The multiverse is all the rage in 2021 and 2022, from MCU properties such as Loki, What If... ?, Spiderman: No Way Home, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to external properties like Everything Everywhere All At Once. At the heart of each multiverse and variant is the question of how the characters and universe would be different depending on one small change.
While this trend is booming in popular media now, it has been explored in television for decades, with series producing episodes that are slightly different from the worlds fans know and love. However they approach the theme, they let characters and audiences alike play with the idea of how the world would be different with just one change.
Scandal: "The Decision"
For Scandal's hundredth episode, Olivia contemplates how different life would be if she had refused to rig Fitz's election. The two end up getting married, but marital bliss does not last long, as the truth leads to bitterness. As political machinations get increasingly complicated, Olivia and Fitz's relationship determines the future of the country.
There were high expectations for this episode, so it was disappointing to see the usually-strong show fumble its take on the alternate universe episode. While it appropriately presented audiences with nostalgia, the answer to the "What-if" felt inconsistent to the characters, who should have been the heart of the episode.
Supergirl: "For The Girl Who Has Everything"
Kara wakes up in a world where Krypton was never destroyed, and where her full Kryptonian family has stayed together. While her Earth family fights to save her, Kara struggles to understand which world is real. She can only escape if she rejects the dream world herself, and though she is able to do so with Alex's assistance, it leaves her broken-hearted.
Kara struggles with a lot of anger in season one over the destruction of Krypton, so Non giving her the life she dreamed of, only to make her lose it again pushes her closer to the edge. This helps strengthen the pain she feels when she loses Astra, who was her last real tie to her past.
Xena Warrior Princess: "Remember Nothing"
After defeating invaders that attacked the Temple of the Fates, Xena is transported to a happier world where her brother Lyceus is alive, and she is a normal village woman. But as she sees tyranny continue in the world, changing her friends' temperaments, she realizes the importance of her role as a warrior in keeping the world's balance.
Xena is a complicated hero, having done so much harm in her past. This episode argues for the necessity of that past, suggesting that the good Xena eventually did, particularly for Gabrielle, is worth it. The peaceful interlude also gives Xena the chance to explore a softer side of herself, which she can apply in future battles.
The Big Bang Theory: "The Cooper Extraction"
"The Cooper Extraction" provides audiences with eleven different What-If scenarios, prompted by the idea of a world without Sheldon. Without Sheldon's interference, none of the couples ever got together, leading to many depressing possibilities for each character's future. The imagining eventually leads them all to be grateful for Sheldon—and Amy—'s position in their lives.
By allowing each character to suggest and imagine how their lives would be different without Sheldon, the episode leads its characters (and the audience) to be grateful for the people in their lives without needing supernatural intervention to prove their importance, making it a more realistic take on the classic It's A Wonderful Life premise.
Friends: "The One That Could Have Been"
In a rare hour-long episode, the sextet wonders about what their lives would be like had Rachel and Ross stayed with their original partners, and Joey, Chandler, and Phoebe found different jobs. While the friends initially have vastly different personalities, finding their way to each other eventually leaves them all roughly where they are in the real show.
This alternate reality stands out from most by suggesting that the world would not have been very different even with several large changes. Where most alternate universes are intended to show how much better or worse the world is than it could've been, Friends seems to argue that people stay relatively consistent, despite life changes.
The Flash: "Flashpoint"
Following the precedent from the comics, The Flash's alternate universe is based on how the world would have changed had Barry's mother not been killed. As he tries to reconnect with the people he cares about from the original timeline, Barry begins to lose his memories. When a trusted friend gets hurt, Barry has to ask Eobard Thawne for help to restore the original timeline.
Flashpoint may be the best-known arc for the Flash, so its representation on screen was highly anticipated. While the episode largely existed to prompt changes to the Arrowverse, it does a good job of suggesting that Barry's trauma could be turned into something rewarding and important in the world where he uses it as inspiration to help others.
Switched At Birth: "Ecce Mono" and "Yuletide Fortune Tellers"
Switched At Birth had two alternate-universe episodes: "Ecce Mono," which imagines life if the Kennishes had gotten custody of both girls as children, and "Yuletide Fortune Tellers," which imagines life if the switch had never happened. Though all involved wish the situation weren't so difficult, they repeatedly find that they are better for having the large, complicated family the switch caused.
The entire premise of Switched At Birth is that a mistake fundamentally changed the lives of two families, so it was only natural for the show to explore life without said mistake. The episodes are both extremely successful and push the idea that the switch (and other painful mistakes in life) was ultimately for the best.
Doctor Who: "Turn Left"
Due to intervention from a fortune teller, Donna is sent into a parallel world where she never met the Doctor. While her life seems more successful at first, catastrophes begin to happen which devastate the Earth, catastrophes that she had a hand in stopping in the original world. The world falls to ruin, and a familiar face sends Donna back in time to stop the change from happening, setting the world right.
"Turn Left" is one of the most inspiring episodes in Doctor Who, proving the importance of Donna, who had been considered a relatively lackluster companion up until that point. The episode is brilliantly crafted and is the perfect example of how removing one character can fundamentally change the show's world.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer: "The Wish"
A brokenhearted Cordelia is visited by a vengeance demon who grants her wish that Buffy had never come to Sunnydale. Transported to her new reality, Cordelia finds that a Sunnydale without Buffy resulted in mass deaths and both Xander and Willow becoming vampires. The Buffy who eventually arrives is battle-hardened and bitter, and it's up to Giles to return them all to a safer world.
This BTVS episode is a fan favorite, giving fans a glimpse at far darker versions of their favorite characters. While Buffy's importance was never in doubt in the show, this episode captures how much Buffy needs her Sunnydale Scoobies as well, unable to be the Slayer the town needs without them by her side.
Supernatural: "What Is And What Should Never Be"
After falling prey to a djinn, Dean is transported to a world where he has a long-term girlfriend, Sam is a lawyer, and his mother is alive. Life is calm and happy, but Dean is haunted by a girl in a white dress and the dawning knowledge that every person the Winchesters ever saved died in this reality. He wants nothing more than to stay in that world but knows he has to return to save his own and others' lives.
This is a fairly unique alternate universe episode because Dean doesn't learn that his real life is better than the dream world. Until this point, Dean has been the one most devoted to the hunting life, but his trip to the alternate reality showed how much happier everyone would be in that other world, and how much he resents his duty to his own.