The first part of Invincible Season 2 featured King Lizard becoming the leader of the Lizard League. We learned that the Sequids had taken over the mind of an astronaut who was abandoned on Mars by the Martian, who dubbed himself the Shapesmith, and was heading towards Earth in a giant ship. Thaedus turned off Allen’s life support, probably because he was aware of the fact that there was a hidden Viltrumite in the Coalition of Planets (an anti-Viltrumite organization). Mark reunited with Nolan and learned that he had become the monarch of Thraxa and had a son with his new wife, Andressa. The Viltrumites attacked the planet, killed a major chunk of their population, and arrested Nolan. General Kregg tasked Mark with preparing Earth for the Viltrumite invasion, which, if he failed to do so, would lead to genocide. Debbie came to terms with the fact that she wouldn’t be able to live a normal life or cope with Nolan’s betrayal because the horrors inflicted upon humanity by him were too huge. Yet, Art Rosenbaum gave Debbie the push she needed to move on. Donald realized that he wasn’t human but an android. Atom Eve faced off with Killcannon, and the result was quite disastrous. Since she was quite disturbed by those events, she decided to move back with her parents. A new villain was formed with the help of the Mauler Twins, named Angstrom Levy. He wanted to solve the Viltrumite issue but ended up combining all his versions from the multiverse and then going on a quest to kill or capture every version of Mark Grayson.

Spoiler Alert

Cecil knows everything

Mark is rescued by the Thraxans, and he decides to stay there for a while so that he can rebuild their civilization. A few months later, Mark is informed that a ship that can help him travel all the way to Earth has been made, and he can leave whenever he wants. Mark doesn’t want to go because there’s a lot of repair work left. But the Thraxans insist. In addition to that, Andressa persuades Mark to take his stepbrother with him because Andressa has grown old (Thraxans have a very short lifespan). And she wants Oliver to grow up with someone to whom he is tangentially related by blood. Mark has no other option but to accept her request. So, he takes Oliver and flies back to Earth. Back home, Debbie is working again at her real estate job and shares an amicable relationship with Paul. As she prepares to sit down to have a glass of wine by herself (a decision that she seemingly walks back on because of her brief bout of alcoholism), Mark surprises her and then tells her all about Oliver. 

Debbie is obviously distraught, angry, and confused regarding Mark’s revelations about Nolan. She points out how Nolan has destroyed another species and isn’t around to pick up the pieces again. Mark knows that, but he says they don’t have the luxury of weighing the pros and cons of this whole fiasco; they just have to deal with it. Mark says that he’s open to dropping out of college for one year to take care of Oliver. Since Oliver grows faster than humans, he’ll probably be able to take care of himself within that period of time. Debbie refuses to let him take a break from his academic journey and says that she’s going to take care of Oliver in one way or another. They both kind of agree that Oliver shouldn’t go to Cecil because they don’t know what he is going to do with him. 

Talking about Cecil, Donald confronts him regarding the wiring and metal skeleton in his body. Cecil doesn’t sugarcoat and says that, technically, Donald died when they exploded the safe house to kill Omni-Man. But since they found out that his brain was functional, they put it in a state-of-the-art endoskeleton. Now, why did Cecil, an otherwise emotionless man, go to these lengths to save Cecil’s soul? I don’t know. Maybe he just loves Donald, or maybe it’s something else. Either way, Donald isn’t very pleased about being resurrected. Mark goes back to college and reunites with William. He informs Mark that he is about to be dismissed because of his low attendance (Mark was absent for two months). William wants to know what Mark has been up to, but Mark decides to meet Amber first. On his way to Amber’s room, though, Mark is confronted by Cecil, who reprimands him for disobeying his orders. Cecil apparently knows about Oliver, and he has sent a team to capture him as they speak. Mark tells him to back off and promises to arrive at the Guardians headquarters for debriefing. Cecil obliges but leaves him with a stinger about forcing Debbie to look after her ex-husband’s new kid.

Invincible joins the Guardians to fight the Sequids

Mark updates Amber about everything that has gone down. Amber gives some updates about her life too. We get brief updates on what the Guardians of the Globe have been up to: they’ve been fighting a giant called Omnipotus (during which Black Samson noticed Shapesmith shifting between his Martian and human forms) and then training with each other. Rudy tries to tell The Immortal that pushing Amanda to repeatedly change into her monster form is going to accelerate her de-aging. So, they should reserve that for important occasions. In the meantime, Amanda can fight with an exoskeleton devised by him. This irks Amanda a lot because she thinks that Rudy is trying to control her. Donald suffers a nightmare where he sees a metallic endoskeleton choking him to death. He is woken up by an assistant telling him to check something on their long-range radar. Cecil appears before the Guardians to tell them about the aforementioned Martian ship that’s full of Sequids. Black Samson coaxes Shapesmith to spill the truth, and once Cecil says that everyone knows who Shapesmith is, he tells them everything about the evolution of the Sequids and how his wishes to explore the galaxy have caused the Sequids to grow and become strong enough to invade Earth. 

Cecil and the Guardians agree that Shapesmith is responsible for the doom of Mars and has paved the way for Earth’s demise as well, and he’ll face the consequences of his actions. However, seeing as he is the only person (?) who knows everything about the Sequids and the Martian vessel, he needs to be on the team to guide them through this treacherous path. The Immortal announces the members who are going along with him to space to stop the Martian ship from entering Earth: Bulletproof, Black Samson, Monster Girl, Rudy, and Shapesmith. Dupli-Kate, Rex Splode, and Shrinking Rae are instructed to hold the fort. Shapesmith says that they need more firepower to fight against the Sequids, and Rex Splode takes up the task of convincing Atom Eve to resume her superhero duties. Surprisingly enough, Rex Splode manages to get Eve out of her slump. 

