Helmed by Bryan Andrews and AC Bradley, Season 2 of What If…? continues the journey that began in Season 1 as The Watcher guides viewers through the vast multiverse, introducing brand new and familiar faces in the anthology series that questions, revisits and twists classic Marvel Cinematic moments as well as introduce completely new stories.
Now I really liked the first season of this series but there was no denying that it felt largely like an experimental season that had the potential to go really outside the box with creative stories but it didn’t really go for it yet, aside from several episodes that stood out. This season on the other hand promised to step out of the experimental phase and really go wild, telling more original and diverse stories.
After watching all 9 episodes within 9 days I can happily say that Season 2 lived up to its promise as well as hugely exceeded my expectations. I wasn’t expecting to love every story of this season as much as I did but each one offered something marvelous and well-crafted, making it a major step up from Season 1 in many ways. For starters, the animation has vastly improved in this season as a whole. Not that it was bad in the first season but there were some episodes where it felt like it wasn’t as good as it could have been. Here every episode looked consistently great in quality and visually unique.
A lot of the action has also improved, with stunning sequences that you wouldn’t necessarily be able to accomplish in live action without using a significant amount of CGI, so I’m glad to see this season take advantage of its animated setting to go bigger, better, and more creative.
But more importantly, it feels like the writing has significantly improved, as each story felt like true What If stories, being way more inventive and original in comparison to the majority of the previous season.
The variants of various characters both new and old are written extremely well and the voice performances are solid for each of them, especially the returning cast members reprising their roles. I also love how this season highlights and even redeems various characters from the MCU’s history who were underutilized before.
As this is an anthology series I will break down each episode like I did in the previous season, and as always I will try not to reveal any major spoilers, except for the last two episodes that will feature mild spoilers.
Kicking things off is Episode 1 “WHAT IF… NEBULA JOINED THE NOVA CORPS?”, which follows an alternate universe where a reformed Nebula (Karen Gillan) is on a path of redemption from her old life as a daughter of Thanos, becoming a part of the galactic police force known as the Nova Corps. She takes matters into her own hands to investigate the mysterious murder of Yondu (Michael Rooker) and discovers a nefarious plot that puts the whole world of Xandar at risk.
This premiere episode is an amazing start to the series that feels like a full-on Blade Runner-inspired crime thriller, with Nebula as the lead exploring a gritty and crime-filled version of Xandar. It is largely different from the Season 1 premiere where we only saw a slight tweak to a story we already know, while this one takes one change and sets up a whole new landscape in the best way possible. It also features fun and unexpected encounters with various cosmic characters such as Howard the Duck (Seth Green) and Korg (Taika Waititi), who offer good amounts of humor with their inclusions.
But truly the star of this episode is Nebula who is once again wonderfully performed by Karen Gillan who absolutely nails this noir detective version of the character. With her previous appearance in this year’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 it’s clear that the character has been given a significant spotlight of development in the MCU and the same can be said here, even with this alternate universe variant of her.
Nebula’s journey of redemption as an officer of the Nova Corps is a truly solid one that you truly feel invested in from start to end, especially with its cyber-noir setting. This episode sets the stage for what is to come with the following episodes, giving a narratively and visually creative episode that I didn’t expect to love so much but really did, especially as someone who loves the Blade Runner films that the episode has heavy inspiration from.
Episode 2 “WHAT IF… PETER QUILL ATTACKED EARTH’S MIGHTIEST HEROES?” takes place in a universe where Peter Quill (Mace Montgomery Miske) was brought to his father Ego (Kurt Russell) and is being used to ravage several worlds to begin the expansion, but an unexpected alliance of heroes come together to stop this threat when it comes to Earth in 1988. This episode was an absolute action-packed blast that had me smiling from start to finish. It was like a full-on 80s Avengers film, which starts off strong and gets crazier as we get a unique team composed of Hank Pym / Ant-Man (Michael Douglas), King T’Chaka / Black Panther (Atandwa Kani), Dr. Bill Foster / Goliath (Laurence Fishburne), Wendy Lawson / Mar-Vell (Keri Tombazian), Bucky Barnes / The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) and Thor Odinson (Chris Hemsworth).
