What If…? season 2 sees the fifth-dimensional narrator, the Watcher, narrate several new stories of universes where familiar MCU superheroes’ alternate versions embark on wildly different adventures. The series is currently streaming on Disney+.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
What If…? season 2 begins with a universe where Nebula is recruited to join the Nova Corps, and when the planet is threatened by corrupt officials, she must stay true to her oath and save the planet.
Episode 2 sees a young Peter Quill be adopted by Ego, who is delivered his son by Yondu in this universe, as he was ordered to. Ego uses Quill to threaten Earth in 1988.
Howard Stark and Peggy Carter form a team of Avengers to save their planet.
Episode 3 sees the Avengers Tower get attacked by Hammer on Christmas Eve, and while all other superheroes are busy, Happy Hogan must rise to the occasion and save the day.
In episode 4, Iron Man saves New York and destroys the Chitauri, but instead of falling back into his city, he crash lands on Sakaar, where he races against the Grandmaster to save the planet in ruins.
In episode 5, Captain Carter is on a mission to save Steve Rogers from the confines of his Hydra Stomper suit, but the widows and the Red Room come in her way.
She loses Steve, but with the help of Black Widow, she destroys the Red Room. Before the credits roll, she’s pulled into another universe.
Episode 6 introduces a new original superhero in Kahhori, who uses the power of the Space Stone to broker world peace, before meeting Strange Supreme who’s been looking for her.
In episode 7, Hela is stripped of her powers and crown and banished to Earth, where she meets Mandarin and discovers the Ten Rings.
She goes on quite a journey of self-discovery to find what her cosmic purpose is, before defeating her father and embarking on a universal peace-keeping mission.
Episode 8 picks up after episode 5 and sees Peggy Carter save the universe where the 21st-century Avengers are stuck in the London of 1602. Before the credits roll, Strange Supreme visits her.
Episode 9 marks the finale of What If…? season 2 and sees Peggy and Kahhori battle Strange Supreme, who’s hell-bent on destroying superheroes and villains across the multiverse to resurrect his home universe.
Ending explained:
Kahhori the new superhero
Kahhori emerges as the MCU’s newest superhero who’s also wholly original. She gets her powers from the Tesseract, which houses the Space Stone inside.
A natural master in harnessing its energy, Kahhori uses it to drive away the colonizers and conquistadors from the land of her people before brokering world peace.
In the finale of What If…? season 2, she reveals to Peggy how Strange lies to her about his plans with the prisoners, and what he intends to do with them, including her.
She then joins Peggy in defeating the Sorcerer Supreme and saving the prisoners, including friends from her universe.
When Strange’s death causes an immense explosion, the Watcher saves her and sends her home.
Strange Supreme’s stab at redemption
Strange Supreme, after having destroyed his home universe in a bid to resurrect his beloved Christine Palmer, seeks penance by helping out the Watcher and a band of heroes in saving the multiverse.
In What If…? season 2, he shows Peggy his massive collection of universe killers and superheroes from across the multiverse, saying he’s been saving the universes as part of his penance.
However, it’s a lie. He’s actually collected all the villains and even the heroes to ultimately throw them all in a forge he’s created, in order to harness the energy and use it to resurrect his home universe.
Peggy and Kahhori fight him to prevent this tragedy from happening, successfully teleporting the prisoners to their home universes before Strange Supreme meets his end in the forge.
He does manage to resurrect his universe, at the cost of his own life.
Christine Palmer lives again, but he wouldn’t get to see her or be born in the universe ever again.
Peggy goes home…?
Captain Peggy Carter has been saving the multiverse and a flurry of universes left and right from season 1 of What If…?
In season 2, after having saved another universe, she wants nothing else but to go home.
However, her old pal and fellow multiversal Avenger, Dr. Strange Supreme comes knocking to get her help in putting his nefarious plans into motion.
She bests him and saves many heroes and villains alike. As she witnesses a sunny day in his resurrected universe, she is at peace.
The Watcher asks her if she’s ready to go home, and she says yes. However, she asks him to take the scenic route.
This involves the fifth dimension, from where the Watcher sees one and all.
Having gotten a taste of what the universes look like from there, Peggy asks him to take her through this scenery before dropping her home.
He’s more than willing and actually excited to show her the wonders.
Just before the season finale rolls the credits, the closing shot is of the Watcher showing Peggy the World Tree Yggdrasil, i.e., the innumerable branches of the multiversal that look like a tree at the end of Loki season 2.
This might just indicate that Peggy’s universe-hopping adventures haven’t ended just yet, and there are more worlds out there for her to save.
Also Read: Dr. Strange Supreme’s villainous turn in What If season 2 explained