Cecil goes to get Mark, and he interrupts a little bonding session between Mark, Debbie, and Oliver. Mark is a little surprised that Cecil is asking him to don the suit after technically grounding him, but he doesn’t hesitate and goes off to fulfill his duties as a superhero. Even though Debbie and Mark are not interested in paying heed to any family-related opinions from Cecil, he tells Debbie to consider the option of putting Oliver in some kind of superhero creche. Before heading out to save the planet again, Mark informs Amber, and she calls up her friends to check if they have any plans for the night. I know that Amber is hated by a lot of Invincible fans, largely because she acts in a very human way, where she prioritizes herself over everything else. And I have a feeling that her arc in this season is going in that direction, and I hope that viewers actually follow the thinking behind her decisions instead of just rushing to lambast her.

Did Rex Splode, Dupli-Kate, and Shrinking Rae die?

The concluding moments of Invincible Season 2, episode 5, are excellent. Yes, a major chunk of the Guardians blast off into space in a spaceship, while Rex Splode, Dupli-Kate, and Shrinking Rae proceed to get some downtime because Rex Splode thinks that two atrocities can’t happen at the same time. That theory is immediately proven to be wrong as the Lizard League invades a nuclear plant of sorts, and then they wait for the government to deal with them while they hold New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago hostage. Rex Splode, Dupli-Kate, and Shrinking Rae are ordered by Cecil to head over to this facility and take care of the Lizard League, thereby ruining pizza night for Rex. The trio put up a very gory and incredibly bloody fight. However, Komodo Dragon gets the better of Dupli-Kate and tires her out until she can’t make copies of herself anymore. When she does manage to make a copy of herself, Komodo Dragon smashes them into a pile of bones, muscles, and blood. Shrinking Rae gets into Salamander’s head and kills him. Iguana and Komodo Dragon go after Rex Splode. Shrinking Rae tries to explode Komodo Dragon from the inside, but in the most grotesque display of his prowess, Komodo Dragon stops Shrinking Rae from expanding, thereby killing her, too. 

Rex Splode splices Iguana in half and then dukes it out with Komodo Dragon. The latter chews up Rex Splode’s left hand. But since he consumes one of Rex’s explosive devices, his head explodes, and he dies. Rex Splode thinks he has won, but King Lizard shows up behind him, aiming a gun at his head. Mark, Eve, and the rest of their team somehow make it onto the Martian ship. As expected, the Martians are unhappy with Shapesmith because of his stupidity, which has led to this whole debacle. While they argue, Bulletproof kills a Sequid and alerts the Sequid hivemind about their location. The Guardians do their best to keep the Sequids at bay, but their numbers are so overwhelming that they can’t deal with it. Rudy tries out a method to use his suit to stun the Sequids, thereby risking his human body for the Sequids. Before he gets to try out his experiment, Eve breaks her force field barrier that has been protecting the Guardians so far. So, yes, it’s not clear if Rex Splode has been killed by King Lizard or if the Sequids have killed the Guardians. It’s a cliffhanger. However, I can say for sure that Dupli-Kate and Shrinking Rae are very dead. By the way, starting off the second part of Invincible Season 2 with the deaths of two female characters, that too in Women’s History Month, is not a good look. 

Anyway, at the end of Invincible Season 2, episode 5, we see that Allen has surprisingly survived the Viltrumite attack. Thaedus reveals that he is the first Viltrumite to defect against his species. He admits that he did shut off Allen’s ventilator, but he wanted to see if that accelerated Allen’s healing powers or if it killed him. Clearly, his gamble has paid off. Allen, being the good guy that he is, takes all this pretty well, even though it sounds quite disturbing. Thadeus tells Allen to get in touch with Mark and bring him to the Coalition because, apparently, he is the key to turning the tide against the Viltrumite expansion. So, it’s safe to assume that Allen is going to be the one to save Mark and the Guardians from the Sequids, and then he is going to take him to Thaedus. What’s going to happen to Rex Splode? How is Debbie going to deal with Oliver in Mark’s absence? Where is Nolan? Well, I guess we will get the answers to all our questions in the upcoming episodes of Invincible Season 2.

Orion and the Dark is a new animated film released on Netflix that is meant entirely for kids, even though it packs enough for adults to enjoy as well. The film features a young boy named Orion, who is afraid of almost anything and any uncomfortable situation in the world, until he has a really unique experience when darkness appears as a living entity to him and takes him on a wild adventure. Overall, Orion and the Dark is quite enjoyable throughout its duration, and it successfully delivers the intended effect as well.

Spoiler Alert

Who is Orion?

Orion and the Dark introduces us to little Orion, a young boy in junior high who nervously approaches a girl from his class named Sally. Orion likes Sally and really wants to know her better, and he prepares a whole conversation to have with the girl even before going over to her. However, just like every other time, Orion’s fear of rejection and embarrassment stops him from talking with Sally, and the boy has never had any actual conversation with his crush. Such an introduction perfectly sums up young Orion, who is scared of numerous things in life, all of which get in the way of him having any fun. Despite knowing the answers to the questions asked in class, he shies away from asking for the chance out of fear that he will spurt out some wrong word or pronunciation. The thought of him accidentally clogging the school toilet and flooding the entire school bothers him every day. The usual fears of height, infections, dogs, and murderous clowns also keep Orion alert at all times.

Out of all his fears, some are exceptional in nature because of how much they scare him, and a bully in school named Richi Panichi is among the top ones. Richi is incredibly tough and hurtful towards Orion, as he bullies the timid boy on a regular basis. Even though Orion does feel like standing up for himself at times, he can never gather the courage to do so, and he even thanks his bully in some instances without even wanting to do so. With all his fears combined, it is no wonder that Orion has been avoiding an upcoming school trip to the planetarium, for he constantly thinks of the negatives that can happen on such a trip. The boy even keeps the permission slip from his parents, knowing well that they will encourage him to go to the planetarium and have new experiences. Despite having a pair of loving and understanding parents, the boy even has the irrational fear that they will abandon him.

