After the Disney+ show What If…? giving fans a spectacularly exciting adventure with T’Challa as Star-Lord, the next three episodes following it were much darker than fans expected them to be. A few simple changes in the timeline led to tragic events that ended the lives of some Avengers much sooner and left both the characters and fans feeling a sense of hopelessness.
The darkest episodes so far were episodes 4 and 5 in What If…?. In episode 4, Doctor Strange struggles to save his lover from dying a tragic death, only to doom his entire universe. In episode 5, the Avengers, as well as most of the people on Earth, turn into zombies.
10 Episode 4: Doctor Strange Watched Christine Palmer Die Over And Over Again
Seeing Doctor Strange lose Christine Palmer so many times in one episode made fans grateful that he and Christine weren’t as close in the film. It is easy to understand his sense of frustration and hopelessness to learn that Christine’s death was the one event that he couldn’t change, no matter how many times he used the Time Stone to travel backwards in time.
Additionally, by trying to change the past, he made himself incapable of moving on.
9 Episode 5: The Avengers’ Loved Ones Became Monsters
Countless friends and family became infected by the Quantum Virus, making it hard for both fans and the remaining Avengers to remain optimistic.
Peter Parker had a long list of people that he lost, and Hope van Dyne couldn’t help but blame herself, stating that this all happened because she just wanted to see her mother again. The events were so tragic here because her attempt to rescue her mother was successful in the main timeline.
8 Episode 4: Doctor Strange Absorbed Monsters
After learning that Christine’s death was an Absolute Point, he spent time researching ways to break an Absolute Point. He eventually learned that he could do so by absorbing monsters. Since they would not bargain with him, he forcibly stole their powers.
Doing so chipped away at his humanity, as he turned from someone who tried to reason with them into someone who mercilessly stole their lives without hesitation in order to fulfill his own selfish desires.
7 Episode 5: Vision’s Care For Wanda Went Too Far
While many people criticized Wanda’s attempt to have a happy family with Vision in WandaVision, this episode revealed that Vision would go through similar lengths for her. He was not able to cure her, making their connection via the Infinity Stone less romantic.
Vision decided to feed innocent people to Wanda in order to keep her contained and happy, but when he accepted that he was morally wrong, he concluded that he could not leave her. He removed the stone from his head and permanently powering down.
6 Episode 4: Part Of Doctor Strange Knew That His Actions Were Wrong
Doctor Strange knew deep down that what he was doing was wrong. He was aware of The Watcher’s presence and could hear his warnings. He chose not to listen, even absorbing himself after learning that the Ancient One split him into two.
The version of him that moved on fought valiantly, as he valued the lives of the other people too much to doom the world for Christine.
5 Episode 5: The Zombies Were Deadlier Than Normal Zombies
Normal zombies were already difficult for people to deal with since the infection spread quickly. Despite being mindless, they attacked with brutality and with no hesitation. The Marvel zombies were intelligent.
They maintained the knowledge and skills they had prior to infection, and The Watcher stated that the Avenger’s attempts to help only doomed humanity.
4 Episode 4: Doctor Strange Doomed His Universe
Despite the warnings and the multiple chances he had to stop his quest, he broke the Absolute Point and resurrects Christine. However, he quickly realized that the universe was rapidly falling apart around him, and he didn’t truly save Christine.
He begged The Watcher to save his reality, but the Watcher refused since that would doom other universes. All alone, Doctor Strange was last seen mourning his actions.
3 Episode 5: Thanos Is A Zombie
Regardless of whether or not Thanos obtains all of the Infinity Stones, the infection is much less likely to be contained on Earth. If he goes into space, he and his followers could infect a countless number of planets.
Captain Marvel already stated that she is busy caring for dozens of planets, who do not have any Avengers protecting them. Planets like these could not possibly hope to drive off Thanos.
2 Episode 4: Christine Never Asked To Be Saved
Christine never asked Doctor Strange to save her. Her death was always abrupt no matter how many times it happened. In her point of view, she died two times, and the second time was much more frightening.
Not only was she scared by Strange’s frightening appearance, which was warped by the monsters he absorbed, but she was confused by the crumbling state of the world. With the knowledge that Strange was responsible, it was impossible for her to feel gratitude.
1 Episode 5: Many Heroes Died During A Single Episode
Unfortunately, the group of Avengers grew increasingly smaller as the episode goes on. Sharon Carter and Happy Hogan were infected then killed by other Avengers, Hope became infected by Sharon, Vision tore out his Infinity Stone, and even more Avengers were forced to fight Wanda Maximoff, although their fates are still unknown.
Only three Avengers were left standing at the end of the episode, making the future seem bleak.
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