There is always a nice bonus with being able to review the newest and hottest Marvel project (or any project for that matter) before it releases to the general public, but as Uncle Ben always says with great power comes great responsibility. With that being said, linear televisions shows and movies are always infinitely easier to talk about in broad strokes because you can divulge some general information about what audiences are expected to get themselves into before they venture into it. With a show like What If…? nothing is really linear (or so we expect) and thusly writing a review based on episodes we cannot talk about felt a little counterproductive.
This is all to say that while we have had access to these episodes before they aired on Disney+ not being able to talk about the voice cast, the plots of the episodes, or anything in any vague detail is rather impossible to talk about the show as a whole. So instead we waited until the episodes aired that we can talk about and what is coming next and what it means for the future of the show and possibly the MCU.
So as the show goes, the idea of the show is to either take elements of the MCU that has already happened and retcon the stories we already know and put different characters in those roles, or create new stories all together that change the MCU as a whole that we already know. I would say episodes 4 and 5 are the first two episodes that really retcon the stories we already know with “What If…Iron Man Crashed into the Grandmaster?’ and ‘What If… Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper?’ and the latter of these two episodes not only is one of the best of the season, but sets up audiences for the rest of the season of the show. With the December 27th episode being ‘What If…Kahhori Reshaped the World?’ and nearly breaks the mould of this non linear story telling we’ve experienced through the first season and the first half of this second season. Without spoiling what is coming these next three days, it does play more of a three part mini series than individual episodes and this 90 minute collective special is fantastic. It is the best of the season, and honestly something truly magical, if this is there way of attempting to connect the Disney+ shows together and possibly further down the road, I am all for it as this truly brings something interesting to the dynamic of the world that been created thus far. While simultaneously breaking the mould that has been created for What If…? this final 3 episodes truly gives fans of the show, fans of the MCU, and people who want to see something that I personally would love to see as a movie down the road a new life and creates something truly for the audience to get lost in.
Going back to the beginning of the season though, episode one of Nebula joining the Nova Corps provided some fun that was certainly expected for the show, but wasn’t the strongest episode. Moving to episodes two and three though, consisting of What If…Peter Quill Attacked Earth’s Mightiest Heroes? and What If…Happy Hogan Saved Christmas? For starters, the Peter Quill episode felt overlong and generally a little messy, he’s still a child and the character just felt that more than it should’ve. It lacked some depth and creativity to create a strong episode. However, the third episode the Christmas episode is one of the best episodes of the entire season prior to the show becoming linear. There is so much fun and joyous moments in Happy Hogan saving Christmas, that it brings forth some new lore and fun to a season that started off a little choppy.
Overall, What If…? season 2 starts off a little slower than fans would’ve initially liked, but the final trio of episodes certainly makes up for the rockier start. There is so much to digest and unpack with the final three episodes that are sure to shake the MCU to its core, if they decide that this show can fall into the extended universe and not remain bottled. Time will tell as the brilliant Jeffrey Wright as The Watcher would say, so strap yourself in for an incredible finish to the rockier than anticipated start of What If…? Season 2!
