What If…? Season 3 Review: The Infinite Dimensions of the MCU on Disney+
What If…? Season 3 landed on December 22, 2024, on Disney+ the race to the end. The last act of What If…?, the animated series that tells the multiverse and an alternative version of the MCU (the cinematographic universe of the house of ideas). One bet per day, for eight days. A kind of Advent calendar for Marvel fans who want to know how Uatu l’Osservatore’s journey ends. But not only. Because in addition to the “guy with a big head and a reassuring voice” the real protagonist of this third season (trust me), is Captain Peggy Carter. But let’s go in order. This question is the best that the Marvel Cinematic Universe multiverse has offered to date, not offering answers on the big screen, but finding space in streaming Disney Plus with Marvel What If…?.
After showing us the infinite possibilities of the multiverse, the animated series of the MCU returns with one last season, eight episodes that will keep us company during the Christmas holidays. A final narrative arc, for the animated series Marvel, which has established itself as one of the most interesting productions of the franchise after the emotional peak of Avengers: Endgame. While the big screen was struggling and a handful of series repaid the hopeful affection of the fans, Marvel, What If…? took on the lesson of the comic namesakes to fully exploit the potential of that multiverse of which, even today, we know frighteningly little.
What If…? Season 3 Review: The Story Plot
Summarizing the plot of the eight episodes of the third season of What If…? without burning the cameos, spoilers, and twists is the real feat, so we generalize and use the titles, because some clues provide it. It starts on December 22nd with What If … the Hulk caught the mech Avengers? That is: Godzilla, Gundam, Pacific Rim, and also the Monsterverse with King Kong – but not only those – meet Marvel. And then Bollywood (episode 2, December 23: What If … Agatha went to Hollywood?), the buddy movie American or the remake of Lethal Weapon we were waiting for (episode 3, December 24: What If … the Red Guardian stopped the Winter Soldier?), the incredibly chaotic summary of the MCU to date – series included – plus the birth of a new heroine (episode 4, December 25: What If … Howard the Duck got hitched?), the fight against dictatorship and the sinister consequences of technologies (episode 5, December 26: What If … the emergency destroyed the Earth?), the West meets martial arts and an eye on the cameo (episode 6, December 27: What If … 1872?) and the double grand finale of the whole series (episode 7, December 28: What If … the Watcher disappeared?, Episode 8, December 29: What If … What If?). The ending, the advance, is in perfect style What If…?
What If…? Season 3 Review and Analysis
Short answer: good or bad everything works. And the series, as mentioned for season 2, is confirmed to be a delight. So much that you feel bad that this is the end. Answer a longer thread. There are two legitimate – ways to approach What If…?: the first is to enjoy the madness of the Marvel multiverse of the most improbable interactions between superheroes and villains and find yourself in front of everything; the second is enclosed in a Uatu dialogue line: brutally summarized, the difference between seeing and looking. If you were willing to follow the second route, I recommend recovery of the other two seasons to be surprised by the choices made for the vocal cast, by the changes of register in the individual episodes combined with the writing choices of the dialogues, by the direction choices for the clashes and fights, from the evolution of Uatu, from the growing centrality of Captain Peggy Carter (over the three seasons it passes from a nice variation of Captain America to the central fulcrum and engine of change), from the internal coherence between cameos and auto citations (a final bet, observe very well), from the chromatic choices and even from the sound.
To all this must be added the work of directing Bryan Andrews and Stephan Franck and writing by Matthew Chauncey, Ryan Little, and A.C. Bradley to make spherical – once you get to the eighth episode you will better understand – a series that by its very nature tends to branch. Of course, some things are not the maximum of life – some woods in the animation, especially of the faces, and a slightly too wide use of the CGI -, but in the end it is the overall quality that emerges and marks an identity marking. Translated: I would say that the ending is “At What If…?”. Marvel Animation, I will speak with you: are you sure you want to close it here? If on the one hand, the multiverse can be considered a mine of intriguing possibilities, on the other it can prove to be a threateningly salvific deus ex machina to remedy the bad choices of Marvel Studios, becoming the source of a new potential starting point for the entire franchise, as expected from the future Secret Wars. In all this, the universes of Marvel What If…? they turned out to be a breath of oxygen.
Whether it’s presenting moments of the Marvel Cinematic Universe from a different perspective or giving life to totally original situations, Marvel Animation has known how to find a specific language to maintain a specific identity. Uatu’s presence as a narrative voice is a point in favor of this organicity, but his choice to violate his oath of non-interference is the keystone of this intriguing, animated test bench. Following the gaze of Uatu l’Osservatore, we have witnessed both roads not beaten by some Marvelian heroes and tales that have winked at other suggestions, coming from both comics, as in the case of Marvel Zombiesas for crazy ideas and inspirations from pop culture. A choice that especially for the third season of the series prompted the writing room to confront the western or the tokusatsu, involving unthinkable characters in exciting adventures, well developed within the minute of each single chapter.
