The Watcher returns…

Season 3 is the last and concluding season of What If? This was made clear from the trailer and it’s fitting that as the wider MCU abandons the Multiverse saga then What If? which is based on the very idea of the multiverse also comes to a close.

I’m not sad about this because I’m very happy with shows that know when to end and can do so with a sense of a conclusion.

Season 3 is patchy. The opening in particular isn’t strong. I do wonder if What If? was originally meant to continue indefinitely and has come to a premature ending because of wider changes within the MCU. Either way, the season is definitely in two halves with the first half entirely unconnected to what happens towards the season’s conclusion. This is kind of fine – each of the stories largely stand on their own but the reintroduction of several recurring characters at the end of the season comes from nowhere and while it’s fun and works in its own right, they’ve been absent for the rest of the season without comment. In other words the connective tissue is missing and that leaves a gap that doesn’t get bridged.

The standout episode for me is a weird western featuring Simu Lui’s Shang Chi. I miss this character and hope there’s more for him in the future. I’m choosing to believe that his appearance here means he will also be in future live action shows and movies. There’s lots of speculation to this effect but with so much change it’s impossible to know for certain until we’re much closer to actual movies rather than ever shifting release schedules that tell us nothing but what aspirational marketing managers are being told to sell.

Verdict: Thankfully What If? ends with a proper conclusion but at the same time it doesn’t really feel like it made much impact. So, fun in its own right, and really, that’s more than enough. But it’s also no more than that.

Rating? 7 Watchers out of 10.

Stewart Hotston