This team shares such an awesome dynamic and the performances by the cast really sell their chemistry, power sets, and interactions perfectly even within a short amount of time. This episode also presents a great message about the nature of heroes, utilizing the various backgrounds of these different characters to make for an engaging and exciting adventure that feels like it was pulled straight from an Avengers adventure comic.
The action is awesome as well as gorgeously animated, making it feel so grand and epic in scale, especially when seeing them go up against the unhinged Ego. This was a very ambitious but ultimately successful crossover of characters I never thought we would ever need to see together and I am honestly not against the idea of seeing more of this version of the team in their own spin-off series.
Episode 3 “WHAT IF… HAPPY HOGAN SAVED CHRISTMAS?” follows Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings), and the original six Avengers on Christmas Eve as they take on the former arch-nemesis of Tony Stark, Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), who infiltrates the Avengers tower in order to steal a vial that would give Hammer immense physical powers and allow him to get revenge.
With Hawkeye, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, and now this episode the MCU is officially 3 for 3 on delivering awesome Christmas-themed projects. This episode is an absolute delight that pays homage to Die Hard and combines high-stakes Avengers action with the charm, comedy, and coziness of a Christmas special. We get to see some of the MCU’s best side characters interact for the first time in entertaining ways, delivering nonstop fun and wonderfully animated action.
But the biggest surprise was the return of Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer who easily steals the show after being absent from the MCU since Iron Man 2 and All Hail The King. As one of the best parts of Iron Man 2, I think his return has been long overdue and the showmakers brought him back for the perfect occasion, utilizing him brilliantly for this wacky story. Also, Sam Rockwell is an absolute gem with his performance and you could tell he was clearly having a fun time returning to this role and interacting with characters he never got the chance to before. I hope we can get the chance to see him more perhaps in future MCU projects.
Overall, this was a brilliant and perfectly timed Christmas gift of an episode that delivered on its premise and gave us lots of enjoyable surprises and hilarious visual gags. Also, composer Laura Karpman does a stellar job with the music of this episode along with the many wonderful scores she composed for the whole season.
Episode 4 “WHAT IF… IRON MAN CRASHED INTO THE GRANDMASTER?” follows Tony Stark (Mick Wingert) in a universe where his gambit to destroy the Chitauri Fleet during the battle of New York strands him on the planet of Sakaar and pits him in a face-off to overthrow The Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum), leading to a ceremonial, grand prix-turned-demolition-derby—death match that could land Tony on the Sakaarian throne.
This episode was actually the lost episode of Season 1 that introduced the unknown Iron Man and Gamora variants featured in the finale that was unfinished due to COVID impacts on production. But now the episode has finally come in this season and the two-year wait for it was ultimately worth it. This episode was an adrenaline-fueled wild ride that combines so many crazy and creative elements, making for a hugely entertaining episode. The death race aspect of this episode is animated so magnificently in the style of Mad Max Fury Road, infused with the energy of Thor Ragnarok, making for one of the most visually pleasing episodes of the season.
And on top of that, we get a unique pairing of characters, all of whom are performed and written extremely well, which I didn’t expect at all. Even in an alternate universe where things play out differently the actions and nuances of characters involved are on point with the primary MCU characters, making for compelling interactions between them as well as development.
Originally I wasn’t the biggest fan of Mick Wingert’s portrayal of some of the variants of Tony Stark featured in Season 1 but here in this episode, he sounds significantly better and sounds much more like Tony this time around.
Tessa Thompson and Taika Waititi both reprise their roles as Valkyrie and Korg respectively and are absolutely brilliant as them once again, but truly the scene stealer of this episode was national treasure Jeff Goldblum reprising as the Grandmaster. Goldblum delivers the best humor and serves as a compelling villain for the episode, truly being the same glorious gem that he was in Thor Ragnarok but this time pitted against a new hero.
Pitting Stark against the Grandmaster was such an interesting idea that we could never get in the films, which showcases the endless fun possibilities this series can provide under the right conditions. I also do like the brief but strong interactions we get between Stark and Gamora that ultimately lead them to where we see them in the Season 1 finale, bringing things full circle after a two-year-long wait.
