Warning: SPOILERS for Marvel's What If...? episode 8, "What If...Ultron Won?"

Episode 8 of What If...? shows that Marvel understands the best type of stories the series can tell, but it's too late. The Disney+ animated show takes place in different timelines throughout the multiverse, each chapter telling a story about what that universe might look like had a significant moment in the MCU gone a different way. The episodes have ranged from heartbreakingly tragic to frivolously silly, and reception has been mixed. Although many have told interesting stories, they have only really served as gimmicks that don't have any real impact on the MCU.

Episode 8, however, "What If... Ultron Won?," shows what would happen if Ultron (Ross Marquand), not the Avengers, claimed Vision and the Mind Stone. The genocidal android uses the stone's power to destroy the Earth, and when Thanos arrives, he slays him and claims the other five Infinity Stones. After wiping out all life in the universe, Ultron discovers the multiverse and uses the power of the stones to locate and fight the Watcher (Jeffrey Wright), as they travel through a multitude of different realities. It's finally an episode that affects the grand scheme of the MCU, and even ties back to a previous What If...? episode when the Watcher seeks the help of evil Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) from episode 4.

Related: Every MCU Actor Who Returned For Marvel's What If...?

It might be too late, however, for the series to redeem itself and become truly relevant to the MCU. With only a single episode remaining in Marvel's What If...? season 1, it will be difficult for Marvel to adequately recapture the attention of audiences who dismissed the show as a series of frivolous gimmicks. Episode 8 of What If...? stands out as the series' strongest chapter to date, but it also highlights the weaknesses of most of the other episodes. While they are entertaining, one of the MCU's most enjoyable aspects has always been its ability to weave together the different, interconnecting threads of a massive universe. Characters have their own individual arcs, but every piece ultimately contributes to the overarching narrative. It's what makes moments like Endgame's "Avengers, assemble!" line so impactful and satisfying to viewers. Sure, stories about Avenger zombies and Black Panther in space are cool, but if they don't contribute to the primary narrative of the MCU, they end up feeling gimmicky and pointless in the long run.

Ultron occupies Vision's body in What If..? animated series.

To make What If...? a consistently strong installment in the MCU, Marvel needs to decide what the show is going to be. Audiences tend to enjoy the more grounded chapters that genuinely develop characters and progress the story in meaningful ways, but that's not to say that there is no place in the franchise for fun if slightly irrelevant alternate timelines. The animated medium even lends itself to the lighthearted What If...? stories about heroes' escapades in different realities, but if that's what the show is, then they need to lean into it. The inconsistency of tone and relevance only serves to highlight the triviality of the sillier installments and mar the series as a whole.

None of this is to say that What If...? is a bad show. Episode 8 launches a truly intriguing storyline that could have massive ramifications for the entire MCU, so the series is certainly not beyond redemption. The best shot at saving the show's reputation is for Marvel to pick a vein and stick with it in future seasons. If it can find a good balance between silliness and seriousness as so many of Marvel's previous works have, then future episodes of What If...? can still be genuinely fantastic.

Next: MCU Turns Loki's Sacred Timeline Fate Into A Gift

The What If...? season 1 finale airs on Wednesday, October 6 on Disney+.

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