1. What a Wonderful Showcase for Chadwick Boseman.
It seems a weird premise. What is T’Challa doing in space?
Yet everything about this episode works, especially Boseman’s T’Challa. Star Lord T’Challa demonstrates a tremendous sense of fun, along with innate optimism, and an ability to see the good in everyone.
Korath is a fanboy! (Everything Djimon Hounsou says is gold.) T’Challa reforms the Ravagers. He even reforms Captain Genocide, er, Thanos. (Add Josh Brolin to the actors having a blast.)
Everyone in this episode seems to be having a ball, except the Collector and all of it flows from T’Challa.
2. Poor Peter Quill
It’s pretty clear that T’Challa’s Star Lord has made the universe a much better place. Drax has his family, Nebula is almost fully human (and doesn’t want to kill her father), and, oh, half the universe’s denizens haven’t been dusted by Thanos.
True, in the sacred timeline, Peter does eventually save the day but only for so long. If our universe Peter ever met this universe’s T’Challa, he’s going to have a severe inferiority complex. Meanwhile, this universe’s Peter has to deal with the appearance of dear old Dad without any support at all. I don’t think this ends well for him.
3. The Collector’s Horde
That’s some haul acquired by the Collector. He not only has the weapons wielded by the villains of the last two Thor movies, he also has Thor’s Mjolnir, Loki’s knives, and Captain America’s shield. What does this mean for the Avengers?
Did T’Challa arrive home in Wakanda before the events of Captain America: Civil War? If so, does he save his father with the help of the Ravagers? Or do events play out completely differently on this Earth, where some of the Avengers may have been already defeated or killed by the Collector?
If Thanos started gardening early, which seems to be the case given how intact Nebula is, then perhaps Earth was never attacked by aliens, meaning the Avengers never formed.
As the Watcher might say, the possibilities are endless.
4. Unlike Episode 1, This Took Chances
My complaint with the Captain Carter episode is that essentially nothing was changed. Part of that is because Steve and Peggy have similar personalities but I suspect part of that was the script. I said I only found one memorable line in episode one of What If…?
Episode 2, is full of great lines, like Captain Genocide and Nebula’s “Cha-Cha” nickname for T’Challa, Carina’s “I liked what you said about not locking people in cages,” and basically everything Korath says is hilarious.
But the best line comes from Yondu, realizing T’Challa has to go home.
“On any planet, among any people, there ain’t no place in the galaxy where you don’t belong,” he tells T’Challa.
Ouch, my heart.
This is the most fun episode produced as part of any Disney+ serious.
5. What About a Sequel?
Part of me wants to see how the Ravagers defeat Ego in this universe.
But the other part says that without Boseman, there cannot possibly be a sequel. He so commands this episode that any follow-up would be lost without him.
In the end, T’Challa as Star Lord serves as a reminder of what was so great about Boseman’s T’Challa. I’m still sad that the world lost Chadwick Boseman but this is a fitting finale for his T’Challa.
