Doctor Strange, along with his limitless sorcerous potential, has forever felt like one the MCU’s most dangerous wild cards, and What If’s fourth episode makes clear why. because the guardian of our reality, Strange’s cosmic perspective and access to the Time Stone has principally been a blessing up to the current purpose - the coming events of Spider-Man: No means Home still - however here, the results of Strange obsessing over his world power with no thought to the nice responsibility that follows it area unit dire. The wizard Supreme’s descent into mourning madness is a good cautionary tale regarding what loss will do to someone and furthers the argument that these additional mature stories area unit What If’s bread and butter. which ending!
Episode four takes the inspiration of Strange’s (Benedict Cumberbatch) mystical journey - the automobile accident that took his hands - and twists fate by golf shot Dr. Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams) within the traveler seat. Strange losing the utilization of his hands was already a plain incentive for his journey to Kamar-Taj in his solo film, however Christine’s death puts him in a good additional desperate state of mind by the time he gets there. He’s still able to defeat Dormammu and become wizard Supreme, however the Time Stone around his neck hangs heavier and heavier as Strange’s power grows.
While Strange is in a position to time travel back to the night of the accident, nothing he will saves Christine from dying: it’s a nexus event, or associate degree “absolute purpose in time” as this episode refers to that. whereas our understanding of a nexus event’s importance to the MCU’s plot going forward remains growing, the conception is employed splendidly during this episode to represent the results of tragedy, of loss thus painful we’d undo the globe to reverse it. Strange’s centuries-spanning marathon of conjury monsters to soak up their power could be a nice illustration of this, evoking his intense concentrate on negotiation with Dormammu at any personal value. With every creature (or evil garden gnome) absorbed, Strange virtually becomes an additional of monster. There’s a part of Gothic horror to the full episode, with Strange positioned as each Doctors Jekyll and Frankenstein as he learns the price of his busy hauteur. What If could be a nice vehicle for these morality plays once it will avoid dipping an excessive amount of into the fan service well for simple thrills.
Cumberbatch turns in an exceedingly smart vocal performance, particularly once Strange’s inability to avoid wasting Christine is popping the screws in his mind. Rachel McAdams encompasses a thankless role as very little over the supply of Strange’s grief, however, she will get time to bring some intensity to her performance in her final scene.
The episode will often strain itself explaining the temporal shenanigans occurring, overcomplicating the story by revealing that the traditional One (Tilda Swinton) used the facility of the Dark Dimension to make 2 versions of Doctor Strange within the same reality. Strange being “half a person, living [*fr1] a life” is distracting, associate degree reserve development that feels built simply to allow U.S. an odd vs. Strange magic fight scene at the tip. The MCU is obtaining a bit too addicted to these mirror grudge matches, and every one the glowy ropes and portals within the multiverse fail to form the full “you’re virtually your own worst enemy” bit feel contemporary. In fact, most of this episode’s strongest visual moments area unit the additional showing emotion reminiscent ones, just like the shadows of Strange’s new horde of inner demons giving thanks to his new wasted look. Despite the traditional One’s distracting involvement, the story sticks its landing, taking one among the darkest turns in MCU history going into the ultimate moments.
The totality of Evil Strange’s failure comes fucking down on him once The Watcher (Jeffrey Wright) finally reveals himself, that we tend to get a tease of earlier on once Strange hears him through no matter cosmic noise cancelling The Watcher uses to narrate to the viewer. He’s been promising he won’t interfere and, even with reality collapsing around Evil Strange, he holds faithful his word. Seeing What If arrange to making a pocket universe for one episode {and then|then|so|and thus} material possession the hero’s selections be so devastating that they destroy that universe was implausibly gratifying, and it conjointly gave U.S. some necessary insight into The Watcher. this can be the primary time we’ve seen him actively ignore a personality in want, instead reprehension Strange for his failings. It’s a remarkable development for such a fair character, one United Nations agency extols the importance of selection whereas being outlined by his own apathy.
What If has the liberty to inform any quite story that it needs, stories the live-action MCU movies might not have the bravery to tackle, thus ending on such a down note was a superb reminder of the contemporary potentialities that freedom permits for. Of course, there’s a blade of Damocles hanging over each selection What If “commits” to: it’s not possible to understand if any consequences area unit final. Sure, abandoning a corrupted Stephen Strange screaming in an exceedingly collapsing reality could be a daring and dark selection, however it’s conjointly straightforward to image The Watcher or some villain undoing that drama by plucking him out simply to allow the “Altvengers” What If is putting in place somebody to fight within the finale. Or to allow Sacred Timeline Strange some further madness within the multiverse to contend with once his solo sequel hits screens next year...
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