By Jack Deegan
Correspondent
Marvel Studios’ anticipated animated project, “What If…?,'' aired its season finale on Wednesday, Oct. 6, wrapping up an impressive first season in a satisfying way. The Disney+ show stars Jeffrey Wright as The Watcher — an omniscient being who swore an oath to watch over the multiverse without interfering in it — who serves as the series’ narrator, guiding us through these vast new realities as we explore how major Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) moments would change if things happened differently. Wright is part of a star-studded ensemble cast that includes Hayley Atwell, Chadwick Boseman, Chris Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch and many more familiar faces.
“What If…?” is unlike anything that Marvel Studios has produced. For the first time ever, the Marvel multiverse is opened up, and we’re allowed to play around in it and see what it all has to offer. What makes this special is the creative freedom that the writers were given. Since this show does take place throughout the multiverse and not within the confines of the main MCU, anything can happen. Characters we know and love can be killed off, turned into villains, or taken to new fascinating places that we wouldn’t be able to see in the main MCU continuity. That creative freedom is the strongest part of “What If…?,” and it sets the series apart from everything else that we have seen. It’s fresh and exciting to see the endless possibilities and limitless restrictions that Marvel has with this show.
Perhaps the most important part of any animated media is the animation style itself. No matter how good a show’s writing is, if what we’re seeing on screen doesn’t look good then it’s going to be hard to watch and keep up with everything. Thankfully, the animation style in ‘What If…?’ is absolutely breathtaking. The cel-shaded animation looks beautiful and the live-action characters translate well into animation. It gives the series this comic book style that they can play around with. The usage of light helps to make everything look gorgeous and adds depth to the already incredible animation. It’s really impressive seeing all of the little details that they throw into the animation style, from the way characters move to the effects bouncing off of them. Since each episode takes place in a different universe, the animation changes in subtle ways to visually separate every episode from each other.
When it comes to the voice acting of the show, Marvel tried to bring back as many MCU actors to voice their iconic characters as they could, which helped a lot. Voice acting is a tough job to do, and for the most part, each actor was able to give a great performance. Some actors weren’t the best at it and stuck out like a sore thumb, but overall the voice cast did a tremendous job, especially Benedict Cumberbatch, Lake Bell and the late, great Chadwick Boseman, who gave a touching final performance in this show.
The bulk of the season in those first eight episodes is all about setup. Each universe the show explores is vastly different from the previous one. All eight of these episodes range from good to perfect, which makes this show enjoyable. “What if... T’Challa became Starlord” is still one of my favorite episodes because of how crazy it gets when Doctor Strange turns evil in one of the bleakest and most emotional storylines Marvel has ever produced. The tone shifts with each new episode as we shift focus to different locations each time. Whether it’s the depths of space, an apocalyptic future or the 1940s, each episode has its own aesthetic. It was always exciting seeing what would be the focus of the episode each week because it could go anywhere and Marvel could do anything, from a zombie episode to a proper Age of Ultron. Each episode is something different and has something to offer.
The season finale promised to tie everything together when The Watcher had to break his oath and interfere to prevent the multiverse from destruction at the hands of Ultron Infinity. It was a lot of fun being able to revisit all eight of the universes that we had spent so much time in, and they were even able to bring proper closure to all eight of those stories since they had all mostly ended on cliffhangers. Seeing The Watcher bring together the Guardians of the Multiverse, full of characters who otherwise never would have interacted, gives us a final confrontation that was worth the wait and the buildup throughout the entire season.
Each character gets time to shine and stays consistently written as they collide with Ultron in one of the most unique finales in Marvel’s history. I don’t think there’s anything negative that I have to say about the finale; it’s an episode that perfectly ends the season. It’ll be really interesting seeing what they have to offer in season 2 and which of the endless possibilities that they choose to explore. The future of the series is exciting and can go in so many different directions.
Season one of ‘What If…?’ is an amazing ride through the Marvel multiverse that gives us stories we otherwise would not have gotten, and the finale brings it all together in a satisfying way that leaves viewers looking forward to what comes next.
