The second season of Marvel Studios’ animated alternate-reality anthology show might have gone under the radar somewhat, rolled out over Christmas one episode at a time, but it’s a reminder that, even at the end of its worst year so far, the MCU hasn’t lost its touch.
The basic premise of What If…? remains intact: Jeffrey Wright’s The Watcher presents a number of storylines that play upon beloved MCU movies, giving them enough of a tweak to spin off into unexpected directions. And as before, the A-list Avengers (Hemsworth! Douglas! Stan! Rudd! Olsen! Cumberbatch!) assemble once again to re-voice their signature characters. There are some glaring omissions — Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson are all still officially retired from their roles, it seems, but their soundalikes do sterling work here.
It’s Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan who is perhaps having the biggest blast here.
But those who do come back are clearly having enormous fun, whether it’s Tom Hiddleston turning Loki into a dreadful Shakespearean actor or Cate Blanchett — in an episode where Hela, Thor’s evil sister, hooks up with the Mandarin and his Ten Rings — relishing every single one of her ridiculous lines. Strangely, it’s Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan who is perhaps having the biggest blast here in the two strongest episodes, one an all-too-brief visit to the 1602 timeline (co-created by Neil Gaiman in the comics) which reimagines Earth’s Mightiest Heroes as Elizabethan adventurers; the other a spot-on Die Hard riff in which Happy defends Avengers Tower from the hilariously Hans Gruber-ish advances of Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer. Watch it become a perennial Christmas fave.
The biggest swing, though, comes with the sixth episode, which foregoes the formula and introduces a brand-new character, the Native American hero Kahhori (Devery Jacobs). Well-directed by Bryan Andrews (who also helms most of the other episodes), it certainly feels fresh, even if it doesn’t entirely hold the interest. Though it’s nice to see an episode that’s more than just a new take on ‘what if Bad Guy was actually Good Guy?’, or vice versa.
As with last time, an overarching story ultimately emerges to connect some of the episodes, but while it’s nice to see Hayley Atwell’s Captain Carter thrust into the spotlight as the season’s de facto lead, the epic climax — and the identity of the show’s chief villain — feels a little rushed. Likewise, spending only half an hour or so in 1602 feels like way too little. Otherwise, What If…? Season 2 is a cracking continuation. What if this were a show that ran and ran and ran? We’d be more than okay with that.
