The third season of Marvel’s What If…? wraps things up nicely. Still, I would have liked to see more episodes of this series. The first two seasons of the animated series Marvel's What If...? showed a lot of creativity. What if important events in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) had gone a little differently? This results in unlikely encounters between special characters. We see this creativity again in the third and final season. At the same time, the makers try to conclude the ongoing storyline around the Watcher (Jeffrey Wright, Westworld), who observes all possible realities.
This season again comes with creative storylines
The eight episodes include a battle between the Avengers in Mecha suits against an alternate version of the Hulk, how Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn, Transparent) and Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani, Silicon Valley) of the Eternals conquer the 1940s film industry, and how Shang-Chi (Simu Liu, Kim's Convenience) and Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld, Dickinson) chase a murderer in the Wild West.
Many of these episodes are again very nice and show enough nice angles. This season clearly focuses less on well-known heroes such as Iron Man, Captain America and Thor. Instead, we see more figures who have been on the sidelines in Marvel history, or who are in more recent films and series, such as the Eternals, Shang-Chi and the Red Guardian (David Harbour, Stranger Things). This makes this season refreshing compared to the first two seasons.
Not every episode is equally strong, however. Episodes three (What if the Red Guardian Stopped the Winter Soldier?) and four (What if Howard the Duck got Hitched) are, in my opinion, the weaker links in this season. These are still fun episodes, but in terms of ideas or execution, they were less innovative or exciting than most of the other episodes.
The voice cast and animation are again top notch. It's great to see that many actors from the films and series also lend their voices to their characters here. Not every actor is back, but the fact that a different voice actor is used for some roles is not a problem. Furthermore, Natasha Lyonne (Orange Is the New Black) and Jason Isaacs (Star Trek: Discovery) voice new characters that we have not seen in the MCU before. The animation also looks very good, as we are used to from this series.
Season three of What If...? neatly wraps up the storyline.
In addition to the separate stories, there is also an ongoing storyline about the Watcher. He has sworn an oath to only watch and not to intervene. The fact that he sometimes tramples on this oath costs him dearly. During the season, seeds are cleverly planted. The finale is spectacular and knows how to refer back in a good way to where this series once began and which previous stations have been passed.
All in all, I enjoyed the third season of Marvel’s What If…? At the same time, it’s a shame that the ending is also quite definitive. I understand that you have to stop somewhere, but there were so many more opportunities to mix up stories. As far as I’m concerned, this series could have continued for years!
