When the two Stranges confront one another it is truly a sight to see. The power hungry Strange is wearing a darker cape with a high pointed collar. His face is gaunt, he’s extremely thin, and his goatee is pointed. The distinct difference is jarring and the audible change in corrupted Strange’s voice feels perfectly horror inspired.
The battle between the Stranges is a highlight of the episode. As the two sorcerers blast each other with magic and the powers that Strange absorbed bleed out it’s enthralling to watch. But what the episode delivers beautifully in this fight scene is it goes against expectation and our heroic Sorcerer Supreme is defeated and then ultimately absorbed by the corrupted version of Strange. As he finally fulfills his life’s purpose and saves Christine, the atrocities he committed to get to this point are clear as he has morphed into a monstrous amalgamation of the creatures he absorbed.
When Christine awakens she is horrified, crawling away from the beast that Strange has become, but What If…? manages to make it worse still. When Christine nearly falls, Strange once again becomes recognizable, but Christine begins to melt away as the rest of the universe has. With Christine dissolving and floating away in inky blackness.
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Strange continues to fight in vain as he finally realizes what he has done. The episode ends with Strange alone repeatedly apologizing for his actions as Christine is lost once more. Stephen Strange, Sorcerer Supreme, broke the universe and it responded in kind. So absorbed in trying to save the life of his lost love he became a monster, forsaking the world.
The fourth episode of What If…? also notes an important step in The Watcher’s evolution. Throughout the first three episodes of What If…? The Watcher has become more prominent in the background. This continues in the fourth, but it goes a step forward as well. The first hint of this evolution is when Strange hears The Watcher’s narration as he is searching through the Lost Library. But the biggest moment is when Strange becomes not only the first to notice, but the first to interact with The Watcher.
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As the universe collapses, Strange begs The Watcher for help, but he remains steadfast in his refusal to interfere. The Watcher lectures Strange for his choices and while he doesn’t pity Strange, noting that he was warned of the dangers, he does seem genuinely saddened that he can’t save this universe from utter annihilation. This seems like the first step in The Watcher becoming less of an observer and more of an active part of these stories which is an exciting evolution, but in this case the step forward is heavy in the tragedy of it.
Each week What If..? manages to step up their game and this is no exception. Benedict Cumberbatch is phenomenal in his performance as a voice actor. His anguish is clear as is the corruption in the Dark Doctor Strange. The fourth episode also revisits a creature from the premiere that looks suspiciously like one of the Many-Angled Ones, perhaps Shuma-Gorath who will be showing up in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness. The episode dives into the genre of tragic love stories while also dabbling in horror and fantasy through Strange’s mystical corruption and subsequent physical change.
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This episode also proves that What If…? is willing to go to the darkest, most tragic ending as Strange has destroyed his universe and is left alone. The animation and production design was absolutely magnificent, feeling cinematic in scale. The music is breathtaking elevating the narrative and emotions of the story with hints of the Doctor Strange theme bleeding through. Overall, this is an absolutely fantastic episode and hopefully What If…? continues to deliver episodes of this caliber while diving into new genres and MCU variants.
What did you think about the fourth episode of What If…? What do you think the multiversal tentacle monster is? What do you think The Watcher will do next? What do you think will happen to this Doctor Strange variant? Leave your thoughts in the comments below or on our social media and check back with The Illuminerdi for more MCU and What If…?
KEEP READING: WHAT IF…? CHARACTER POSTER HIGHLIGHTS BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH’S SINISTER DOCTOR STRANGE SUPREME
