Spoilers What If...? season three discussion thread
- Thread starter The Nth Doctor
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The finale was... boring, unfortunately. Way too much time committed to the big action setpiece, and for what was ultimately a matter of differing philosophies it's even more disappointing that it came down to who could punch harder (I know, superhero stuff but still). The Watchers in sword fights and fistfights weren't really something I needed.
The fact that Uatu just happened to have no ongoing negative outcomes for any of his interferences was a little bit convenient - Ultron and Strange came up but conveniently they'd already been dealt with, so didn't really have much impact because it just proved that Our Heroes could always fix things. No demonstration for why the Watchers had their strict-observance policy? It's just because they're all stuffy patriarchal white men? Ehhhh.
I'm with those who said we should have seen a lot more variety in settings and stories, rather than the meta-narrative that was built over the show's run.
The fact that Uatu just happened to have no ongoing negative outcomes for any of his interferences was a little bit convenient - Ultron and Strange came up but conveniently they'd already been dealt with, so didn't really have much impact because it just proved that Our Heroes could always fix things. No demonstration for why the Watchers had their strict-observance policy? It's just because they're all stuffy patriarchal white men? Ehhhh.
I'm with those who said we should have seen a lot more variety in settings and stories, rather than the meta-narrative that was built over the show's run.
I was engaged for most of the season but found myself looking at my phone during the final fight.
Yeah...that was weird.
But I quickly forgot about it because the Puny God and Living Tribunal moments.
I want a Howard and Darcy spinoff!
Count me as someone very much disappointed in the finale. It didn't work on so many different levels.
As an aside, why did the series basically eschew dark/unhappy endings after Season 1? One of the great narrative strengths of an episodic show focused on disposable side universes is there's genuine tension in whether the "good guys" will win, and that you can have a dark, downer ending. I miss the whole "twilight zone" vibe that some of the earlier episodes had at times.
- The combat scene was just awful. Pretty visuals, but overly long to the point of being boring. It was also more than a bit silly, as the Watchers gave off vibes of cerebral god-beings, and then just descended into melee specialists because the plot demanded it.
- Due to the episodic nature of the vast majority of the series, the emotional legwork wasn't put in to make us care about any of the characters. The Watcher only got a name and a tiny sliver of a backstory in the finale. Captain Carter got what - five appearances before the penultimate? Kahori and Byrdie each got one (with Byrdie just a baby). The new Storm was dropped into the team out of nowhere. The team was assembled off screen entirely. Why should we care about the friendship of these folks
- I actually think the debate between the Watcher and the Eminence could have been intriguing, but it was underbaked. Honestly, I think the Eminence was correct, if you think it through. The Watchers have the powers of gods, and "our Watcher" was basically saying he could use his god powers to intervene because he was good and knew what the right thing to do was, while the Eminence was arguing that no, that wasn't their role. When it comes down to it, why should fallible beings who are omnipotent start operating as literal gods within the universe? There's a moral question here "our Watcher" just didn't answer.
As an aside, why did the series basically eschew dark/unhappy endings after Season 1? One of the great narrative strengths of an episodic show focused on disposable side universes is there's genuine tension in whether the "good guys" will win, and that you can have a dark, downer ending. I miss the whole "twilight zone" vibe that some of the earlier episodes had at times.
Not to mention the "Barsoom" novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Martian women, including Dejah Thoris, Princess of Mars, all lay eggs.
So this sort of thing has been going on in SF stories since at least 1912.
And, yes, Howard has had human girlfriends ever since his first issue, way back in the seventies.
Nostalgia: HOWARD THE DUCK was the only comic book I ever subscribed to by mail back in the day, because, for some reason, it was almost impossible to find in my neck of the woods when I was a teen. Most of the local 7-Elevens and drugstores didn't carry it, so I finally broke down a bought a subscription so I wouldn't miss an issue.
(Needless to say, I loved this ep. The purist in me winces a bit at Howard ending up with Darcy instead of Beverly, but, honestly, pairing Howard with Darcy is so inspired I gotta give them a pass there. Plus, more Kat Dennings is always a good thing.)
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For Earth's survival -- i wonder if it is like what happened in Agents of SHield, in their future of a shattered earth? Yeah, it's kinda ridiculous....but if someone had been able to think it out, it could be a cool concept.
ANd I i had the same thought about The Watcher. He seems like a natural fit for the Secret Wars and/or Doomsday. Seems like he was set up for that? But the JOnathan Majors situation kinda messed up the plan, since Kang Dynasty was supposed to come out this year, right?
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