WHAT IF...? "What If?" Series Finale Spoiler Recap: A Tragic Farewell And Some Unbelievable New Variants

WHAT IF...? "What If?" Series Finale Spoiler Recap: A Tragic Farewell And Some Unbelievable New Variants

The final-ever episode of What If...? is now streaming on Disney+ and we're taking you through all the biggest moments and reveals, including the surprise appearance of some very unexpected new Variants...

By JoshWilding - Dec 29, 2024 03:12 AM EST
Filed Under: What If

The series finale of What If...? opens by taking us back to the day The Watcher was inducted into the order by the Eminence. It's made clear to him that, to watch over everyone, he must become no one. After questioning the point of only watching, The Watcher vows to never fail...but, as we know, he did. 

In the present, he's labelled a heretic but defends his actions; The Watcher wants to help the Multierse grow and Steve Rogers, Reed Richards, and Madisynn Variants are mentioned as being among those he's saved. 

The Eminence, Incarnate, and Executioner care nothing about people and, just as they're about to kill The Watcher, Infinity Ultron intervenes. He holds them off while the heroic cosmic being escapes alongside Captain Carter, Kahhori, Byrdie, and Storm, but is destroyed. 

The plan now is to travel to Strange Supreme's reality because his soul is in every atom of the universe he created; with any luck, The Watchers can be depowered there but it's too late - they've already caught up with the Exiles. 

The team takes the oath and gains the power of The Watchers for an epic fight in which The Watcher's name is finally revealed as Uatu. 

Planets are destroyed during this battle and, when the heroes gain the advantage, the twisted trio refuses to yield. Taking advantage of Uatu's hesitation, they combine, and vow to erase every Variant of the Exiles from existence (we see all manner of crazy doppelgangers as this happens, with Kahorri clearly part of the X-Men in other realities). 

Captain Carter's will is too strong and she becomes a cosmic being who makes the ultimate sacrifice to stop the Eminence and his loyal followers. In her dying moments, she transported them all to Strange's reality where they're powerless; Uatu explains that he's opened his eyes and will now show them what he's discovered: they must learn to see.

Uatu is confident that, even in death, Peggy is watching over him, Kahhori, Byrdie, and Storm and her shield is left in the Fifth Dimension. 

What If...? ends with a glimpse at several Variants. Among them are a six-armed Spider-Man, a Punisher Ironheart, a Samurai Ghost Rider, the Moon Knight Blade from Marvel Zombies, a Maestro-like Sorcerer Hulk, Wolverine Thanos, Jubilee as the Silver Surfer, a Skrull Captain America, Kingo as Iron Man, a Wasp/Ms. Marvel hybrid, Young Hela, Shang-Chi Star-Lord, and Deadpool. 

Uatu continues to watch as the show concludes, though there's no post-credit scene and nothing that directly ties What If...?'s third and final season into the wider Multiverse Saga.

The end of the beginning...

The cast for episode 8 includes Jeffrey Wright, Hayley Atwell, Jason Isaacs, Devery Jacobs, Alison Sealy-Smith, and Natasha Lyonne. The episode is directed by Bryan Andrews, with a story by Bryan Andrews, Matthew Chauncey, and Ryan Little, and a teleplay by Matthew Chauncey and Ryan Little.

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bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 12/29/2024, 3:38 AM
That's not how I expected it to go. I doesn't quite land for me, but that might be the animation style. Just like the Agatha episode, it doesn't do the epicness justice imo.

Anyway, wonder if we'll see Captain Carter again. Exiles in Secret Wars would be cool. And hopefully with Shang-Chi Star-Lord, because that's pretty cool too.
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 12/29/2024, 4:20 AM
@bkmeijer1 - It wouldn't surprise me if the What If...? Captain Carter will be Loki's secret weapon for recruiting Multiverse heroes to battle Doom.
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 12/29/2024, 4:36 AM
@SonOfAGif - I could see something like that happen. My guess is Loki will be captured by Doom and be used as Battleworld's battery (like Molecule Man).

Maybe as a contingency Loki could call upon the Exiles (including the D&W squad).
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 12/29/2024, 12:38 PM
@bkmeijer1 - Or Uatu and The Watchers become imprisoned by Doom after he destroys the fifth dimension and that's when Uatu calls upon some of the best Multiverse fighters he has seen to fight back. That's when Deadpool and Wolverine join the Exiles in try to free Loki.
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 12/29/2024, 12:42 PM
@SonOfAGif - yeah, that could work too. Wouldn't be surprised if the TVA ends up playing a role in it too though. Wonder why they didn't have a big role in What If though.
Knowherefast
Knowherefast - 12/29/2024, 3:58 AM
The potential of this series was limitless. The conclusion we got was pointless. And unfortunately, getting mad about it now is useless.

I hope this poorly recieved final season acts as a low point for the animated division going forward.
Skestra
Skestra - 12/29/2024, 11:36 AM
@Knowherefast - Well said!
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 12/29/2024, 4:19 AM
Quality of episodes aside, Jeffrey is perfect casting. He really makes the whole thing sound grand, majestic, and somewhat spooky. It's so weird—I get a strange sense of nostalgia when he speaks the intro.

Some of these episodes were just plain bad, but I thought the last three episodes were pretty solid. Hoping Uatu comes back (I know he will).
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 12/29/2024, 4:21 AM
Infinity Ultron was the best thing from this entire series.
Mrtoke
Mrtoke - 12/29/2024, 10:18 AM
@SonOfAGif - definitely
Fogs
Fogs - 12/29/2024, 4:21 AM
Jesus, just by reading this I feel the series' name should be anything but 'What If'.

