Season Review: Marvel’s What If…? Season Three

As the Marvel Cinematic Universe gets closer to wrapping up Phase Five, we say goodbye to the franchise’s first animated series that dared to focus on the vast and infinite possibilities of the multiverse…at least in regards to the versions of these characters from the movies. What If is a show that really should be lasting longer than three seasons, but due to the changing nature of how long the average streaming show goes and alleged reasons from on high as to why the series couldn’t continue in its current form, this would be the last season. And I’m sad to say that, while it was by no means a bad season, it was probably the show’s worst, and most certainly not the one they should have gone out on. Many have decried What If as going for boring story options or being uncreative, which I would personally disagree with. However, while this season at least opened up its list of usable characters such as adding Sam Wilson, Agatha Harkness, Red Guardian, Kate Bishop, and so on, I wouldn’t say most were used in stories that really highlighted their strengths as characters. We did get some big swings such as the second episode, which paired up Agatha and Kingo the Eternal to once again show the highlight of pairing up two characters with an overlooked connection, and similarly with the third that put together Red Guardian and Bucky, but these ended up the exception more than the rule.

Another thing not in the show’s favor was the inexplicable decision to make this season one episode shorter than the previous two. It can be easy to forget that the first season was originally meant to be ten episodes, only for the impacts of the pandemic to delay one and push it to the second season, which itself was nine and also kicked an episode down the road, leaving only six of the eight episodes to be regular stories. It’s just a shame that the series seemed to be the most susceptible to cuts and delays. Though in a way, the fact that it’s a shame underscores how much I wish there was more of this show to see because I’ve enjoyed it for the most part. When it had the right combo going, What If made me appreciate some existing or already departed characters that much more, and I think I can definitely say that for this season’s Agatha/Kingo episode. And while it hasn’t been my favorite aspect of it, the building plot regarding The Watcher, his evolving views on his role, and the multiversal heroes who he has saved, influenced, and inspired has also grown on me. Basically, I just want more of this show, which is probably a win for the people who made it. Just give me longer seasons and you can do all the plot stuff you like, right? Maybe there’s a universe where there’s more What If, and if so, I’d like to see it someday, but in the meantime, in this reality, let’s leave it up to our imagination.