For this grand finale, the choice seems to have fallen on the characters who, starting from Phase Four, carried the weight of this multiverse on their shoulders, which join faces already present in previous episodes. See Agatha Harkness try their hand at ’20 or Shang-Chi cinema become an emulator of Jackie Chan passionate and amused, exploring the infinite possibilities of the multiverse with a dynamic narrative look, emphasizing the characteristics of the individual protagonists, developing. Playing with these figures, Marvel Animation initially created an animated anthology of possible alternative universes, only to find a narrative key with which to create a continuity that allows this animated series to link some episodes together. The presence of Captain Carter, the choices of Uatu, and the formation of the Exiles are the pillars on which a bland continuity is set, well inserted within the wider context.
The True Multiverse of the MCU
At the end of this animated experimentation, Marvel Animation has chosen to give closure to its adventure in the multiverse, with a pair of episodes that leave the spectators with the feeling of having found an answer to some of the questions asked during the previous seasons, leading to a question: how does the franchise change after Marvel What If…? After years of Multiverse barely scratched, most of the time used with bad results, the feeling was to be faced with a great lost opportunity. During these false steps of the franchise, Marvel What If…? was the true interpretation of that narrative concept never fully expressed, a test bench that demonstrates how the MCU is not only a cinema and live-action series but has wider possibilities, provided that the right narrative figure is found.
A lesson that Marvel Studios hopefully learned, especially in the precision of an expected and most necessary rebirth on the big screen, which condemns the next releases, starting from Captain America: Brave New World until the expected debut of the Fantastic Family, not to waste more opportunities. What it should be the last season of Marvel What If…? It, therefore, becomes the reconfirmation that not all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is lost, but takes the liberty of also entering into metanarrative speeches. Quotes that recall the most loved moments of the franchise, comic references, and dialogues respect the essence of the characters and are the manifestation of an exciting vitality of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Without a doubt, the third season of What If…? is the darkest so far. While previous seasons had references to Christmas films, alluding to the heist genre or cartoonistic comparisons with the villains of the episode, moments like this are rare in the third season. A choice that follows, in a sense the post-Endgame of the franchise, which seems to have moved in a darker direction for some time, mirrors, if we want, a real world which, especially in the States, has a heavier dimension. The topics that the third season of What If…? faces are not new to the MCU at all, or even to the wider genre of superheroes; greed, power, violence, prejudice, and submission remain at the center of what motivates the different villains. The episode set in the West of 1872 is particularly daring in highlighting the injustices against which his heroes are fighting and suggests in a slightly subtle way similar problems that still occur today.
To surprise, however, is the lack of real hope, with often heartbreaking endings for the protagonists, and the lack of concrete positivity that characterized the franchise in the past. As per the tradition of the MCU, each episode has the classic moment when the heroes are in ambiance, that fear of being in front of the inevitable. But the colossal and universal mass of the series amplifies that impotence, with the scenarios chosen by the Observer that seem more catastrophic than usual. This season there is no light atmosphere of the episodes of previous seasons, from the Christmas atmosphere to the most fun and light-hearted narratives. The third season still has relatively lighter episodes, but these too are affected by the wider cosmic scale of everything that happens around them. Still, this different approach plays in favor of the series. Although it is in some passages it is a bit forced, as when the first episode ends with an explicit moral echo of the animation for children of the early years of ‘90, this small spark of positivity remains in the rest of the season, offering a common thread that has nothing to do with the multiverse and technically connects every story.
Regardless of the superpowers, they are love, friendship, and, above all, the hope and audacity to continue fighting when everything seems to contrast us, to bring home the result. And is this the real voice of this last season of What If…? Strengthened by this nature, the third season of What If … ? in most episodes shows greater solidity in the vertical story, the episodes covering the overall arc are limited only to their stories, rather than extending throughout the season? Even in the episodes in which we focus on more complex narrative arcs, especially in the final part, continuity is used intelligently, without forcing it, choosing Captain Carter and Uatu as narrative anchors, making them the pivot of this universal story.
The beauty of this series is not only in exploring the infinite dimensions in infinite combinations. Technically, Marvel What If…? is a joy for the eyes, with attention to detail and animations of the highest profile, capable of giving life to spectacular fighting scenes or incredibly emotional moments, thanks to a touching soundtrack composed of songs that, while remembering some of the cornerstones of the franchise, push towards sound reworkings of great impact. At the end of this animated adventure, waiting for the next projects of this nature, Marvel What If…? is confirmed as one of the most interesting interactions of a franchise given for dead too many times. A kaleidoscope of adventures, of possible universes that manages to remind fans of the beauty of the Marvel Universe, letting us hope that the future of the franchise still knows how to push True Believers to indulge in a heartfelt Excelsior.
What If…? Season 3 Review: The Last Words
At the end of this animated adventure, waiting for the next projects of this nature, Marvel What If…? is confirmed as one of the most interesting interactions of a franchise given for dead too many times. A kaleidoscope of adventures, of possible universes that manages to remind fans of the beauty of the Marvel Universe, letting us hope that the future of the franchise still knows how to push True Believers to indulge in a heartfelt Excelsior.
Stars: Jeffrey Wright, Anthony Mackie, Mark Ruffalo
Director: Stephan Franck
Streaming Platform: Disney+
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4/5 (four stars)
What If...? Season 3 Review: The Infinite Dimensions of the MCU on Disney+ - Filmyhype
Director: Stephan Franck
Date Created: 2024-12-22 19:03
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