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Marvel Entertainment's What If...? season 3 finale aired via Disney+ on December 29, 2024. The segment, titled What If... What If?, explored the storyline where the Watcher himself fell into danger. A team of heroes banded together to save him, led by the super-soldier Captain Carter.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the What If...? season 3 finale.
After a prolonged battle where the team seemed destined to lose and be erased from the multiverse, Captain Peggy Carter made the ultimate sacrifice. She used the last of her powers to propel the Trinity and her team to the universe that housed Stephen Strange as the supreme power.
Though she sacrificed herself in the process, it stripped the Eminence of his position of authority, allowing him to listen to the Watcher and re-evaluate his purpose.
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The end of the show featured Byrdie, Storm, Kahhori, and Uatu (the Watcher) hosting a small funeral for Peggy, remembering her sacrifice. Uatu gave the team hope by stating that someone was always watching, and now that someone could be Peggy from a realm after death. As always, the episode ended with the possibility of an alternate ending, and the eternal question: "What If...?"
How did the Watcher take on his position at the beginning of the universe?
What If...? season 3 finale began with the story of how the Watcher himself came into being and achieved the position of watching over the universe. He was initially a disciple of the order of the Watchers, presided over by the Eminence.
The Eminence was the one who was proud of him, and appointed his best student as the Watcher of worlds, making him take an oath that he would not interfere in the happenings of the multiverse.
Snapping back to the present, the Eminence chastised the Watcher for breaking his oath and committing heresy against the order. He listed the many people that the Watcher had helped, including Stephen Strange, Riri Williams, and Kwai Yun-Fan (whose stories were previously shown in this season and the ones before in the storyline).
The Eminence mentioned how he also helped Peggy and shared the secrets of the multiverse with her. At this moment, Peggy, the abducted one, also appeared in shackles beside the Watcher. Deciding that the two must be punished, the Eminence prepared to kill both the Watcher and Peggy. Before he could do so, the rest of the team emerged with Byrdie's ship, with Infinity Ultron leading them.
Also read: What If...? season 3 episode 4 ending explained: Who is the child of Darcy and Howard the Duck?
What was the team's plan to circumvent the Eminence in What If...? season 3 finale?
Leading the attack, Infinity Ultron provided the team cover as they escaped with the ship. He convinced Peggy to leave him behind, asking her to let him fulfill the purpose he was programmed for. However, he could not stop the Eminence, the Incarnate, and the Executioner for long, since their powers were far greater.
Meanwhile, the team tried to plot their way to an escape. Byrdie mentioned trying to use the seams of the multiverse as a hiding place, but the Watcher explained that the powers of the Eminence were too much to hide from. He knew the past, present, and future actions of every being in the multiverse.
Following this, the team brainstormed and realized they could go to Stephen Strange's alternate timeline, which he sacrificed himself for. The Sorcerer Supreme's soul was still dominant in that timeline, with the ability to mold reality as per his will. But, before they could set course to Strange's dimension, the Eminence found the team and brought their ship down.
Also read: What If...? season 3 episode 6 ending explained: What happened when the Eminence got to the Watcher?
What did the Watcher do to save his friends and battle the Trinity?
When the Eminence took down the ship, the team decided to go down fighting. They each took turns battling the Eminence, the Incarnate, and the Executioner, but the power was too much for the team to stand as mortals. Then, on the brink of defeat and possible death, the Watcher came up with a solution.
He made all the team members take the Watchers' oath, giving them the power to see all aspects of reality too. This gave them an even footing against the Trinity. In doing so, the Watcher even reclaimed his own identity as a person instead of just a concept or a responsibility. He revealed himself as Uatu, the Watcher.
Also read: What If...? season 3 episode 7 ending explained- Did Captain Carter reach the Watcher in time?
Whose sacrifice finally saved the team at the end of What If...? season 3 finale?
The team fought the Trinity, managing to overpower them in an energy burst from all sides. Seeing their state, the Watcher decided to give the Eminence one last chance to change his mind. This proved to be a mistake since the Eminence took the chance to fuse his powers with those of the Incarnate and the Executioner. Together, they became a being of pure force, ready to exterminate.
This new Trinity began to erase every version of the heroes from every universe and every storyline in the multiverse. Versions of Kahhori, Storm, Byrdie, and even Peggy started disappearing from their very souls. Seeing that her friends would be destroyed and erased, Peggy made her final stand.
She used the last of her energy reserves to catapult all of them (including the Trinity) into Stephen Strange's universe. By doing this, she saved her friends but sacrificed herself for the cause. Finally, after being stripped of his powers in Strange's timeline, Uatu could convince the Eminence to listen to reason.
The Trinity realized that they could all learn to watch the universe with a new perspective; to see and understand, instead of simply looking down on things. Reaching a truce and trading forgiveness, the team watched a new day dawn together. The episode ended with a funeral for Peggy, and the team wondering about the possibility of her watching over them now, from a realm yet unexplored.
Audiences can watch What If...? season 3 finale streaming now via Disney+ and all associated regional platforms.