In fact, almost all of Orion’s fears do not really have any reason, and so Orion and the Dark does not get into the cause of them, rather focusing on how the boy gets over them. He is most scared of darkness, as the boy cannot even spend a few minutes alone in the dark. Even while going to sleep, he lights up his room to get rid of any possible darkness, but on this particular occasion, it all goes to waste when a storm outside leads to a power cut. Shaking out of fear inside his room, Orion suddenly sees the darkness take a very finite shape, with eyes and a mouth, and it starts to talk to the boy. The darkness, lovingly called Dark, expresses his dislike towards everyone hating and fearing him so much, and he is particularly distressed with Orion because the boy is terrified of him.

Dark is on a personal mission to change everyone’s dislike for him, and his idea is to be friends with the boy most scared of him so that the world learns how good he actually is. As part of this plan, he wants to take Orion out for twenty-four hours to show him his work, hoping to change the boy’s mind. Although Orion initially refuses to go, he also quickly realizes that this would be a chance to face his fears and finally agrees to it. Thus, Dark and Orion set out on an adventure that surely helps the boy get over his fears.

How does Orion get in the way of Dark’s friends?

Orion remains confused and scared for a long time during his journey with Dark, and the boy prefers keeping his eyes shut to be safe. Some time later, Dark introduces Orion to his friends, who are all entities of things associated with nighttime. But none of them are welcoming of the boy, as they feel that Orion’s presence could very well disrupt their schedule and lead to their becoming non-existent. After all, each of them, and especially Dark, runs on a tight schedule, bringing shade all over the world while also being constantly chased by Light, who has the responsibility of lighting up the world in time. Thus, if Orion somehow messes up Dark’s schedule, it would be a disaster for the entity as he would be engulfed by Light.

Despite the warnings from his friends, Dark keeps Orion with him throughout the night, and when the two go around looking at the nightly work of the others, the young boy unintentionally creates a lot of trouble. Seeing the job of Sleep, Orion is concerned that the entity uses too much force in putting everyone to sleep, and he is also worried about Sleep’s habit of kissing everyone. In response, Sleep lashes out that it has been doing the same job for over thousands of years and therefore needs nobody to intervene in the matter. When observing Insomnia’s practice of going around houses and whispering about embarrassing memories and thoughts to people, keeping them awake, Orion is angry at the entity for being so insensitive. But Insomnia reminds us that it is simply mirroring the very consciousness of the people and that its presence is required for a healthy balance as well.

Similarly, when the boy sees Unexplained Noises that make loud sounds only to scare a kid, he refuses to believe that these entities need to exist at all. Next, Orion gets in the way of Quiet’s work, for he himself cannot bear with the silence and makes a noise, leading to the whole area waking up once again. Lastly, Dark takes Orion inside the mind of a woman to show him how Sweet Dreams operates, but this turns dangerous as Orion uncontrollably thinks of frightening things, which immediately become living entities inside the dream world. It is after a great struggle that the three escape from the dream world, and Sweet Dreams once again reprimands Dark against keeping Orion with him any longer.

Eventually, the entities question why Orion dislikes nighttime, and the boy talks about how colorful and vibrant the daytime is. Even to appreciate the beauty of things at night, there is a need for light, and through this conversation, the boy is able to convince the other entities that the only problem is with darkness, as everyone else can also survive with light. This turns each of the entities against Dark, and out of sadness and frustration, Dark gives himself up to the powers of Light, and the friendly entity disappears. This has a tremendous impact on the world, as the absence of any darkness makes things too bright for humans. Without Dark, the other nighttime entities try to co-exist with Light, and this messes up the time cycle for humans as well, causing too much chaos.

How does Orion bring back Dark?

As the effect of Dark’s absence creates trouble for the world and also saddens Orion and the other entities, they decide to somehow bring the darkness back, which is greatly required for the balance. The best part about Orion and the Dark is how it also presents a very real backdrop to its story. Fairly early in the film, it is revealed that this fantastical tale about young Orion being taken on a mighty adventure by Dark is being told by adult Orion to his young daughter, Hypatia. Thus, the beginning scenes of young Orion are actually part of his story, in which he is telling his daughter to ease her own difficulties with fears and inhibitions. After all, the fear of darkness is something very common among children, and as a father, Orion is essentially spinning a tale about his own experiences to help little Hypatia.

The narration of the story takes a pause when the father and daughter step out to take a walk at night, but Hypatia is enthusiastic to take it forward. Orion admits that he has been making up the story all along and that he has run out of ideas at this moment, when his younger version is trying to revive Dark. Hypatia now steps in, quite literally, into the story to be a character in it as well. Together with the help of the other nighttime entities, Orion goes inside his own dream to bring back Dark, signifying how there is a little darkness inside all of our minds. But it is Hypatia who comes to Orion’s rescue at the last moment, and the girl helps her father and his friend survive. Through this entire process, all of Orion’s fears are significantly reduced, and Hypatia has the same effect as well. In a beautiful manner, Orion and the Dark signifies how the father sharing about his struggles having eased both his mind and also now his daughter’s.

Dark is thankful to Orion for not abandoning him and instead coming back to revive him, and he is also glad to reunite with his other entity friends. Dark finally takes Orion and Hypatia back to their house, leaving them for the night and thanking them for the opportunity to know and love him. With his newfound confidence, Orion asks his parents to sign the permission slip for the school trip, and at the planetarium, he sits beside Sally throughout the day. In fact, Orion and Sally had grown up to get married and have their daughter, Hypatia.

