What I’m Watching: What If…? (Season Finale)

What If…? Season 1, Episode 9 “What If... The Watcher Broke His Oath?” (B)

It was all building to this, which at least is good to know since I wasn’t so sure how everything was all going to come together and what the impetus for more would be. Starting with Captain Carter and Black Widow going in for a mission was enticing, and then we saw the Watcher choose all of the people that he needed in order to be able to go up against Ultron, brought together in a pub façade manufactured by Doctor Strange. There was still a perhaps excessive comic focus on Thor, who just wanted interdimensional Chinese food delivered, in a way that I don’t think was quite as pronounced when he gained a lot of weight and lost a lot of motivation in “Avengers: Endgame.” After they were all declared the Guardians of the Universe, he managed to attract enough attraction to get Ultron there before they were prepared, but fortunately Strange’s spell was sufficient in protecting them. Less fortunately, Gamora was right to realize that the crusher had been designed to destroy the stores only on her world, and it took the cleverness of Zola being uploaded as a virus to bring him down. Naturally, Killmonger wanted to use the regained stones to better his world, but that’s not how any of this is supposed to work. Black Widow getting sent to a world that had lost their Natasha Romanoff was a worthwhile ending, and the major discovery during the credits just indicates that there are more multiversal exploits to come. I wanted to make sure I watched this show but ultimately don’t feel like I needed to, and I don’t think I’m going to make a point to watch season two unless this series somehow ends up winning major awards.

Season grade: B
Season MVP: Peggy Atwell as Captain Carter