Marvel Studios’ What If…? series was perhaps the single most curious departure from the MCU that so many have adjusted to. Being its first animated series, the nine-episode anthology used the multiverse as the ultimate tool for creative liberty, crafting brand new storylines by twisting the outcomes of key moments in the MCU’s library.
One episode even managed to nab an Emmy nomination, namely What If…Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?, the fourth episode in the series in which Dr. Stephen Strange, rather than losing control of his hands like he did in the original film, instead lost the love of his life, Christine Palmer, in that crux of car crash. The answer? A devastated Strange turns to magic to prevent the death of Palmer, ultimately failing in his goal and succumbing to heinous corruption instead.
It was perhaps the darkest episode of the whole season, which was praised by many reviewers, and director Bryan Andrews, speaking to Deadline, remarked how the desire to go in that direction with Doctor Strange was ultimately what drove the entire episode.
“We knew even before we had a full story that we wanted to do something dark with Doctor Strange. We wanted to do something where he messes up and fails at the end. AC was able to find an in that really worked based on some personal experiences that she went through dealing with loss – to have him be unable to deal with that loss mixed in with Doctor Strange’s built in hubris.”
He would go on to make special note of the episode’s raw ending, which also served to set up a teaser for what was to come in later episodes.
“There’s a lot of other episodes that were really great, but this one overall had such an emotional core. It just made the whole thing really strong and cohesive, but I think the strongest thing is the ending. He blew it and it marks a pivotal point in the whole season where The Watcher actually is looking at the guy and the guy could actually see The Watcher and they have a slight dialogue.”
Season two of What If…? is set to premiere in early 2023.