“There is a fine line between devotion and delusion. Love can break more than your heart. It can shatter your mind.” — O’Bengh
The word “shatter” is the perfect word to fully encapsulate this entire episode. It is evident that a part of Stephen Strange is shattered throughout this episode since he continues to lose his love. So when The Watcher took us to New York to take a look at a hypothetical timeline with the former surgeon, I knew some shenanigans were going to occur in this latest episode of What If…?
In the canonical movies, we all know Dr. Stephen Strange is an ass in every aspect of his life. This ends up being the downfall of his surgical career and the groundwork for his sorcerer life. Rather than Dr. Strange having his hands crushed in his car accident, the passenger in his luxury automobile is killed. This passenger is Christine Palmer, the woman he knew he loved but did not know how to fully love considering his narcissistic tendencies. The Watcher puts it beautifully when he explains, “In this universe, Stephen Strange didn’t lose his hands, but his heart.”
This trauma leads to a similar domino being pushed for Dr. Strange since he still ends up learning the mystic arts under the Ancient One and beside the adorable Wong. However, the loss of an important person in your life will always hold a much heavier weight than losing a limb or appendage, no matter your profession. Since he mastered the powers of Eye of Agamotto, Stephen Strange uses its powers to try and save Christine. Time and time again, we see Stephen try; time and time again, we see Stephen fail. This leads to him almost losing hope until the Ancient One appears to try and save the great doctor and even better sorcerer. She blasts Strange with some sort of magic, and then the episode really kicks off.
The audience eventually finds out that the Ancient One splits Steven Strange’s universe and timeline into two. The first one tries to save Christine by any means necessary. This means Stephen travels to Cagliostro’s library to get some answers on how to improve his mystic powers. By doing this, we see an even more reckless version of Stephen Strange that we have seen in the MCU before. With the live-action movie version, we saw someone who pushed the rules presented to him since his ends would always justify the means, and he never broke any laws of nature. This version, however, is doing things for personal gain and makes him exponentially more dangerous.
The second one decides to move on with his life and does his best to live a full and happy life. Much more like the Dr. Strange we know and admire, this version eventually discovers the universe is literally being ripped apart. His old friend the Ancient One informs him of the two versions shattered across the timeline, and this angelic and justified Strange must stop the evil one.
Following a big mystical battle of stunning visuals and diametrically opposed Stephen Strange’s, the evil one wins out and is able to bring Christine back from the dead. During his journey, though, this disgusting Strange shows his true face. By gaining his mystical powers, Evil Strange became a monster. This monster he became was a collation of the beasts he absorbed and was not the same man who started this expedition. Strange was shattered and lost himself along the way.
So much about this fourth episode of Marvel’s What If…? is unique compared to the first three. There is a separate timeline divergent within the episode that itself is divergent of the movie canon. Not only that, but The Watcher is becoming much more involved in the stories. One scene had Strange heard The Watcher’s narration, and then they later had a full conversation.
I am thinking (and still holding onto hope) that What If…? will cause a lot more waves in the overall Marvel Cinematic Universe but it is still obviously too early considering it’s only four episodes in. Knowing Kevin Feige, I’m sure there are plenty of plans being prepped and seeds being planted.
Marvel’s What If…? is now streaming exclusively on Disney+.
