Editor's note: The below recap contains spoilers for the What If...? Season 3 finale.
This is it. This is what it's all been leading to. Three seasons of possibilities, and consequences, and likely or unlikely scenarios have led us all to this point: the series finale of What If...?. It's been a fun, if occasionally inconsistent, ride through the multiverse that introduced me to some of my new favorite characters, and some of my favorite Marvel stories to date. I may not have loved this season as much as the last, but I did enjoy it very much all the same, and I'm sorry to see the show come to an end. If there's one thing What If...? did do consistently, it was a season finale that went all out on the action with some of the highest stakes to date, and the series finale is certainly no exception. So with that in mind, and with a cliffhanger from yesterday to resolve, let's do this one last time.
We Learn the Watcher's Backstory in the 'What If...?' Series Finale
While Episode 7 ends with Storm (Alison Sealy-Smith), Byrdie (Natasha Lyonne), Kahhori (Devery Jacobs), and Infinity Ultron (Ross Marquand) headed to the Fifth Dimension to save Captain Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) and the Watcher (Jeffrey Wright), Episode 8, "What If... What If?" picks up eons earlier, with a younger — technically speaking — Watcher, with the Eminence (Jason Isaacs), as he prepares to take his oath. The Watcher, back when he was just a disciple named Uatu, had a much closer relationship with the Eminence, and the latter encourages the disciple as he stands on the verge of giving up everything, from his desires to his own name, in order to take on the role of a Watcher. But the Eminence tells him that he's confident that he will thrive, and in all his years of training others, no one else has seemed so dedicated to the mission, as he isn't afraid of sacrifice. Uatu wonders if the Eminence might be wrong about him, but the concern is dismissed as the Eminence doesn't believe in wondering "what if," since their role is simply to observe.
The Eminence asks Uatu if he's prepared to give up everything in his life to be an observer, and Uatu replies, "To watch over everyone, I must become no one." Not only does that prove to the Eminence that Uatu is ready to become the Watcher, but it turns out that also counts as him speaking the oath. As the Watcher rises, the Fifth Dimension becomes fully clear to him, and he can see it all for the first time. The Eminence reminds him that their role is merely to observe, and the Watcher asks him why. I'm glad he asked this question, because I have spent three seasons wondering the same and was starting to think I'd just missed the explanation. The Eminence tells the Watcher that the answer will come to him in time, and whatever his conclusion is, he's confident it will not disappoint. Oh, how the eons can change a person.
Back in the present day (though I suppose time is relative in the Fifth Dimension), the Eminence is extremely disappointed in what's become of the Watcher. His former protégé has gone from believer to heretic before his eyes — though how you can be a heretic when the reason for belief is never even conveyed, I'm not sure. The Incarnate (DC Douglas) and the Executioner (Darin De Paul) demand that the Watcher be made to answer for his crimes, but the Watcher insists all he's done has been to help others, and save the multiverse. The Eminence rejects the idea that the Watcher only ever shared secrets with heroes, citing Stephen Strange, who used the Watcher's knowledge to destroy one universe and create another, as an example. The Watcher protests that Strange's sacrifice, which created a new universe from which countless realities now grow is a miracle, not a crime, and because they realize he might just be right, they pivot instead to his intervention with Riri Williams, and Jun-Fan — and also apparently Reed Richards, Nick Fury, and Madisynn, who I'm convinced spells her name like this in every reality. I still think a handful of interventions is not a huge deal in the grand scheme of eternity, but apparently the Eminence does not agree. The worst transgression of all, he says, is the Watcher's involvement with Peggy Carter, and he takes the opportunity to reveal they have her in custody too.
The Executioner says that the lives of the mortals the Watcher goes out of his way to save don't matter in the grand scheme of the multiverse, but the Watcher counters that they matter to him. I'd also ask, if that's the case for the Executioner, what does matter in the grand scheme of the multiverse? What is the multiverse, if not those that occupy it? It's the same problem Infinity Ultron realized he was having in his own universe — without life, there may be no conflict, but there is no peace either. Only emptiness. It's the same for the multiverse. Without life, it is simply a void to be observed, and even then what are you really observing? But then again, I suppose this is what happens when you spend eons upholding theoretical ideals without ever engaging with those you're ostensibly holding them up for. Why do I feel like the Eminence, the Incarnate, and the Executioner are meant to represent those who gain power and hold onto it long after they ought to have retired for the simple fact that they're out of touch now? Again, this show is not remotely subtle.
Peggy tries to cheer the Watcher up, telling him that despite what the Eminence says, he's not no one, because everyone is someone, and that's one heretical thought too many for the Eminence, who tells Peggy that now she has to die. Yes, it goes against their oath, but they've decided it's for the greater good, to restore all Peggy and the Watcher have damaged. Before they can kill her, though, Ultron arrives through the portal he created, with Storm, Kahhori and Byrdie right behind him in the ship. He undoes their bonds and tells the two of them to get to the ship while he holds the trio off. Byrdie gets them out of there, and asks the Watcher where they should go, but he says it doesn't matter because Ultron won't be able to hold off the Eminence forever, and once he loses his control on him, there's nowhere where they'll be safe.