Episode 5 “WHAT IF… CAPTAIN CARTER FOUGHT THE HYDRA STOMPER?” follows Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell), who after recovering the long-lost Hydra Stomper is on a new mission to save her old flame, Steve Rogers (Josh Keaton), that sets her on a collision course with new enemies. As the title implies this episode is a direct continuation of the story of Captain Carter after the events of Season 1 and she returns with a bang in yet another amazing episode that serves as a great sequel for her story, as well as sets the stage for the culmination event for this season with a crazy twist ending.
It was great having Captain Carter back and seeing her version of Winter Solider but with many different turns rather than a full rehash of the original story, making it a major improvement over her first story in Season 1. Her dynamic with Natasha Romanoff was really good and Lake Bell is perfect in the role voicing-wise, making them a truly great pairing.
The pacing, action, animation, and emotional beats were all top-notch throughout this episode, as well as the surprise inclusion of major elements of the Black Widow film coming into play in this alternate universe, including the Red Room and Melina Vostokoff, reprised brilliantly by Rachel Weisz who in this universe dons her villain identity as the Iron Maiden.
So much went on in this episode and yet all of it was woven together in perfect harmony to deliver a compelling story that I didn’t expect to love so much. And to top it all off the episode ends with a very surprising cliffhanger that caught me off guard, setting things up for something crazy for the final episodes of the season. More on that later.
Episode 6 “WHAT IF… KAHHORI RESHAPED THE WORLD?” follows the story of a young Mohawk woman named Kahhori (Devery Jacobs) who ventures into the Tesseract-powered waters of the legendary Forbidden Lake to recruit the forces of Sky World to help save her people from conquistadors laying siege to her tribe. Out of all the episodes of this season, this one may yet be my favorite. This episode is a beautifully thoughtful, creatively depth-filled, and surprisingly original story from the MCU that is not based on any pre-existing characters or stories from the comics. It is a grand visual feast for the eyes with its jaw-dropping animation and action as well as a stunning depiction of many Native people, more specifically the citizens of the Kanien’Kehá:ka – the Mohawk nation who are the focus of this episode and even collaborated on making this episode during production.
This episode also has a brilliant message behind it all, led by the fantastic cast, and of course, the titular character Kahhori, who is given a phenomenal performance by Devery Jacobs. Kahhori proves herself to be a very emotionally compelling character and an absolute force of nature with powers given to her by the Tesseract aka the space infinity stone. It becomes abundantly clear that her power not only impacts her universe but can also impact others.
I do know Devery Jacobs is set to play a different character in live action in the upcoming series Echo but to be completely honest, I would very much love to see Kahhori be brought to live action if possible because there is just so much potential to be explored with this character in the MCU beyond this series. Based on the ending of this episode it’s clear that Kahhori’s story has only just begun. Also, I have to give huge praise to the Mohawk nation-themed music that plays throughout this episode.
Episode 7 “WHAT IF… HELA FOUND THE TEN RINGS?” takes us to a universe where the world of Thor and Shang-Chi collide.
Growing weary of Hela’s (Cate Blanchett) bloodlust, Odin (Jeff Bergman) opts to teach his daughter a lesson by stripping her of her powers and banishing her to Earth. But when she lands in ancient China, the seductive lure of the Ten Rings, under the ownership of Xu Wenwu (Feodor Chin), threatens to reawaken the Goddess of Death’s villainous appetite… or does it?
We have had a number of crossovers this season with certain characters in the MCU interacting with each other, but this was definitely the most intriguing amongst them as we see two of the most powerful mystical forces come together. This episode blew my mind with its incredible writing, glorious animation, intense action, and fantastic performances by the cast, including Cate Blanchett phenomenally reprising the role of Hela, who has a very compelling character arc in this universe. We have known her to be one of the most evil and merciless villains of the main universe in the MCU but it was fascinating to see her fleshed out from a different point of view, showing there is a lot more under the surface about her than we realized.
