Marvel's ‘What If..?’ Episode 9: “What If... the Watcher Broke His Oath?” Recap and Review
Universes collide and heroes fall as we reach the explosive finale of Marvel’s animated adventures of limitless possibility.
WARNING: Contains Spoilers
Last week’s darkly foreboding episode of What If..? left us guessing exactly where the story was going to go next. There have been rumors ever since the show premiered that these characters would group together at some point to face off against some powerful threat to the multiverse - and they were absolutely right. Here, we see The Watcher gather all the heroes from previous episodes together in order to take down the seemingly unstoppable Ultron, forcing them to abandon their home universes and fight for the survival of all existence. The episode certainly features the highest stakes of any story yet, and this definitely pays off with its tense, exciting and gripping storytelling throughout. The decision to split this story into two parts was definitely warranted, as it gives this episode plenty of time to focus on the fight between Ultron and our heroes without having to spend any time introducing the conflict. It’s easily one of the most interesting episodes of the series, and it allows these characters to continue their individual stories whilst offering some meaningful emotional payoffs throughout.
The Recap
The episode opens with the reintroduction of a character from the show’s very first episode, Captain Carter. Now we see her in the modern day as a member of S.H.I.E.L.D on what seems to be a hostage rescue mission, but the scene is quickly cut short by the arrival of The Watcher. He snatches away Carter from her universe, and we then follow his multidimensional recruitment process - selecting T’Challa’s Star Lord, Killmonger’s Black Panther, Party Thor and a version of Gamora who we soon learn managed to defeat Thanos and destroy the Infinity Gauntlet. When they all arrive in The Watcher’s mysterious universe, they find themselves faced with the Dark Strange Supreme as he explains to them why they’re here - to take down Ultron and protect the multiverse as they know it. The Watcher explains that the only way to bring him down is by separating his physical body from the six Infinity Stones, which they can then destroy using the ‘Infinity Crusher’, a device Gamora used to destroy the stones in her universe. After surprisingly little persuasion, the team agrees to the mission. The Watcher dubs them the ‘Guardians of the Multiverse’, and explains that in order to achieve victory they will need time to prepare for the fight, so he sends them away to an uninhabited planet to begin their plan.
Once the Guardians reach their destination, Strange quickly afflicts the other heroes with a powerful charm of protection, which he claims will temporarily protect them from Ultron’s power. The newfound friends share a toast, but it doesn’t take long for Ultron to track them down and break up the party. Thor valliantly attempts to stop him with a powerful burst of lightning from Mjolnir, but they soon learn that their powers have almost no effect on the cosmic force of the Infinity Stones. A thrilling battle sequence commences, with action scenes that illicit similaries to the Avenger’s battle with Thanos on Titan (perhaps because of Doctor Strange’s many tricks that he uses along the way, including the summoning of three fire-breathing dragons that he uses to steal the Mind Stone from Ultron). The team is clearly no match for Ultron, especially without suitable preparation, and so Doctor Strange conjures a portal from a very familiar universe to hold Ultron back as they escape - a portal full of zombies, led by a furiously unleashed Scarlet Witch. However, the team’s escape isn’t quite as clean as they’d hoped. Strange transports them to Ultron’s home planet - the world we saw destroyed last week by Ultron and his army - where they encounter a justifiably hostile Black Widow, who snatches the Mind Stone. Thankfully Captain Carter is able to calm her by proving their friendship in her home universe, and Natasha agrees to help them in their plan. Ultron finally arrives, and a high-stakes battle for the Mind Stone begins (again, not dissimilar to the battle for the Gauntlet at the end of Avengers: Endgame), that gives us one of the most visually striking and well directed scenes of the show so far, giving every single character a chance to shine in the spotlight.
Eventually, it’s Doctor Strange who’s able to use his dark magic to subdue Ultron and hold him down whilst his teammates fire up the Infinity Crusher and pull the stones from his body. However, they soon discover that because the device was created to destroy the stones of Gamora’s universe, it isn’t equipped to destroy those from other universes, and Ultron breaks free. The battle continues, until Black Widow is able to fire Hawkeye’s arrow (still imbedded with Zola’s consciousness) into Ultron’s body and successfully allows Zola to break him down from the inside. With Ultron defeated and the stones freed, Killmonger makes his move. He dons Ultron’s armour and equips the Infinity Stones, betraying the plan and demanding to keep them for himself, but Zola has other plans. Also planning on taking the stones for himself, he (in Ultron’s body) battles Killmonger for their possession. Thankfully Doctor Strange is able to freeze them inside a pocket dimension, keeping both themselves and the Infinity Stones out of reach forerer. The heroes are all sent back to their own universes - except for Natasha, who is deposited in a world where Black Widow has recently died, so she can live out the rest of her days with the Avengers once again.
The Review
You won’t find anybody more pleased than I am that What If..? managed to end the series effectively. It was inevitable that these storylines would converge at some point, but the cynical side of me didn’t expect it so work quite as well as it did. The characterization of these heroes is accurate to both their cinematic equivalents and their initial appearances in the show, so it’s a lot of fun to watch them interact with each other and see how their individual circumstances come into play in this larger story. For instance, there’s a surprisingly poignant conversation between Strange and Carter before the big battle with Ultron where they realize that both their stories and acquisition of powers had been driven by love and sacrifice, and it makes you realize that these aren’t just random stories that have been pulled together, but that the characters actually have a lot more in common than you might initially think.
On a technical level, this is definitely one of the most visually and directorially impressive episodes in the way it handles its many fight sequences and bold colors that run throughout. There are some beautifully composed shots that rival the visual prowess of even some of the MCU’s best looking films, using a dynamic approach that makes you feel as though you’re really there in the midst of all these characters. The episode also has that signature feel of excitement that comes with seeing all these familiar characters come together in one united mission - it’s the same technique that makes the Avengers' movies so much fun to watch, in that we’ve already been introduced to these characters separately and now get to see how they might interact with each other. It also means the episode doesn’t have to waste any time on exposition or explanation of events, which helps keep the pacing steady and investing. Overall, What If..? might not have been the most consistent of all the Disney+ Marvel shows so far, but when it manages to reach those emotional highs it can be extremely effective, and it’s introduced plenty of exciting new characters that I’d love to see return in some form one day.