Review: Marvel’s What If…? “What If…Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Dr. Stephen Strange goes to great lengths to rescue his girlfriend, Christine Palmer, from death. However, his journey leads him on a sinister path.

Our Take:

2016’s Doctor Strange introduced its audiences to the magical and surreal side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not only that, but it also became one of the films that pushed Benedict Cumberbatch into Hollywood stardom. Strange has played a significant role at the end of the Infinity Saga and will continue to do so in the highly-anticipated Spider-Man sequel and his second solo film regarding the multiverse. To honor this occasion, this week’s episode of the anthology series shifted its focus away from Nick Fury’s Avengers mishap and placed it on the Sorcerer Supreme himself. But, of course, like the previous stories, this one shows a much different side to the story we all knew, and by different, I mean “catastrophic”.

The episode started with Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) going to a special event with his love interest Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams). Unfortunately, their night together was ruined by a car crash that killed Palmer. This event leads Strange to learn the Mystic Arts and become the hero known as Doctor Strange. When he learns that the Eye of Agamotto can manipulate time, he uses it to travel back in time to save Palmer. Although, his multiple attempts lead to only one result: her death. Even not picking her up leads to her demise. This prompted Strange to do the unthinkable that sparks the end of the universe.

This is the episode that puts more of the emphasis on its Twilight Zone flavor. In addition to staying clear from repeating the story beats of Doctor Strange, the chapter provided an original plot that represented the consequences of messing with something you can’t control. It’s more along the lines of a tragedy that has Strange struggling with coming to terms with the path that’s chosen for him. In the 2016 film, the “absolute point” of Doctor Strange’s origin was losing his ability to use his hands due to a car accident. Here, it was the death of Christine Palmer, which seems more heart-wrenching than it sounds. His refusal to accept that path leads him to become Doctor Strange Supreme (the evil version of Doctor Strange) and unwittingly destroy his entire universe.

Before this episode, I didn’t think anything could top the show’s “Star-Lord T’Challa” chapter. That, to me, was a particular chapter that provided some originality in its alternate scenario and a fitting tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman. However, after experiencing it myself, I was happy to see that I thought wrong. Not only was this the darkest episode of the show so far, but it was also the most emotional. It strayed from the formula we’ve known from the previous stories to deliver a thought-provoking and tragic episode filled with solid voice work and splendid animation.

Benedict Cumberbatch and Tilda Swinton were still superb in their roles as Stephen and the Ancient One, respectively. Ike Amadi also served as a suitable addition to the cast as O’Bengh, a man who leads Strange to the last books of Cagliostro. The episode also featured a brief cameo of Leslie Bibb’s Christine Everhart, a news broadcaster for WHiH World News who appeared in the first two Iron Man films. It’s pretty remarkable that the show still brings back supporting characters from the MCU movies, even though their appearances are very brief.

Since the episode centered on mystic scenarios, it allowed the creators to use its animation style to display the magical visuals uniquely. The result was nothing but supreme. From its stylistic backgrounds to the showdown between two Stephen Stranges, the animation offered lots of vibrancy and energy in its sorcery to recapture the awe-inspiring wonder of Marvel’s take on the Mystic Arts.

Overall, the “Doctor Strange” episode is another splendid example of the writers’ ability to provide original stories in the show’s multiverse concept. Rather than retell the film’s plot, the chapter delivered a riveting Twilight Zone story about acceptance and the consequences of refusing it. When it comes to its near-perfect execution towards its plot, this is the best episode of Marvel’s What If I’ve seen so far, and that is one thing I can accept.