How does Orion’s dreamy story come to an end?

Although most matters have been put to rest, Hypatia still needs to return to her original home, which is not just in a different city but also many years in the future. While the two kids wonder what to do next, a third kid suddenly appears out of a portal and informs them that he is from the future. The new boy, named Tycho, reveals that he has traveled to the past only to take Hypatia home, and this has caused an interdimensional rift, forcing him to fight some monsters. Tycho does keep his word and takes Hypatia back to her timeline while fighting monsters as well.

Orion and the Dark‘s ending revealed that Tycho is actually the son of Hypatia, and the story was actually being told by adult Hypatia to her young son. The habit of passing on stories over generations, with each generation adding something extra to it, is a beautiful idea that the film makes use of. When young Hypatia heard that her father was stuck in a difficult situation in his own story, she jumped in to help him revive Dark. Similarly, young Tycho had now jumped into the story as a monster-fighting interdimensional traveler in order to save his mother and get her back to her reality. In the process, the fears and nervousness of children over three generations are eased away, with each of them finding a new confidence in themselves.

The Tiger’s Apprentice is based on a novel written by Laurence Yep, and it is centered around a teenager named Thomas Lee, aka Tom, who was just not ready to accept the fact that he was special and different from the rest of his classmates. Tom had powers, but he was in denial for the longest time. But now the time had come when his grandmother was going to have that big conversation with him and make him aware of his destiny. So, let’s find out what happened to Tom, if he was able to make peace with his reality, and if he was able to save humanity.

Spoiler Alert

What was Tom destined to be?

At the beginning of The Tiger’s Apprentice, we saw that Mrs. Lee’s car was being chased by ghost-like creatures called the Yaoguai. They wanted to stop Mrs. Lee and take the locket that she was wearing. The locket was called the Phoenix, and it was special because it had magical powers in it. The goddess Nu Kua used it to create humanity, and now the dark forces wanted it to destroy everything. That night, the warriors of the circle of twelve came to Mrs. Lee’s rescue, and somehow, they managed to save her and her grandson from the evil Loo. The narrative moved 15 years ahead in time, and Mrs. Lee’s grandson, Tom, was now a teenager. Tom knew that the entire high school used to call him names, and they bullied him by saying that his grandmother was a witch. Tom knew that his grandmother wasn’t like others, and she did weird things like hanging wind charms and doing strange rituals. But he loved her, and he hoped that one day she would give up all her weird practices and live like a normal human. Tom had no clue what future had in store for him. He came from a family of Guardians, people who had protected the Phoenix for a thousand years. His grandmother was waiting for the opportune moment to tell him that. She knew that a time would come when Tom would realize who he really was, but at that moment, he was in denial, and he was just not ready to accept the fact that he wasn’t normal like his peers.

Tom had a fight at his school, and he ended up doing something that surprised him, too. He pushed the bully, and that boy floated in the air and hit the ceiling. Tom knew that he had powers, but it was too bizarre for him to accept that fact. That day he came back home, he met Hu, who came to tell Mrs. Lee that it was about time she revealed to him what he was destined to do. But before Mrs. Lee could tell him anything, Loo, her adversary, attacked her house, as Tom had earlier taken down all the chimes that provided a protective shield. Loo killed Mrs. Lee that night, but Mrs. Lee managed to hand over her Phoenix locket to Tom. Tom’s life changed overnight, and he wasn’t able to process anything. Hu, who shapeshifted as a tiger, took him in his care and helped him make peace with the fact that he had powers and a purpose to accomplish in life.

How did Mrs. Lee’s death change Tom?

Tom was trained by Hu, who knew that unless and until the former accepted who he really was, he wouldn’t be able to harness his full potential. Hu told Tom that the locker was of utmost importance and that Loo would wreak havoc if she got it. The first time Tom came face-to-face with Loo was when he went alone to a castle and found out that Loo was Rav’s foster mother. A deadly battle ensued, and Loo, making use of her magical powers, trapped a lot of warriors in her umbrella. Tom realized what was at stake, and he didn’t know if he was even capable of doing what others wanted him to. Things were not right between Tom and Hu, and both had a lot of ego tussles and arguments. Hu was sick and tired of making Tom understand who he was, and Tom, on the other hand, believed that Hu was too hard on him at times. Tom wanted to avenge the death of his grandmother, but his heart and mind were not in sync. The belief that he could do it was lacking within him. Hu knew that, unless and until Tom was convinced, they would end up on the losing side. The evil was growing stronger every day, and they needed to protect the Phoenix to save humanity from perishing.

Was Tom able to defeat Loo?

Loo, in The Tiger’s Apprentice, was finally able to take the Phoenix from Tom’s save, and the latter felt really guilty after letting everybody down. He knew how much was at stake, and he had no clue if he would ever get a chance to redeem himself. But Tom did get a chance, and finally, he could feel himself connected to the Phoenix. He could sense it where it was and he was able to locate it using his psychic powers. Hu was taken into captivity during the fight, but his apprentices soon made sure that the entire army that was being held in that blue umbrella was freed. Tom could see the Phoenix, and he realized that he didn’t have to fight Loo to get it. He held the stone firmly in his hand and healed the phoenix that had turned all black due to all the hate that Loo filled it with. The Phoenix responded to its master, and it became what its master wanted it to be. Loo made it into a weapon to end humanity, while Tom made it an elixir from which all good things were born. At the end of The Tiger’s Apprentice, Tom was able to defeat Loo, and he also took back the phoenix stone, making sure that her army of demons rotted in hell.

How did Hu bring Tom back to life?