What a waste of potential, as mentioned above.
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 12/29/2024, 4:25 AM
I truly do not know where Marvel wanted to go with The Multiverse. The concept of variants and those variants meeting their other variants is cool but it's been absolutely no consequences at all with any of the Multiversal stories. Everyone has been wrapped up nicely and haven't been building towards anything. The only film that felt like it had severe consequences was The Eternals surprisingly with Arishem. No other Multiverse Saga entry has felt impactful to the overall saga. Such a shame.
Matchesz
Matchesz - 12/29/2024, 6:05 AM
Do teenaged girls even watch this show? Idk who its supposed to be for
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 12/29/2024, 6:18 AM
How can a show about the infinite possibilities of the multiverse end up feeling so small. What a bummer.
CLTMAN29
CLTMAN29 - 12/29/2024, 6:20 AM
There's something quite funny in the most of we've actually SEEN of Mahershala Ali as Blade in the 6 years since his announcement is an animated still where's dressed as Moon Knight.
Lysander45
Lysander45 - 12/29/2024, 6:49 AM
Many complaints about this show can be boiled down to this unspoken train of thought that nags at the back of the mind when a person is presented with 'infinite possibilities', "Why didn't they show the possibility that I wanted to see?"

We feel cheated, somehow, because they chose to show Shang-Chi in the Wild West instead of Blade or whatever other idea we conjure in our minds. This breeds a feeling of expectation like we know where things are going. "Of course, this will end with a nod that directly links with the film we know is coming that doesn't even have a fully written script yet."
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 12/29/2024, 8:16 AM
@Lysander45 - Man, I don't know. The problem for me isn't that they didn't explore the stories I wanted, but rather that they felt the need to make the episodes interconnected. Plenty of "big swings," sure, but too many episodes shoehorned into building to a "big finish."
Batmangina
Batmangina - 12/29/2024, 6:52 AM
Jesus. This was the Captain Carter show after all?

That is not the premise of What If? in the comics - which of course they didn't follow other than to repurpose the name.

So it was basically, What If Captain America's Girlfriend Was A Cosmic Boss Babe That Dismantled The Watchers' Patriarchy?

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What If the MCU Wasn't DEAD AF...?
mountainman
mountainman - 12/29/2024, 9:43 AM
@Batmangina - Captain Carter and her girl boss multiverse squad! All Marvel fans have been chomping at the bit to get Kahori and Birdie adapted so well!
Batmangina
Batmangina - 12/29/2024, 10:59 AM
@mountainman - HELL YEAH!! Thank God they didn't have that Jewish chick in it - but they could have used a lot more 'Queers for People and Places Where Being Queer Gets You Killed' representation.

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GodHercules20
GodHercules20 - 12/29/2024, 6:55 AM
No more Mary Sue Captain Carter pls
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 12/29/2024, 8:18 AM
@GodHercules20 - I'll grant you she was overused, but a Mary Sue?
ZaphodDent42
ZaphodDent42 - 12/29/2024, 7:40 AM
I know I'm in the minority but I loved the entire thing from beginning to end, just switched my brain off and had fun with it.
Crtdacct2say
Crtdacct2say - 12/29/2024, 7:57 AM
It's a true shame. I always wanted a 'what if...?' series and we never got one.
MisterBones
MisterBones - 12/29/2024, 9:13 AM
This show was a waste
hue66
hue66 - 12/29/2024, 10:02 AM
They lost their way after the first season which was truly a what if of storyline alternatives to what we witnessed in the movies and series. And went with new stories with no reference to anything. Unless you've read the comics. The stories did not have to connect to each other at the end. But could have remained separate. I expect zombies to be connected of course though.
Mrtoke
Mrtoke - 12/29/2024, 10:21 AM
I’m so glad I watched none of this season. Saw the megazoid scene on Twitter and said absolutely tf not. Smh lol
Skestra
Skestra - 12/29/2024, 11:39 AM
I'm a ride or die MCU fan who has only ever been disappointed by one entry in the franchise (*cough* Secret Invasion *cough*) and there were things in these last eight episodes of "What If?" I thoroughly enjoyed. But man, did they drop the ball this season. Half of their story concepts were paper-thin. Actors who voiced their roles in the previous seasons declined or were unable to return this year. Instead of a grand finale where they could have featured a legion of multiverse characters from across the MCU, it was just the three specifically created for the television show and Storm.

I liked the show overall. I really did. But geez, it's like they didn't want to put any effort into this last go-round. So much squandered potential.
Shmokey20
Shmokey20 - 12/29/2024, 12:17 PM
Was this show supposed to be aimed at like 10 year old girls? They take every opportunity to put men down & show men as either idiots or powerless compared to their female counterpart. The writing was absolute trash. The animation sucked ass. The stories had no real consequences & lots of weird decisions (humans & animals having sexual relationships) it just all rubbed me the wrong way. This show had potential to be cool & exciting! Only for it to be used as a tool to push some sort of agenda...
marvel72
marvel72 - 12/29/2024, 1:08 PM
Whoever thought Jubliee as the Silver Surfer is a good idea.

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YonnyLayna
YonnyLayna - 12/29/2024, 2:07 PM
They should get people from the comibook division to write episodes or handle seasons of their animated content , Matt Fration, JM Strazinsky, Grant Morrison, Mark Millar, Ed Brubaker,
YonnyLayna
YonnyLayna - 12/29/2024, 2:08 PM
@YonnyLayna - or create original content for their servicio, they are missing out.
TheShellyMan
TheShellyMan - 12/29/2024, 2:59 PM
This show is lame. I can't be wasted on the huge potential of what it could've been.

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