In the episode “What If… The Watcher Broke His Oath?” of the TV show What If…? a man is watching a scene in a movie where a woman is kidnapped and held hostage. He knows that he can’t interfere with what’s happening on screen, but he also realizes that if he doesn’t intervene, she will die.
The what if the watcher broke his oath full episode is the ninth and last episode of Season 1. It was released on October 10th, 2017.
What If…? follows up on last week’s surprisingly excellent setup. With a painfully uneven conclusion, the show closes off its frustratingly inconsistent first season. “What If… The Watcher Betrayed His Promise?” ” has some wonderful moments and endearing characters, but it also has some weak jokes and irritating pandering to balance it out. In the end, there’s more good than bad, but you can’t shake the feeling that it might have been better.
As Ultron conquers the cosmos one planet at a time, Uatu the Watcher assembles a band of heroes from several worlds and assigns them the task of preserving existence itself. Can they all be trusted to serve the good even if they manage to defeat Ultron?
“What If… The Watcher Broke His Oath?” starts as you’d expect it to: with Uatu putting together his… The Multiverse’s Guardians Captain Carter, Space Jesus T’Challa, Demonic Doctor Strange, and Killmonger Panther are among the cast members. Thor’s Frat Boy is a pleasant surprise, and although he’s still irritating, he’s hardly Captain Marvel. Carol Danvers isn’t among the group tasked with rescuing the multiverse, much to my relief. That’s a good thing, since there’s already enough pandering and social messaging going on this week.
Essentially, all of the characters from the excellent episodes remain amusing and human, while those from the bad episodes are annoying. Captain Carter, for example, is still strong-willed and righteous, but she is self-conscious and in agony because she misses Steve Rogers. Doctor Strange informing her that Steve becomes Captain America in his universe, and she’s happy of him even though she’ll never see it, is one of my favorite small moments. Doctor Strange, speaking of whom, is still as conceited as ever, but he’s also attempting to atone for the evil he unleashed on his own planet, which adds stakes to a guy who has nothing to lose. Killmonger also reappears, and he’s still calculating and untrustworthy, pursuing his own goals while agreeing to rescue himself and his planet. And when Black Widow arrives, she’s determined to make Clint’s sacrifice worthwhile, clinging to hope and a chance to make amends with Ultron.
On the other hand, Space Jesus T’Challa continues to irritate me, owing to the authors’ treatment of him. Remember how his dreadful episode concluded with the suggestion that Ego was about to devour the galaxy because Peter Quill wasn’t there to stop him? They quickly reverse course by having T’Challa come up to the fast food restaurant and sweep up Ego in a matter of seconds. It’s a short moment, but it irritates me because they fail to acknowledge T’Challa as a real person, instead elevating him above the story’s true deity. And Thor is still a fool, with every sentence intended to remind you that he’s as stupid as a post. And if that wasn’t enough, they toss in a Gamorra from a world we’ve never seen before, one in which she murdered Thanos and now wears his armor and wields his massive sword. This exists only to allow another woman to join the team, as well as to allow Tony Stark to be replaced. I know this because she does nothing once she’s been selected. When the zombie realm is engaged, Zombie Scarlet Witch is the hero who fights Ultron. It’s understandable, but she’s just there for five seconds and doesn’t do any harm. Isn’t it more exciting to watch the Hulk smack him in the face next Tuesday? We know why things turned out the way they did. Most of this will be over once the action begins, but your eyes will get a tremendous workout until then.
Let us now discuss that activity. Last week’s season-best episode created a huge catastrophe (with compliments to DC Comics) that linked all of the prior, apparently unrelated tales together, as well as transforming Uatu from a narrator to a genuine character. The conclusion had to be big, yet “What If… The Watcher Broke His Oath?” falls short in that regard. Ultron doesn’t seem as dangerous as he did a week ago. This is the man that kicked Uatu’s ass across several worlds and murdered Thanos (before obtaining all the Gems!). I understand that he has to lose at some point, but he should be much more of a danger than he is right now. Of course, T’Challa promptly takes one of the Infinity Gems from Ultron because God forbid he ever be at a disadvantage. Doctor Strange, on the other hand, equips the squad with magical shields that protect them from the full power of all six Gems. I get that this is a Lovecraftian version of Strange, but should he be able to withstand all of that indefinitely? That said, the battle isn’t terrible; it has some interesting elements, such as Strange growing more demonic as he utilizes more of his abilities. I was also relieved to see Black Widow have her revenge on Clint.
“What If… The Watcher Broke His Oath?” also has some interesting payoffs. Trapping Killmonger and Armin Zola (who now has Ultron’s body) in a pocket universe is a nice method of freeing their planets from them, and it also offers Doctor Strange something to do since that his Earth is no longer there. I really liked Black Widow’s conclusion; it turns out that Uatu is a “in for a penny, in for a pound” kind of man, and he whisks her away to a reality where most of the Avengers have been killed and Loki has taken over Midgard. While her ability to push Loki about is ridiculous, I like that she is receiving a second opportunity and that Uatu is willing to give it to her. Peggy’s suggested happy ending, on the other hand, may be even better. She decided to return to her planet, fighting on despite the fact that she’d never have the life she desired – only to discover that the future may not be as dark as she’d imagined. What makes it even better is the soundtrack, which complements her discovery with a minor version of Captain America’s theme tune. I love happy endings, particularly when they’re well-deserved, as these are.
I believe the animation has improved from previous week. Maybe I’m simply accustomed to it, but I don’t believe so. There were no moments in “What If… The Watcher Broke His Oath?” that drew me away from the narrative due of the poor animation. It isn’t perfect, but it isn’t nearly as distracting as it previously was. However, the likenesses of some of the performers are still unsatisfactory. The most of the returning players seem to be in excellent shape, but Batroc the Leaper makes an appearance this week, and despite being spoken by Georges St. Pierre, he looks nothing like him. Also, the voice acting is fantastic. Everyone sounds as they should, which is another reason I believe the animation has improved; in the past, the strange face motions have destroyed the performances for me. Lake Bell has a striking resemblance to Scarlett Johansson, to the point that I questioned whether Bell was hastily dubbed over after Johansson’s case was resolved. Bell and Jeffrey Wright’s talents were on full display during her “showdown” with Uatu, with him responding with grief to her allegations. These are two characters that have experienced the agony of seeing a planet perish and knowing that there is nothing you can do about it, and you believe both of their responses. This might have been something amazing if the remainder of the show was as good. It’s good enough as it is.
“What If… The Watcher Breached His Oath?” is a competent but underwhelming conclusion to an inconsistent season. The voice acting is outstanding, and there is some good narrative and character work, but the action is lackluster, and the irritating elements from past poor episodes reappear. The positive elements make it a worthy conclusion, but it’s difficult not to wish it were better.
“What If… The Watcher Breached His Oath?” is a competent but underwhelming conclusion to an inconsistent season. The voice acting is outstanding, and there is some good narrative and character work, but the action is lackluster, and the irritating elements from past poor episodes reappear. The positive elements make it a worthy conclusion, but it’s difficult not to wish it were better.
What If… The Watcher Broke His Oath? is the ninth episode of the first season. It was directed by David Nutter and written by Ben Edlund.
