*Spoilers for ‘What If…?’ Season 2 Episode 5*
Episode 5 of What If…? Season 2 is the sequel to Captain Carter’s (Hayley Atwell) story while also being a direct parallel to Captain America: The Winter Soldier story… The episode begins just as the movie does; however, this time it is with Captain Carter infiltrating the enemy ship instead of Captain America. Black Widow (Lake Bell) tells Captain Carter that the main reason they are there is because the Hydra Stomper is there with Steve Rogers (Josh Keaton) inside. The Hydra stomper is revealed to be evil so Captain Carter and Black Widow try to fight it, which proves to be more difficult than expected and they end up having to flee.
The episode continues in Washington D.C. where Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is talking to Captain Carter and Black Widow about the history of the Hydra Stomper. He tells them how the Red Room has been controlling it for years to make it into a murdering machine while also altering Steve as a whole, making him not the same person anymore. Right as they discuss who the next target for the Hydra Stomper is going to be, Senator Bucky Barnes gets attacked right as agent Rumlow (Frank Grillo) gets there. Bucky and Rumlow escape with the other agents down the staircase as Captain Carter heads up to fight the Hydra Stomper. The Hydra Stomper takes Captain Carter up into the sky as they fight, and Captain Carter hits the Stomper hard enough with her shield to power it down. As they both free fall down from the sky, Black Widow comes in the Quinjet to swoop them both up and get away.
The end of the episode takes place in a Russian town that was turned to look like a 1950s American town, but instead of people, there are robots. Steve gains his conscience for a short while and confesses to Captain Carter that he has always loved her and didn’t want to be with anyone but her. Right as this moment between Steve and Peggy Carter is unfolding, the robots in the town start to attack Steve, Peggy, and Black Widow. As the robots defeat the heroes, the audience sees the red room up in the sky with Black Widow’s “mom” Melina (Rachel Weisz), and her sisters showing up. Melina explains how their plan all along was to lure Captain Carter to the Red Room so they could use her blood to enhance all the sisters of the Red Room. She also explains how Steve was the one who led them there and that he was helping the Red Room the whole time.
The episode ends with the Hydra Stomper fighting Captain Carter, while Melina and the sisters fight Black Widow. In the end, Peggy is able to get through to Steve and he ends up sacrificing himself by crashing into the Red Room in the sky. At the same time, Black Widow uses her grappling gun to tie Melina to the Hydra Stomper as it flies into the ship and blows it up. Peggy and Natasha return back to D.C. and as they are talking in the parking lot, a portal opens up below Peggy and takes her away. On the other side of the portal are Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Nick Fury teasing episodes to come.
A.C. Bradley really steps up with her writing in this episode. The emotions shine through the characters’ dialogue in a very genuine and natural way. The director Bryan Andrews is able to make a completely unique storyline based on the story from Captain America: The Winter Soldier while also combining some of the elements and characters from the Black Widow movie. Hayley Atwell and Lake Bell really stand out as Captain Carter and Black Widow in this episode, giving the audience some of the best versions of the characters that they love. On the other hand, Josh Keaton gives one of the most uninspiring voice-acting performances of the series, and Rachel Weisz does just enough to pass as Melina.
Overall this is one of the most emotional and entertaining episodes of What If…? with also some of the best voice-acting performances of the entire series. Truly an enjoyable tale that will have audiences wanting more.
Rating: 8.5/10