What If Season 2 Episode 5 Ending Explained

Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Marvel’s What If…? Season 2, Episode 5

Marvel’s What If…? season 2, episode 5 ends with a surprising twist for Captain Carter. Reuniting with Steve Rogers despite being pulled into the present after her battle with Hydra’s squid monster in her debut episode from the animated series’ first season, Captain Carter’s story continues in an alternate reality version of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, one where Steve was corrupted not unlike the main MCU’s Bucky Barnes. However, the episode ends in a way neither Carter nor the Watcher himself could have expected.

As seen in Marvel’s What If…? season 2, the fifth episode is entitled “What If…Captain Carter Fought The Hydra Stomper?” continuing the first season’s tease that Steve Rogers survived into the present just like Peggy Carter did. However, Rogers and his suit of armor were corrupted by the Soviets’ Red Room in the years following WWII, turning Steve into a living weapon under the control of Melina Vostokoff. However, Captain Carter found herself in another reality entirely following a major battle with the Hydra Stomper and a team of the Red Room’s Black Widows.

Related

What If…? Season 2 Cast & Marvel Character Guide

What If…? season 2 premieres on December 22, 2023, on Disney+, bringing new and returning voice actors to the animated worlds of the MCU’s Phase 5.

Where Did Captain Carter Go At The End Of What If Season 2, Episode 5?

1602

Following Peggy and Natasha Romanoff’s battle with the Red Room and Rogers’ sacrifice to destroy their floating fortress, Peggy has every intention of finding Steve whom she believes is still alive. However, before she and Black Widow could begin their search, red cracks appeared in the ground below Carter’s feet, pulling her into a portal and transporting her into another reality. This appears to be an alternate MCU set in the year 1602, setting up What If…?’s next episode.

Who Surprised The Watcher By Taking Captain Carter?

The Scarlet Witch May Be More Powerful Than The Watcher

As seen in the final shot of What If…? season 2, episode 5, Captain Carter wakes up to find herself in front of a new variant of Nick Fury and Wanda Maximoff’s Scarlet Witch with both of them wearing dated attire from the Elizabethan era. As such, it’s a strong confirmation that Peggy has indeed found herself on Earth-1602. It’s also notable that even a cosmic being as supposedly all-seeing as the Watcher could be surprised by this version of Wanda and her chaos magic.

How Captain Carter Defeated The Hydra Stomper And Red Room

Steve Rogers Broke Free From The Red Room

Having broken through to Steve by the episode’s end, Peggy could only watch as Rogers flew in his Hydra Stomper to destroy the Red Room’s floating fortress. Likewise, Natasha fired a caplet as the Hydra Stomper before attaching it to Melina, ensuring that the Red Room’s leader was destroyed as well. However, Peggy refuses to believe that Rogers died in the explosion.

What’s Next For Captain Carter In What If…? Season 2?

Saving A New Reality

Going forward, it certainly looks as though Peggy Carter will be needed to help face whatever crisis has come to Earth-1602. Likewise, one can imagine that the Watcher may once again involve himself in the affairs of various realities following this episode’s surprise ending for Marvel’s What If…?, rather than just being the passive cosmic observer he’s meant to be in the MCU multiverse.