We hit the penultimate episode straight out of the ending of Episode 7 which left us wondering if the Watcher really did see everything. Deliberately avoided in my review last week because, you know, spoilers, what we had was Ultron turning up with all six infinity stones and surprising not just Thor but the Watcher as well.

This episode slides sideways from that ending, setting the clock back and exploring the rise of Ultron in an alternate universe where the Avengers failed to stop him from uniting with the body which otherwise became Vision.

It’s a little strange that it doesn’t follow on from the end of the last episode but that’s a small quibble. Episode 8 is superb – slinging us through the idea of the multiverse while also giving us some excellent small drama between Clint and Natasha as they wander through the post nuclear wasteland which was once St Petersburg before seeing them move on to Siberia. I won’t spoil their plan because it will feed directly into next week’s episode (because make no mistake this is a two parter).

The action here is really interesting with several head to head battles which see some of the most powerful known characters in the MCU go head to head. Captain Marvel, Thanos, the Avengers and, eventually, the Watcher themselves face off against Ultron and they all struggle.

You could suggest there’s a sense of power creep here, that Ultron, even with the infinity stones, simply can’t do what’s suggested, but I think the power on display feels consistent with the promise of the infinity stones if not what we’ve seen of them in the MCU so far.

It’s clear Ultron understands them better than anyone else we’ve seen in the MCU (with the exception of the Celestial in Guardians of the Galaxy who we see destroying a planet with just one). The show suggests he has figured out the extreme impact they can have and is happy to use it.

It also brings into sharp relief that Thanos only ever wanted to use them for one thing and every other use was driven by this desire – to cut the universe and then walk away.

Having said all that, and enjoying the beats of the episode as it builds towards the end of season next week, there’s a strange reflexivity in this story.

By that I mean the following – the Watcher narrates the events of the episode and it’s his narration which Ultron hears. Without it, Ultron would not have noticed there was a multiverse.

And who was the Watcher narrating on behalf of? Us, the viewer.

You could argue that without the need to tell the audience what was happening, Ultron would never have been free to plague the multiverse. In a very real sense, it is our fault this has happened.

The idea is subversive because it suggests that the suffering we see is entirely caused by our watching the show. You could (if we’re really going for it) suggest the makers, in telling the story, force us as viewers into this position and so are equally, if not more to blame. However you want to tie yourself up though, this is a central premise of the story; that in watching it, in having the narrator narrate, we are complicit in the terror visited upon this fictional universe by Ultron.

Perhaps there’s even a threat there that Ultron might not be contained by the screen upon which he’s appearing and, one day, might come visit us too.

Other shows and plays have done this before – normally in the horror genre (such as the film Funny Games by Michael Haneke from 1997) but in those attempts such fourth wall breaking and entering (because this is so much more than simply breaking the fourth wall) are typically on the nose, deliberately telling the audience what they’re doing and preaching to us.

Here, we see the Watcher speaking and who he’s speaking to could be missed because he also fulfils the role of storyteller rather than functioning purely as a Greek chorus or a cipher of the author.

It’s a great device – pushing back to us that the entire edifice is built by rules we, as the viewer, have set with our agreement to consume certain types of content. Even more so, it speaks back to my criticisms of the genre in general – that it lives with invisible boundaries set by what we, as the viewer, will find acceptable in the largest numbers.

An appearance by Dr Strange towards the back end of the episode suggests that, of all people, Strange is the one most likely to turn to us and say, “I see you there, watching me.” And wouldn’t that be delicious.

On the surface this is an accomplished action set piece of an episode. Yet under the surface it’s kicking in a different direction and this impetus, likely to be subsumed in the resolution, is a really smart piece of construction and writing.

One final comment – there are several scenes in this episode which could be framed and put on the wall. Most notably a spectacular moment involving Clint Barton which deserves to be iconic and memed for as long as people can find the enthusiasm. The art direction all through the series has been exceptional and lovingly aware of its own origins – the scenes here take that and demand we acknowledge the beauty of what lies in the fabric of this medium.

Rating? 9 hive minds out of 10

Stewart Hotston