Her pairing with Wenwu puts her on a path that leads to very unexpected but amazing outcomes that change the fate of this universe forever and are really going to have people rooting for this version of her. The new variant of Wenwu is also great, and his story and pairing with Hela make them an unstoppable force, especially when he wields the godly power of the Ten Rings in new ways through the animation. Even though Tony Leung was unfortunately not available to reprise the role I think Feodor Chin does a great job voicing him for this episode.
The “antagonist” of this episode is surprisingly Odin himself, who is a more dangerous variant of the character from the version we know. It was revealed in Thor Ragnarok that Odin was not always the heroic protector of the nine realms that we were led to believe but was once a conqueror who used Hela as his weapon to create an empire built on blood before turning over a new leaf later. That version of Odin is the one we see both Hela and Wenwu go up against in an epic clash of titans, with action that combines the magical power of the world of Thor with the stunning martial arts of the world of Shang Chi, as well as the raw power of the Ten Rings, which are still of unknown origin. The two worlds and their characters are woven together so beautifully through the writing and visuals, making for one of the best crossovers in the Multiverse Saga so far all within one episode that felt like a cinematic epic.
The final two episodes of this season are a bit difficult to discuss without mentioning certain mild spoilers so this is your warning for 🚨MILD SPOILERS AHEAD🚨.
Episode 8 “WHAT IF… THE AVENGERS ASSEMBLED IN 1602?” follows Captain Carter directly after the events of episode 5 where she has been transported to an Elizabethan-era universe that is on the brink of an incursion, and is populated by variants of many familiar heroes and villains including Wanda-Merlin (Elizabeth Olsen), a powerful Scarlet Witch variant. Carter attempts to uncover the cause of the incursion to save this universe from imminent destruction with the help of the Avengers of 1602.
Like episode 2, this was another action-packed and gorgeously animated blast of an episode, but one that dials up the creativity with the 1602 setting and is full of great dynamics, arcs, and surprises. From reimagined yellow jackets to a Shakespearean Loki to a merry band of thieves composed of our favorite heroes, this episode has so many wild things to offer that I was absolutely thrilled with especially how this wonderfully adapts the Marvel 1602 comic run by Neil Gaiman.
It was awesome to have a majority of the Avengers cast back together again playing these variants of the characters in such fun ways, as well as seeing them all dressed in 1602 costumes. This episode also brings back the recurring multiversal event of incursions that were first introduced in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which involves the collision of two universes that are usually caused by meddling with the multiverse and can lead to the destruction of one or both universes. We have both seen and heard what incursions are capable of in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Loki, and recently Quantumania so it is really interesting to see it happening again here as it not only sets some high stakes for the story of this episode but also builds up what we could expect to see in other future stories where incursions play a large part in the universe, including Avengers Secret Wars. The ending of the episode perfectly sets up the finale with the return of a former ally.
Episode 9 “WHAT IF… STRANGE SUPREME INTERVENED?” follows Captain Carter who has now reunited with Supreme Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to hunt down several vicious Universe Killers that are supposedly terrorizing the Multiverse. When they do so she finds that the greatest threat to all existence may be closer to her than she realizes.
Much like the previous season finale, this episode serves as a culmination of some of the previous stories in this season, concluding it with a big bang. And holy shit does this finale end with a big bang, with what I can best describe as a full-on epic multiversal brawl for the ages, all of which is handled amazingly and gives us a taste of what to potentially expect in Secret Wars.
This finale is larger in scale and has great stakes that you feel extremely invested in because of the characters involved, especially with Carter, Strange, and the return of Kahhori. This episode could have easily been lost to the visual madness and insane action on display but it never once lost its narrative footing, giving this season a phenomenal conclusion that is going to be talked about for a long time.
This season as a whole went above and beyond anything I expected going in, and I seriously applaud Bryan Andrews and AC Bradley for really delivering such an amazing second season that vastly outperformed the first in many ways. My only complaint is that this series should have been marketed better because honestly, everyone should give this season a chance even if you weren’t a fan of the first one. And as of writing this review Season 3 has just been confirmed and I for one can’t wait to see what else this series has in store for us if it continues to be given the same amount of time and effort as this season did. I’m going to give What If…? Season 2 an A+ = 99.
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