What If...

Episode four of *What If…* begins with Dr. Stephen Strange who shows up in his Lamborghini Huracan outside of Dr. Christine Palmer´s apartment. While walking down to the car they give each other a few complements and as she sits down in his car they share a little giggle before they drive off to a gala.

* The Crash

On a windy mountain road called the Hawks Nest on their way to the gala are they talking about how Dr. Strange were able to successfully perform a radical hemispherectomy. As they are driving they caught up to a truck driving too slow for Dr. Strange, so he tries to drive past. As he is driving by there came a car in the same lane. Dr. Strange manages to get back behind the truck just in time. It is at this moment when he says “We´re ok… you´re ok.” that a shaking car comes fast from behind and smashing into them, causing the Lamborghini to smash its way down to the Delaware River. Dr. Strange came out of the accident with only his heart broken over the death of Christine.

* The Ways of the Mystic Arts

Just as in the movie does Dr. Strange learn the ways of the mystic arts, becomes the carrier of The Eye of Agamotto, defeats Dormammu and became the Sorcerer Supreme. Despite all he has gained, he can´t forget all he has lost. On the 2-year anniversary he decides to change the past. He is not able to save her at the first try, so he tries again many times.

Attempt one: Christine Palmer dies after falling down the mountain getting hit by a car.

Attempt two: Christine Palmer dies after getting hit by a truck in a crossroad.

Attempt three: Christine Palmer dies from an unknown cause at the gala.

Attempt four: Christine Palmer get murdered by the hands of a robber.

Unknown number of attempts later: Christine dies from giant fire at her house.

It is at his last attempt where the Ancient One comes out of a portal and explains that the death of Christine Palmer is an absolute point, meaning it can’t be fixed without the cost of the universe. Without her death would Dr. Strange never start his journey to become the Sorcerer Supreme and defeat Dormammu. The Ancient One tries to make him stop reversing time, but he won’t. “You have to find me first” is the last thing he says before the Ancient One fires a blast, but Dr. Strange manages to teleport himself to the Lost Library of Cagliostro where he meets O´Bengh, the librarian for the books of Cagliostro.

* Strange Supreme

At the Lost Library of Cagliostro does Dr. Strange finds a book about Time Manipulation. In it he reads about how to reverse and absolute point, and that it needs an immense amount of power. The book says: “Gain the power through the absorption of other beings”. At his first meeting with one of these beings he meets and enormous octopus which throws Dr. Strange around. After O´Bengh has healed the Sorcerer Supreme, he explains how mystic beings doesn’t bargain and he tells how love can break hearts, but also how it can shatter minds. But as usual, what Dr. Strange got out of it was that if they won’t surrender their power, he must take it. Dr. Strange absorbs mystic beings as a Garden Gnome, Caped Cockroach, Six-eyed Black Bird, Red Dragon, Two-Headed Ram, Flying Skull with antlers, giant bat, moose, Fire Dragon, Wolf, Snake, Dark Dimension Demons and the Tentacle Monster from his first try. During the absorptions he can hear the Watcher speak to himself, wondering if he should warn Dr. Strange. Later, Dr. Strange realizes he has used magic to make himself remain frozen for centuries during the absorption. O´Bengh is now an old man and he explain how, he finds out that when the Ancient One Blasted him in the beginning, she separated Dr. Strange into another version of himself, one that didn’t choose to go back in time to save Christine Palmer and later absorb mystic beings.

* Doctor Strange

The Dr. Strange who is not possessed by mythic beings goes outside and sees that the fabric of reality is breaking. As earlier comes the Ancient One out of a portal. She explains that she is there as a psychic impression sent through a splinter in reality. Almost like an echo. Dr. Strange now learns what happened earlier when she split Dr. Strange into two, a good one and an evil one, or more misguided. Wong and Doctor Strange make “The Guardian Vishanti heavy-duty protection spell. Strange Supreme tries to make Doctor Strange join him willingly, but he won’t. They begin to fight, and the spell makes him invulnerable of the absorption, but as they fight more and more off the spell falls off. Doctor Strange´s cape saves him once but get destroyed by Strange Supreme who later disguise himself as Christine trying again to convince him, but Doctor Strange has yet to change his mind and understood that Strange Supreme stood behind this delusion. Strange Supreme removes the last piece of the spell and absorbs Doctor Strange. Strange Supreme finally has the power to save Christine.

* The End?

Christine wakes up, but she is scared watching all the monsters and mythic beings that are inside of Strange Supreme. The Watcher comes to sight and tells Strange Supreme that he can’t interfere, even if he wanted. After all of this, Christine dies again with the rest of the universe as the fabric of reality has broken down to just a little piece that Strange Supreme holds up. Being her last word for real this time, Christine says: “Stephen? What did you do?” Strange Supreme now has to live alone in a really small universe.

##### Characters:

* Dr. Stephen Strange / Doctor Strange / Sorcerer Supreme / Doctor Strange Supreme
* Dr. Christine Palmer
* Wong
* The Ancient One
* The Watcher
* O´Bengh

##### Quotes:

* **Christine:** “I am only going for dessert… you promised me Crème Brule.”
* **Stephen:** “I suspect we can do a little better than that.”

* **Stephen:** We´re ok… you’re ok.”

* **Ancient One:** Tinkering with time can weaken the very fabric of the universe. We protect reality. We don’t threaten it.

* **O´Bengh:** Is she worth the pain? A man does not suffer like this for his own glory”

* **O´Bengh:** Love can break more than your heart. It can shatter your mind.
* **Doctor Strange:** Uh-huh. And in which book did you read that?
* **O´Bengh:** (chuckles) No book, Armani. Life thought me.

* **The Watcher:** One life, one moment, one choice can destroy the entire universe.

##### Easter Eggs:

* When Stephen learns of Christine´s death on the news after many unsuccessful tries, the newscaster is Christine Everhart who is an reporter from WHiH which we meet in Iron Man and Iron Man 2.

* O´Bengh, the librarian guarding the Lost Library of Cagliostro is a character from the comics, and according to them, O´Bengh is actually Cagliostro. He even studied the Darkhold which is the book Wanda is reading at the end of WandaVision.

* The first creature Dr. Strange encounters while trying to gain power is the same, or at least similar to the creature Captain Carter encountered in the first episode of What If….

* After Stephen is injured by the tentacle creature, O´Bengh tells him “mystic beings do not bargain” which is the way Doctor Strange defeated Dormammu in *Doctor Strange.*

* When Doctor Strange is fighting his evil self, he uses a magical lasso spell which he also uses in Avengers: Infinity War while fighting Thanos.

* When evil Strange absorbs Stephen, his magic turns from green to red. Red magic usually symbolizes Chaos Magic which is what Scarlet Witch has.

* Toward the end when Christine disappears, she goes the same way as Vision did at the end of WandaVision. Both Stephen and Wanda created false realities, and both lost their loved ones the same way.

* Christine´s last words were: “Stephen, what did you do?” which is almost what Thor said when he said, “What did you do?” to Thanos after his snap in *Avengers: Infinity War* when they both realized the other one has done something awful.

##### Locations:

* New York ( both Christines apartment and Sanctum Sanctorum - 177A Bleecker Street )
* Delaware River
* Library of Cagliostro

##### Runtime:

* Total: 37 minutes and 17 seconds.
* Total Minus the End Credits: 32 minutes and 40 seconds.