During The Tiger’s Apprentice‘s ending, Tom finally tasted victory, but the happiness was short-lived as he fell from the building and died. Hu was not ready to accept that, and he pleaded with the goddess Nu Hua to merge their souls so that he had a chance to bring Tom back to life. A similar thing had happened in the past when Hu gave his life trying to protect Mr. Lee and Tom. At that time, Mrs. Lee had merged her soul with him and brought him back to life, so it could be said that he carried a little of Mrs. Lee inside him. The goddess told Hu that there was a possibility that both of them would die, but he was ready to take the risk. Tom was brought back to life, and Hu gave him the keys to his shop, as he didn’t have a place to stay. Tom realized how Hu had been his guardian angel and how he was always there to protect him. Hu had turned white because of the merging of his soul with Tom, but then it was all worth it as now Tom considered him his family, and together they took a vow to fight evil and protect their world. 

In the lead-up to the conclusion of Masters of the Universe: Revolution, it was revealed that Skeletor was actually King Randor’s half-brother. He was originally named Keldor, and he was from an island planet called Anwat Gar. He was the rightful heir to the throne of Eternia, but due to a technicality, he had to go back to his home planet. Anwat Gar was invaded by Hordak (because that was his hobby), and he trained Keldor, gave him the Havoc staff, and turned him into Skeletor. By the looks of it, the duo tried to invade Eternos but failed. Skeletor was arrested and then restricted to Snake Mountain. But with the help of Motherboard, Hordak managed to make Skeletor the king of Eternos, meddle with the magic (thereby robbing Adam of his powers) of the realm, turn the populace into robots, and then invade it. However, Skeletor had other plans.

Spoiler Alert

Did Teela manage to control her newfound powers?

Initially, Skeletor’s plans were to do the bidding of Motherboard and Hordak. But then his alter ego (or his original ego) acted up, in the form of a holographic Keldor, and urged him to kill off both Motherboard and Hordak and take control of Eternos. He took out Motherboard while she was busy parsing through the data in the walls of Castle Grayskull, and, after an incredibly hard-fought battle, surprisingly, Skeletor actually succeeded and killed Hordak, too. But Evil-Lyn entered the picture through a portal, severed the Havoc staff from Skeletor’s body, and took it to Teela, thereby allowing her to combine the powers of the staff of the Sorceress, the staff of Ka, and the Havoc staff, and restore balance in Eternia and resurrect Preternia.

Given how that exercise started taking a toll on Teela, Adam decided to enter the vortex created by her, along with his upgraded sword, and invoked the power of Grayskull to give her a boost. The process transformed both of them, and before dealing with the task at hand, Adam and Teela decided to seal the deal with a kiss instead of partaking in the good old “will they, won’t they” routine anymore. On that note, Teela took to the skies to use her newfound powers to bring back Preternia and restore the place that was a home for the dead. Skeletor started turning the brainwashed public of Eternia into minions that were made of his personal concoction of magic and technology, and Adam intervened and broke the spell that was being used to control them.

Did Adam turn Eternia into a Democracy?

In Masters of the Universe: Revolution, the final battle against Skeletor and his forces pushed Adam and his friends to the limit. It even brought Granamyr, the dragon, out of his slumber and onto the battlefield. And just when he was about to breathe his last, Teela completed the last stages of her spell and resurrected Preternia. That not only allowed the dead to achieve a form of immortality but also freed Evil-Lyn from the guilt of destroying it in the first place. Skeletor made one last ditch attempt to kill Adam, but the ghost of Randor appeared beside He-Man and helped him defeat Skeletor. All the souls who were trapped somewhere between Eternia and Preternia were finally freed. Even though Skeletor was soundly defeated, he tried to hold onto the spirit of Randor. However, Adam used all the power coursing through his body, channeled it through his sword, and transformed Skeletor back into Keldor, thereby robbing him of his dark magical powers.

The shot of Keldor accepting his defeat while looking at all the heroes was reminiscent of the shot of a defeated Loki looking at the Avengers in The Avengers. To be honest, Keldor’s whole arc was pretty similar to that of Loki, who was Odin’s adopted child and then turned into a villain when he couldn’t legally take the throne of Asgard. Keldor had blue skin, and the original color of Loki’s skin was blue because of his connection with the Jötuns. Anyway, the Horde jetted off into space after being relieved of their duties since Skeletor had no hold over them anymore. After that, Adam put an end to Eternia’s monarchy and declared that it’d function as a democracy. According to him, his search for the next king and his own indecisiveness regarding being the next king led to this whole fiasco. So, he wanted the people to take that responsibility and choose their leader instead of blindly following an endless cycle of nepotism. Keldor was jailed in Castle Grayskull, and I think Masters of the Universe: Revolution should’ve unpacked the topic of how he was wronged because of the fear of “bad optics,” thereby initiating his villain arc. That would have forced Adam to see Randor in a different light, but the show doesn’t have that kind of time in this season. Andra decided to run for office. As for Adam and Teela, they chose to focus on their relationship and maintain the peace and tranquility of Eternia.

Will Despara be the villain of Season 3?

During Masters of the Universe: Revolution‘s ending, we get our first look at the character known as Zodac. He seems to be the leader of a team called the Cosmic Enforcers. They all wear similar-looking helmets. They are gathered at a colosseum that is built on an asteroid that is being held by a giant (I guess), which is connected to several other asteroids with colorful chains. And after seeing Evil-Lyn’s beautiful display of heroism, Zodac expresses his desire to make her a part of this team. Who is Zodac? What is the job of the cosmic enforcers? Well, apparently, Mattel introduced him as some sort of generic villainous character. Then DC Comics turned him into a centrist of sorts, and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe kind of continued that version of the character. The iteration of the character that we see in Revolution seems to be a neutral player too. I think the best way to describe Zodac and the Cosmic Enforcers is by calling them the show’s version of Marvel’s Watchers. They oversee the events of Eternia, but they never intervene (unless it’s absolutely necessary, I guess). Now, that sounds too restrictive for someone like Evil-Lyn, even if she isn’t evil anymore. She is still chaotic, and she has recently chosen a side (the good one), so playing a neutral figure probably won’t suit her. Well, technically, we don’t see Evil-Lyn accepting Zodac’s offer. So, who knows? Maybe Season 3 of Masters of the Universe will have a cold open where Evil-Lyn slaughters the Cosmic Enforcers for sitting on the fence despite being so powerful.