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Peggy Carter and her Team Become Watchers in the 'What If...?' Series Finale
Image via Disney+
Byrdie suggests that if they can't hide within the multiverse, then maybe they can hide within the seams of the multiverse thanks to the upgrades Ultron left them with. The Watcher is still skeptical, but Peggy says it's worth a try, since they've done the impossible more than once. The team come up with an alternate plan. They head for Strange's universe, since he's the one that shapes reality there, and he might be able to strip the trio of Watchers of their powers. Just as they set their course, the Eminence destroys Ultron, which cuts the power capabilities on their ship. The Watchers appear on board and cause the ship to explode, sending the crew crashing down onto a planet a few universes short of their destination. The Watcher immobilizes the trio and Kahhori opens a gate to try and send them away, but the plan doesn't work out, and they reappear.
The Eminence is still not over how disappointed he is in the Watcher, but he tells him that his faith wasn't misplaced, he just has a new way of seeing the mission now. To the others, having a different point of view, or really any point of view at all, is heresy, as a Watcher must be truly neutral. The Eminence picks up the five of them and tosses them against a nearby cliff face, pressing them against the rock until it cracks, as he tries to crush them with the pressure. The Watcher proposes a plan to get them out of this, but warns they may not like it: they will have to take an oath to become Watchers themselves, as it will give them enough power to survive. They're hesitant — understandable, as there's nothing quite as alarming as eternity — but don't have time to mull it over as their only other option is immediate death. The four of them take the oath just as the pressure from the Eminence's powers become too much, and they all emerge Watchers in their own right, with badass, matching sets of armor. The others are furious that mortals are sharing in their sacred gifts, but the Watcher counters that the four of them actually understand sacrifice, and are thus better equipped to handle the power. He even goes so far as to reclaim his name, Uatu.
The fight is officially on now, as the other Watchers don their armor, and it really wouldn't be the MCU if we didn't cap things off with an (admittedly visually stunning) action sequence where punches are traded and banter is had. I understand why their power-ups came so late in the game. We needed somewhere to go, and some way to elevate the stakes, but I'm really disappointed that, at least for now, this is all we're getting of these characters as a group. I would have happily watched Peggy and co. venture through the multiverse. Even more so now that they're all Watchers. The tide of the battle shifts between our group and the trio of zealots, with our heroes delivering some very satisfying punches to their faces. Finally, our heroes trap the trio in a cluster of their power and demand they yield, but the Eminence refuses. Uatu tells them to hold, and tries to appeal to his one-time mentor, begging him to see differently.
How Does 'What If...?' Season 3 End?
Image via Disney+
This turns out to be the same fatal mistake many heroes have made before, as the trio takes advantage of the lone moment of mercy to escape and rise into the sky, merging to become one being. They tell the heroes that they won't just kill them here, but will go so far as to erase them from every version of every reality so that they never existed, never touched anyone's lives, and with all the good they've done now gone.Like with Riri in Episode 5, Peggy realizes that the best way to win a fight is to simply have the audacity to go on, and she launches herself at the trio, sacrificing herself to stop them. This final heroic act works, as it restores the other three in every galaxy — and presumably restores her in every other one — but the Captain Carter we've come to know over the last three seasons is gone. The Eminence is, unfortunately, also still alive, and claims Peggy sacrificed herself for nothing.
But it wasn't actually for nothing, as Peggy also propelled them into Strange's universe, where the Eminence is stripped of his powers. He's surprised he didn't see this coming, but Uatu tells him this is due to a loss of perspective over eons of looking down on everyone and everything. He also assures his former mentor that he isn't there to kill him, as that's not their way, choosing instead to give him another chance, with Uatu as the teacher and the Eminence as his disciple learning to see rather than simply watching. As for the others, they gather in the Fifth Dimension to say farewell to Peggy, and mourn the fact that she's no longer with them, though Uatu suggests she might be out there, watching them somehow. After all, for the first time ever, Uatu feels as though someone is watching over him. Though they're able to see everything now, the one thing none of them can see is what comes after death, though Kahhori says her people believe there's something more after a person dies. Uatu says he doesn't know for sure, so all they can do is ponder "what if?"
And with that, the series comes to an end. It went out on a more existential note than I was perhaps expecting, but also I'm not sure what I did expect from it at the end. There's only so many places it could have gone, so many stories it could have told, and really it feels right to bring things full circle with a Captain Carter-centric story. I suppose nothing is truly over, though I'm sorry now to say goodbye to worlds and characters I've enjoyed so much. But the worlds and possibilities are infinite, and with Marvel Zombies set to release next year, I suppose there's always a chance we could get more from this world. More of the Guardians of the Fifth Dimension — I don't know what we're officially calling them — if Marvel is taking requests.
What If...? Season 3 is streaming on Disney+.
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What If Season 3 ends the series with existential questions and heartbreaking sacrifice.
Pros
Any Peggy Carter time is time well spent, even if it ends on a sad note.
I wasn't expecting thoughtful existential questions in my Marvel cartoon but I'm not mad about it.
Cons
I know it's Marvel, but my patience for prolonged fight scenes is very low.
Based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name, this animated anthology looks at alternate timelines in the multiverse that would happen if specific moments in the MCU occurred differently.
Image via Disney
Image via Disney+
Image via Disney+
English (US) ·