Marvel's What If...? episode 8 spoilers follow.
"We've seen this before," says the Watcher at the start of What If's new episode. "A universe in the final days of destruction. But this particular story... this one breaks my heart."
Marvel's latest Disney+ show is no stranger to heartbreak. From Zombie Wanda and Uncle Ben to that devastating Dark Strange episode, Marvel's What If…? has gone out of its way to break our hearts on more than one occasion. But up until now, there's been no time to process this pain, or anything that happened in each episode really, because most of these stories have ended rather abruptly at odd or surprising moments.
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Remember back in episode two when the credits rolled just as Ego landed on Earth? Or how about the arrival of Zombie Thanos at the end of episode five? Ending each story on a cliffhanger that would never be resolved became a source of frustration for fans hoping to see some follow-through on these ideas.
Part of that naturally stemmed from the show's premise, which was initially sold as a series of one-off standalone episodes. But thankfully, all those maddening final shots actually mean something now that we know What If? is far more connected than we once thought.
A recent trailer first confirmed this, revealing that characters from previous episodes will team up to take on a Vision/Ultron hybrid, and the end of episode seven followed through with the Big Bad's arrival in Party Thor's world. Still though, if you weren't paying attention to the promos, you might have just assumed that this would be yet another unresolved ending that the show would never return to.
Episode eight, 'What If… Ultron Won?', is the first to tie everything together in a significant way, starting with the origin story of Vision/Ultron (who we will now refer to as Vultron from here on out).
Those "final days of destruction" that the Watcher mentions are brought about by the Avengers and their failure to stop Vultron from being created. The ensuing nuclear war brings a calm (of sorts) to earth, but why stop there? After achieving his mission for world "peace", Vultron steals the infinity stones from Thanos with surprising ease and uses them to destroy all life in the cosmos.
But not even that's enough for this maniacal robot. Sensing the Watcher's presence, Vultron realises that there's a whole multiverse of possibilities people to murder out there, so he starts by attacking our not-so-silent observer. The pair battle their way through multiple realities, including one where America's Ass has become America's Ass-In-Chief in the White House.
The Watcher puts up a brave fight, but ultimately flees Vultron's attack after his giant bald head is almost crushed into a giant bald pile of mush. Realising that he's out of options, the Watcher asks episode four's Dark Strange for help, knowing that only this sassiest and most evil of all the Doctor Stranges can help stop the multiverse's impending doom.
Speaking to EW, director Bryan Andrews explained that this culmination of all the season one stories was "orchestrated from the very beginning". And while episode eight can technically be enjoyed as a standalone too, Head Writer AC Bradley confirms in the same interview that this storyline will actually be resolved (to some degree) in episode nine, the season finale.
"For once we actually answer the end tag," says Bradley, joking that the title for these last two episodes could be: "What If the What If…? Writers Stopped Trying to Piss Off Twitter?"
Expanding more on all of the previous cliffhangers we're yet to see resolved, Bradley says, "I'm excited for people to see that we're not going in there clueless, that there was a bit of a bigger plan. I'm aware that many of the episodes end tragically, and there might be a reason. I'm hoping people have enjoyed the ride so far, and that the finale gives them everything we promised."
So there you have it! All of those abrupt endings will be resolved to some degree before season one comes to an end. But – cue dramatic Watcher voice – given the tragic nature of these stories that we've seen before, don't be surprised if their resolution in this particular finale breaks your heart.
Marvel's What If...? is out now on Disney+ with new episodes releasing weekly on Wednesdays.
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After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