The narrative shifts from the asteroids of neutrality to what seems to be Etheria, i.e., the home planet of Hordak and his Horde. Someone has apparently retrieved Hordak’s body from the battlefield and put him in some kind of Bacta tank where he is healing. Yes, of course, Masters of the Universe has a bunch of parallels with Star Wars. Hordak’s unconscious body is visited by a masked individual who tells her master to rest as Horde Prime does its work. She says that once Hordak regains his strength, they’re going to kill Skeletor and He-Man. So, as far as I can figure out, this masked character is Despara. She is supposed to be Adam’s twin sister, Adora, who was kidnapped by Hordak and trained to become one of the leaders of the Horde. When did Hordak kidnap Adora? Well, during one of the flashback sequences, we see Hordak jumping from a tower in Eternia while a distressed Randor and Skeletor watch him escape. Maybe that’s when he did it. That said, much like the information regarding Skeletor being Keldor, the fact that Adora being Despara is going to shock Adam and possibly the rest of Eternia. Why do Randor and his family have so many secrets? Why can’t they just talk and keep everyone in the loop? Maybe we’ll get the answers to that in the yet-to-be-announced Season 3 of Masters of the Universe.

Migration is a new animated film by Illumination, the same company that brought the Minion films, that is sweet and charming for viewers of any age, even though it is targeted mostly at children. Following a family of Mallard ducks, the film presents the family setting out on a migratory adventure for the first time in their lives. Along the way, the four make new friends and learn new lessons in their attempt to fly towards the idyllic waters of Jamaica. Overall, Migration does not have much beneath the surface, but the narrative and the visuals make it a fun watch.

Spoiler Alert

Plot Summary: What is the film about?

Migration begins at a small pond somewhere in the United States, where a family of Mallard ducks live in peace and contentment. The family is headed by Mack, a duck who has lived his entire life in this very pond, just like his forefathers, and intends to teach his kids the same values. But the two kids of Mack and his wife Pam, the elder Dax and the younger Gwen, are both quite bored of living the same life every day, restricted to just the pond. They want to venture out and see what lies beyond the pond, much to the horror of Mack, who is terribly scared of the world outside. In order to teach his kids to stay put at the pond, Mack tells them nightmarish stories every day, in which two adventurous ducklings always get killed and eaten up by predatory birds like herons and eagles. Pam is not fond of this practice of her husband, though, as she, too, dreams of seeing the world and not just remaining limited to the pond.

One day, a flock of migratory ducks flew by the area and took a stop at the pond, leading to great interest by Dax, Gwen, and Pam. While Pam waits to discuss the matter with Mack, the two ducklings flout their father’s rule and go over making introductions with the new guests. They learn that these ducks are flying to the beautiful waters of Jamaica to enjoy the warm weather, and the siblings are immediately excited by the idea that they get of Jamaica. Dax also makes acquaintance with a duck named Kim, who is around the same age as him, and the two are naturally quite interested in each other. When Pam and Mack also join the conversation with the migrating ducks, it does not lead to anything positive, as Mack refuses to go on any such adventure. The flock soon leaves, and Pam, Dax, and Gwen feel frustrated and sad at their drab existence.

Mack remains confident that he has made the right choice until an older duck, Uncle Dan, tells him that spending his whole life at the pond has been the best idea. Dan is old, bitter, and lonely since everyone has left him, and this makes Mack realize that his life will also soon be similar. Refusing to hold himself back within the safe boundaries of an easy life, Mack decides to go on migration with his family, much to the happiness of Pam, Dax, and Gwen.

What experiences do the Mallards have on their journey?

As the Mallard family, also accompanied by Uncle Dan, is on its very first flight out of their home, none of them are able to figure out the direction in which they should fly. Although Mack confidently takes the lead, he gets the family to fly straight into a horrific storm, and the five have to take shelter from heavy rains. It is at this shelter that a tall heron comes across them and reaches out to them with extreme interest. Mack is immediately alarmed, for he has known all his life that herons are predators who eat ducks, and so he tries to avoid getting any attention from them. However, the heron insists that the family must take shelter at her house, and unwilling to sour the situation, Pam agrees to the advice. As the ducks make their way to the house, they are introduced to Erin and Harry, a pair of elderly herons who live in the swamplands. Erin explains that the two of them would also migrate a lot during their younger days but had to stop since Harry grew very old. At present, Erin holds the responsibility of bringing food to the house, and for the longest time, Mack has been sure that they are the food for the night.

The fear is alleviated when Erin brings out a frying pan for the ducks to spend the night on, and the scary appearances of the herons also make the Mallard family spend the night in utmost fear. When the storm is over, and the skies are clear at midnight, Mack encourages the family to fly out, but Erin wakes up and stops their attempt right away. Although it seems like the elderly herons really intend to kill the ducks and eat them, the truth is far from it, as Erin saves Dax and Gwen from a large predatory fish, and the Mallards spend the night at the house. The lesson here is that not all preconceived notions and generalized teachings about dangers are true, and the only way to get over one’s fears is to have new experiences, as learned by Mack.

