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It may have taken four weeks, but the Watcher finally failed to live up to his moniker in this week’s episode of Marvel’s What If…? by interacting with another being. The most tragic and emotional installment of the animated series yet, Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange went to any lengths possible in an effort to try and prevent the death of Christine Palmer, no matter the cost.
The surgeon-turned-superhero became the first character in the show to acknowledge the Watcher’s existence, and even called out to him for help. Uatu may have spoken to Doctor Strange, but he still wouldn’t intervene, causing the universe to be destroyed, ending with grievin’ Stephen forced to spend eternity in oblivion.
It was powerful stuff, especially for what’s ostensibly a cartoon aimed at children, and it reinforced the notion that not even the destruction of all time and space is enough to have the Watcher break his vow. In a new interview, though, Jeffrey Wright teased that he might end up getting involved as Season 1 progresses.
“In this instance, it speaks to Strange’s mystical powers too, that he perceives him there. So there’s two sides to that, but also yes, The Watcher is compelled by the danger that Strange is conjuring, obviously not only for himself but for his whole reality. For The Watcher, there’s only so much he can only watch. He’s not a voyeur for voyeurism’s sake, he is in some ways made up of these characters. Without them, what does he watch? He’s profoundly compelled by them, and maybe there’s only so much he can take. We’ll see.”
Wright has already teased the possibility of the Watcher making the jump into live-action, but he’ll definitely be sticking around for the in-development Season 2. Each installment of What If…? to date has been different enough in style, tone and narrative to indicate that the show can run for years and years without coming anywhere close to running out of ideas, so the door remains wide open to use some of the stories as jumping-off points for even more spinoffs or standalones.