WARNING: The following contains spoilers for What If...? Season 1, Episode 7, "What If... Thor Were An Only Child?," streaming now on Disney+.
The latest episode of What If...? puts The Watcher's gaze on Thor Odinson. However, this Thor is born into a world where Loki was never his step-brother. As a result, he's more a frat god than a hero and seeks to party his long life away. However, as he parties, the Earth suffers as a result, and it's up to a new collection of heroes to deal with the resulting issues. However, before the credits roll, the episode brings to light another issue that is slowly plaguing the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Since the premiere, each episode of What If...? has managed to tell a contained yet layered story surrounding the characters of the MCU. However, the episodes are frequently plagued with cliffhangers or anti-endings. Like The Twilight Zone, they are often left open-ended and, more often than not, on a sad note. While it's more likely these stories will be concluded before the season ends, it brings up a more significant problem: the stories aren't allowed to stand on their own legs.
What If's newest episode showcases how these anti-endings affect the story perfectly because its tone is its most lighthearted episode since "What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?" By the end of the entertaining romp, the character's story has a happy ending. However, the moment of levity is cut short by the appearance of an Ultron/Vision hybrid and his army of Ultron drones. Even worse, his new armor carries all six Infinity Stones, making him a mechanized suit gauntlet. The appearance even catches The Watcher off guard and leaves the audience wondering if this is the cataclysmic end to yet another reality.
The series has done similar endings that often feel like the story is half-finished. The same occurs in the episode "What If... Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?," where Shuri and Pepper Potts have to unite against Killmonger just as the episode ends. While these stories will likely get proper conclusions, as shown in the mid-season trailer, the possibility that some narratives won't receive a follow-up hinders the story being told each week. A great example of an episode that stands on its own is "What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?," which sees Doctor Strange left in a void of nothingness that he created. Rather than detract it with an epilogue that leads to something greater, it leaves the audience to process how far this version of Strange fell.
What If...? isn't the only Marvel property to deal with a similar ending issue. The season finale of Loki also concluded with a promise that more was on the way. However, with the coming storm of Kang the Conqueror, the anti-ending was also wildly open-ended. Fans knew that more Loki was coming, but it's unclear if films like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania or Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will pick up the pieces that the season left behind before the second season. As a result, the level of ambiguity lessens the impact of the story that is being told.
It seems like the MCU is slowly fostering the idea that these pseudo cliffhanger endings are a great way to keep audiences guessing. But in doing so, the creators risk diffusing any tension or fun that the main story has fostered. What If's newest episode is an excellent example of that since it's one of the more upbeat entries that the series offers. Nevertheless, the characters are still entertaining and offer impactful moments, but the best way to truly feel these moments is to leave the audience with them.
To see get more context on this week's anti-ending, the latest episode of What If...? is streaming now on Disney+.