The family keeps flying the next morning, and they unintentionally end up in the large metropolis of New York City, which is terribly confusing and new for them. A fight breaks out between Dan and a group of local pigeons when the old duck finds a sandwich and is immediately cornered by the pigeons. As a result, the leader of the group, Chump, has to come out to fight and is not at all amused by Mack referring to pigeons as vermin. Pam has to step in to defuse the situation, and it is also she who negotiates a split between the two sides of the sandwich. Won over by Pam’s understanding nature, Chump decides to help the family reach Jamaica and takes them to someone from the very place.

Migration next introduces a majestic scarlet macaw from Jamaica named Delroy, who is unfortunately in a horrible situation at the moment. This is because the bird is kept in a cage by a human chef who runs his own restaurant in New York City. Although Delroy wants to escape and reunite with his family members in the truly paradisiacal world of the Caribbean, there is simply no way for him to do so. Thus, the Mallard family steps in to help the bird, and in the process, Mack and Pam are spotted by the disgruntled and obnoxious chef. The human grows vengeful against the ducks, for they have caused chaos in his kitchen, and he intends to get hold of the birds and cook up some extravagant dishes with them.

However, the Mallards and Chump together are able to hold up against the chef, and they manage to get the key to Delroy’s cage, using which the macaw frees himself and flies out into the open sky. He then promises to take the ducks to Jamaica, where he too wants to return, and the group leaves New York City, leaving behind their new friend, Chump. Mack and his family also learn how to make new friends and to help them out when in danger through this experience. Their efforts also pay off, as Delroy now leads them towards their dream destination of Jamaica.

How does Dax prove his worth to his father? 

On their long flight towards Jamaica, the birds have to take a break when little Gwen refuses to relieve herself in the sky, and in the process, they come across a group of white Pekin ducks. The pekins seem to be living a wonderful life, as all their needs are looked after by human workers, and they spend their days amidst ample food and entertainment. Mack decides to stay back at the place with his family to spend a day amidst such luxury, but a very different reality is soon revealed. While the family is busy playing around with the other ducks, Dax hears the loud noise of a truck horn and decides to check on the matter by himself. He is scared beyond wits to find that the same chef as earlier was now at the place, paying the humans to look after the ducks and then helping up the birds on his truck. It becomes evident that this entire place is a farm where ducks are raised for slaughter, and this is why all their needs are looked after by humans so that the farm can increase their profits.

Dax tries to tell the leader of the pekins, GooGoo, about all this, but the latter simply refuses to believe it. When Mack gets to know the situation and also becomes sure of it after spotting the chef, he takes over the responsibility of explaining the matter to GooGoo. The father had always been very overprotective of his children, but this was getting in the way of Dax’s feelings. The duckling started to think that his father was undermining him, not believing in his capabilities, and thus considering him to be worthless. While Mack only wants to ensure his son’s safety and so tells Dax to be with his mother and sister, the youngster takes the advice in the wrong direction and decides to take matters into his own hands or wings. Dax attempts to stop the chef and is immediately attacked by the man, and Mack has to jump in and save his son.

Although the group of birds, including the pekins, are able to survive the ordeal this time, a huge argument between Mack and Dax spoils the mood. But they find themselves in greater danger at night when the chef brings his helicopter to look for the birds and finally captures them. The chef had paid for the lot of Pekins, and since he is also vengeful against the Mallards, he gets hold of the entire bunch. Only Dax and Gwen are left behind since they have been sitting away from the rest of the flock, and this finally gives Dax a chance to show his bravery. Although the duckling’s feathers had been injured earlier by the chef, and he could not take flight, he came up with a plan very quickly. Since a great struggle had taken place, some of the feathers of the birds had come off, among which were also Delroy’s colorful long plumes. Dax attaches these very feathers to his wings and uses them to fly high in the sky.

As Mack and Pam are able to free themselves from the chef’s helicopter, they are rescued by their ducklings, much to the joy of them and the entire bird flock. Mack finally accepts that he had been wrong in being so overprotective of Dax and that he should have trusted in the instincts of his son earlier. Dan, Delroy, GooGoo, and the other pekins are able to escape the helicopter, too, bringing an end to the reign of terror that the human chef had created for so long.

Does Mack Ultimately Change His Mind About Migration?

As the birds continue on their flight towards Jamaica, they are finally able to reach the island and soak in the warm pleasures of the idyllic place. Delroy is also delighted to reunite with his Macaw family, and they all welcome the Mallards and the other guests to their homeland.

Migration‘s ending shows scenes from the next spring, when the Mallard family is ready to return home from their long vacation. However, Mack is not willing to return just yet, for he has found a large group of penguins who need to be escorted home. Unlike his former self, Mack is now aware of how traveling broadens one’s mind, and so he intends to go around the world more often and learn new things about life. As a result, he agrees to take the penguins back to the South Pole along with the rest of his family members. Although Pam is hesitant at first because of the long distance they have to travel, she finally agrees, and together with Uncle Dan, the Mallards once again set off on a new adventure. Pictures that follow the end credits also show the Mallard family together with the penguins on their way to the South Pole and then finally at the glaciers as well.

Disney’s latest animated production from 2023, Wish, is nothing more than an unnecessarily bold reminder of the company’s 100 years’ celebration. The plot, about a teenager named Asha fighting for the sake of the wishes of every citizen in her land, is simply not developed enough or given much care. Instead, references and reminders of other Disney films and characters are shoved in throughout the entire duration of Wish, none of which succeeds in having any proper impact either. Overall, Wish might be fine for kids, but it is bound to disappoint anyone looking beyond the surface.

Spoiler Alert

Plot Summary: What is Disney Film about?

