The Real Maria Hill Return? 
In a show where any Marvel character can be a Skrull in disguise, it can be easy to conclude that Maria Hill’s death might have been a fakeout and that a Skrull died in her place. However, Secret Invasion episode 1’s ending clearly shows Maria Hill dying, and it spends a couple of minutes with the character while the real Nick Fury shows up. When the fake Ross died in Secret Invasion’s opening sequence after being chased by Talos, his deceased body slowly returned to its Skrull form, starting with a greenish color taking over Ross’ face.
Therefore, if Maria Hill was a Skrull in Secret Invasion, the same would have happened to the body of that Skrull after they were shot. Likewise, any Skrull infiltrating Nick Fury’s team would probably be working for Gravik. As such, it would not make sense for Gravik to attack this hypothetical fake Hill. In addition, considering that Nick Fury himself faked his death in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, using a similar trick with Maria Hill in Secret Invasion could come off as cheap.