The What If...? Episode 7 Moment That Could Change Everything For The Watcher
Contains spoilers for Marvel's "What If...?" Episode 7
On the surface, it would appear as though Marvel's "What If...?" series would take on a total anthology format. After all, the concept behind each episode is that we travel to another dimension where one decision becomes altered. That change has massive ramifications, whether that's Captain Peggy Carter traveling to the future or the complete annihilation of a single universe. No matter what happens, The Watcher tells all, and he cannot interfere no matter how disastrous a situation transpires. That's what makes Episode 7 of the series, namely where Thor grows up as an only child, so intriguing.
Without Loki as a brother, Thor grew up to be a party animal. He travels to Earth with his buddies to throw the rager to end all ragers, but by the end, he ensures everything is back in its place before his mom has a chance to come back and punish him. Of course, he heads back to ask Jane Foster out on a proper date, but before he returns to Asgard, he witnesses Ultron with all of the Infinity Stones within his power. While such a scenario makes sense in the realm of the multiverse, it's The Watcher's reaction that has some fans doing a double-take.
Why was The Watcher taken aback to find Ultron?
The Watcher has seen plenty of crazy things across the first episodes of "What If...?" He witnessed the world succumbing to a zombie-like virus and Thanos becoming one of the good guys. Even when Doctor Strange accumulated as much dark magic as possible to bring Christine Palmer back to life and inadvertently destroyed his reality, The Watcher refused to intervene. It's just as his title announces — he's merely a watcher, a spectator here to show us how vastly different the MCU could've become with one simple change. His dialogue is delivered with a distant monotone, almost as though he's accepted every possibility, knowing there's nothing he can do.
That's what makes the ending of "What If...?" Episode 7 so bizarre. After Thor asks Jane on a date, he initially insists everyone will live happily ever after. He's quickly interrupted by an anomaly, to which he responds by saying, "Wait, what?" It's a weird line to come from the character, seeing how he supposedly knows all. Shouldn't he have known from the beginning this reality was in danger of Ultron's rule?
The line suggests something is happening within the multiverse that not even The Watcher could've foreseen. It could be possible due to the fact Ultron has acquired all of the Infinity Stones and has now traversed various realities to conquer them all that The Watcher no longer knows what's going to happen. With only two episodes left in the season, perhaps The Watcher will finally interfere to stop Ultron in his tracks before more realities go up in smoke. We're nearing the end of Season 1, so don't be surprised if Marvel pulls out all of the stops moving forward.