‘What If…?’ season 2 ending explained

What if… the MCU’s 2023 didn’t end with the embarrassing implosion of The Marvels but instead with an underrated entry in the Multiverse Saga that happened to be Marvel’s highest-rated product of the year?

That’s right, What If…? season 2 sadly didn’t make enough of a splash to dislodge the disasters of Marvel’s past 12 months from people’s minds but it has to be pointed out that the animated series’ second run has earned 84% on Rotten Tomatoes, higher than the 82% enjoyed by both Loki season 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Likewise, though its Christmas release schedule might’ve meant that some slept on the show, its final episode certainly opens the door to exciting possibilities for the franchise’s future.

Marvel’s What If…? season 2 finale, unpacked

While season 1 was mostly standalone, save for a cliffhanger at the end of the penultimate episode and a finale that brought back a few characters from earlier installments, season 2 of What If…? is much more serialized. For instance, Hayley Atwell’s Captain Carter appears in no less than three episodes, as Peggy was pulled from her own reality to the 1602 universe to another mission by Strange Supreme.

Although Strange Supreme sent Peggy after Kahhori, the MCU’s first ever original hero, claiming that she was a villainous Universe Killer, Captain Carter soon realized the truth and teamed up with Kahhori to confront Strange. It turned out Strange Supreme had been capturing Universe Killers from across the multiverse to feed into his Forge, which could restart his destroyed reality if it got enough juice.

Sure enough, these Universe Killers were poured into the Forge, including variants of Hela and a Hulk Thor mash-up, but not before throwing their weapons to Carter and Kahhori. Armed with her own shield, Hela’s helmet, and a gamma-irradiated sword — not to mention the Infinity Stones, courtesy of robbing Killmonger (remember him from season 1?) — a souped-up Carter was able to knock some sense into Strange Supreme, who ultimately sacrificed himself so his world could live.

The Watcher then took Captain Carter to the reborn Earth, where Christine is once again alive but Strange has never existed. Uatu then agreed to take Peggy home to her own world, but she requested that they take the “scenic route.” The episode then ended on a very familiar sight — Yggdrasil, the World Tree created by God Loki in the Loki season 2 finale (sans the Christmas tree lights from the trailer).

What does the What If…? season 2 ending mean for season 3 and the wider MCU?

There are various exciting outcomes that could sprout from the What If…? season 2 finale. For starters, is the appearance of Loki’s tree a hint that God Loki could return in season 3, perhaps finally clarifying the relationship between the Asgardian and the Watcher and their respective omniscience?

Likewise, with the Watcher admitting that Peggy is right that sometimes the best thing to do is interfere, does this mean he’s going to be taking a more active role in stories from now on? If so, this would certainly change and expand the character’s impact on the show moving forward, but it may also hint at a presence in the movies too. Perhaps he’ll aid the Avengers in The Movie Formerly Known as The Kang Dynasty?

Lastly, with Peggy still out of her time, could this hint that she’ll be forming a version of the Exiles, a group of multiversal heroes who travel from world to world, in season 3? The first appearance of Captain Carter in any medium came in 2018’s Exiles #3 after all. And with the Exiles closely linked to the X-Men this could result in some neat X-Men ’97 tie-ins.

The good news is, whatever the specifics, we know we’re getting a What If…? season 3, which could well hit Disney Plus in winter 2024. Until then, it’s up to us to wonder which vast new realities we’ll visit next time.