2x08 What If... The Avengers Assembled in 1602?

[7.7/10] Let’s start with the easy compliment and the easy criticism.

The easy compliment is this: Shakespearean Actor Loki is downright delightful. Letting Tom Hiddleston dive into the role of “drama queen” with self-satisfied aplomb is hilarious with every glimpse we get. And him jawing about Iago in Othello and responding with approval to Peggy’s sobriquets tickled my funny bone something fierce.

The easy criticism is this: none of the characters feel especially 1602. This is basically just the Avengers as we know them, except wearing old timey garb. It’s still fun to see them prance around Elizabethan London and whatnot, but it feels like everyone is a being out of time, not just Peggy.

Well, except for Happy Hogan. I will say, if there’s a particularly fun character “transformation” here, it’s reimagining Happy as a Sheriff of Nottingham/Captain Hook/Governor Radcliffe type. Jon Favreau is clearly having a ball hamming it up, and his black hat (er...feathered hat) swashbuckling with the good guys, and irascible annoyance when they best him is the most distinctive part of the outing.

That said, even if all the other characters feel too modern, I like the setup. The idea that this dimension is crumbling; it’s due to a “forerunner” from another world being in their reality, and Captain Carter has to find them despite being a fugitive to save the world and herself, creates both immediate and ultimate goals for everyone here. Thor blaming Peggy for his sister’s death is a little strained, but I’ll tolerate it as an excuse for Peggy to get the band together.

And Peggy may be the best part of this one. It’s fun to see 1600s Tony jury-rig contraptions with the tech of his era. The trio of merry men in the form of “Rodgers Hood”, Bucky, and Ant-Man have an amusing dynamic. Banner as “The Monster in the Iron Mask” is a bit of a stretch, but Hulk’s complaints about it being too noisy got a laugh out of me. And I appreciate that, despite being at King Thor’s side, Fury and Wanda are working together on their own for the greater good.

But this is really a showcase for Peggy. I love the idea that the Watcher offers to take her back to her home dimension, and she tells him no, there are people who need her help here. She isn’t going to give up; she isn’t going to care about her own skin at the expense of everyone else’s; she’s going to stick around and do what’s right, even if she has to put herself at risk to do it. The Watcher may think it’s hopeless, and may reason that worlds disintegrate all the time, but Captain Carter still has to try. That's who she is.

Of course, she has to try with Steve Rodgers. I’ll admit, there’s less immediate chemistry between the cel-shaded version of Peggy and Steve (and maybe it’s having the inimitable-but-different Josh Keaton voicing Rodgers instead of Chris Evans). But there’s still enough residual affection for the pairing from the movies to buy into Peggy and Steve reunited, even if it’s a different Peggy and Steve.

And that's the rub. I like how both Captain Carter and The Watcher are right in this. In an inspiring moment, Peggy says she doesn’t care about the odds or the risks, she has to try to save this world, and by god, she does. The Watcher was ready to let it rot, and she stepped up, and through an entertaining and daring caper, she saves it.

But in a just as memorable scene, The Watcher challenges her about the unknown consequences of her actions. He pointedly asks her a series of “What If’s about things that could go wrong even if she does manage to fix the dimension. And as in most good stories, it turns out there is a cost to her actions -- the “forerunner” is Steve.

That is a hell of a twist. They faked me out nicely, as I assumed (and I think they deliberately hinted) that it was Happy. The truth is much more surprising and devastating, in the best way. If there’s been a consistent theme to the stories of Steve and Peggy in the MCU, it’s been that doing the right thing often means paying a price. Peggy being willing to take the risk, and Steve being willing to sacrifice himself to protect this world, and Peggy losing the man she loves yet again, is a bitter pill for a good cause. Good on What If for having the cleverness and the guts to go there.

Otherwise, there’s some fun 1602 conceits like the mini-Yellowjacket soldiers and the Destroyer, and it’s cool to see real life London landmarks like the Globe and the Tower in play. But overall, this one doesn’t so much live or die on the back of its Elizabethan conceit, but rather on the great character storytelling and themes of Captain Carter saving the world once more, and once more, losing someone she loves in the process.