In true Disney fashion, Wish begins with a narrator reading the story of a magical past from an illustrated book, and it is in this manner that the background for the film is set. A young man had once been extremely driven by the powers of a wish that humans have within themselves. The wish, or desire to do and achieve something in one’s life, which is so characteristic of any human being, is what interested this young man, and he wanted to ensure that everyone’s deepest wish would come true. In order to do this, he learned serious magic and became a sorcerer, naming himself Magnifico. With time, Magnifico was able to keep anyone’s wish or dreams safe from being destroyed by fate and fortune, and later on, the man was even able to grant the wishes of people. Together with his wife, Amaya, Magnifico left his home and sailed out in search of a perfect land, which they found somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea. Turning the land into a kingdom where everyone was welcome and kept safe, the couple became the rulers of the land, which was named Rosas. 

The specialty of Rosas for the citizens living in the kingdom is that once someone turns eighteen, they can hand over their deepest wish, which has a very physical existence, to King Magnifico, who keeps it safe for them. When the King deems it right, he grants the wish of a citizen, and this granting takes place only once a month, on a ceremonial occasion. On the day of such a wish-granting ceremony, the protagonist of the film, Asha, wants the wish of her grandfather, Sabino, to be fulfilled. It is Sabino’s 100th birthday, meaning that it is a joyous occasion and also that the man is running out of time, so it would be a perfect day for the old man’s wish to be fulfilled. But since Asha is still seventeen, she cannot put in her own wish with the King either, and so she plans a different technique. Asha has heard rumors that the King grants the wishes of his apprentice and also those of their family members. Desiring only to make her grandfather happy, Asha goes for an interview at the King’s court, hoping to become his next apprentice.

What does Asha realize about King Magnifico?

Until meeting with King Magnifico personally, Asha had the idea that the ruler is a kind-hearted person who helps people keep their wishes safe and also realize them in time. This is because of the appearance and image that Magnifico had maintained about himself, but it all changes when Asha finally gets to meet him. When discussing the upcoming interview with her seven friends, who are clearly inspired by the seven dwarves in Snow White, they all note how one of them, Simon, has been very quiet and almost absent from life after he had given his wish to the King. Soon, Asha is informed by Queen Amaya that the King is ready for her, and Amaya also tells the girl that she must not ask for any direct favors from the King. As the teenager reaches the palace and starts the interview, she is asked about her motivation to become the apprentice, to which she responds with all the correct answers. Amaya praises Magnifico out of a genuine belief in him and convinces the man that she would be the ideal candidate for the position.

But the situation turns sour when Asha finds her grandfather’s wish—to inspire others with his music—among the innumerable wish bubbles floating around in the King’s study. She is reminded of her deepest desire, which is to help Sabino fulfill his dream, and the girl asks Magnifico for a favor—to grant Sabino’s wish during the ceremony later that day. It is at this time that Asha finds out that their beloved King is not really who he has been claiming to be. Magnifico takes a look at Sabino’s wish and immediately decides not to grant it, for the old man inspiring other people might pose the risk of them turning rebellious against him. Furthermore, Magnifico also reveals that he has no intention of granting the wishes of most people, simply because they might become a threat to him.

When Asha asks the man to then return the wishes to the people so that they can at least try to fulfill them through their own efforts, Magnifico refuses to do so either. In the world of Wish, anyone who gives up their wish to the King to keep it safe also immediately forgets what their wish or desire in life was. This is why Simon appeared so lost and unmotivated after he had given up his wish, because a part of every human being goes away with them handing over their wish, making them lose motivation in life. But if their wishes were returned to the citizens, and if they managed to achieve them, then Magnifico’s power could be questioned and challenged, too. Therefore, the King selfishly holds on to the wishes of all the subjects, ensuring that his rule will last forever.

King Magnifico is symbolic of any ruler who started a kingdom with all the right intentions, but the hunger for power devoured them. With the passing of time, Magnifico became too obsessed with his power and fame, and this further made him fear losing all of it. The man enjoys all the pomp and glory that is shown to him during the wish-granting ceremonies, but he also gets angry whenever he is asked for any favor with regards to this. According to his beliefs, Magnifico is doing an immense favor to the world by holding on to their wishes safely, even if he does not turn them into reality, and so everyone must always be thankful towards him. Gradually, as the plot progresses, Magnifico decides to pursue dark magic in order to protect himself and is all the more resemblant of a leader who turns into an autocrat.

How does Asha fight against Magnifico?

To make matters more difficult for Asha, Magnifico makes the girl sit through the wish-granting ceremony while he makes the wish of a different woman come true. He then rejects her from the position of apprentice. Back at home, the girl tries to convince Sabino and also her mother, Sakina, about Magnifico’s ill practices, but she is misunderstood. Heartbroken that her family members and also all the people of Rosas have been duped by their selfish King, Asha spends the evening by herself in the forest, remembering the teachings of her father, who had passed away when the girl was young. Among his teachings was one in which he used to tell Asha to look up to the skies and make wishes on shooting stars. The father was intelligent, or philosophical, enough to teach that one must not depend on or look up to just one person, the King of the land, and should instead believe in one’s own self.

But then the film also seemingly gets confused with the message it tries to convey when the protagonist, Asha, has to have a star literally come down from the skies and make her believe in herself. The new character, who is named Star, turns every animal in the forest anthropomorphic with its magical powers. As the animals sing about how a star with magical powers is within each human being, Asha realizes that she must work towards her wish, which is to have the citizens of Rosas reunite with their wishes, captured by the King. With the help of Star and also that of her seven friends, Asha breaks into the study of Magnifico and manages to steal the wish crystal of Sabino. Bringing it back to her house, the girl gives it to his grandfather, who immediately remembers his wish and his purpose in life after putting it back inside him. However, this leads to worse consequences, as King Magnifico comes to Asha’s house that very night, even threateningly shattering Sakina’s wish crystal. The protagonist manages to escape with her family members as Star attacks the King, but more trouble soon comes her way.

How did King Magnifico find out about Asha?

When Star first came down from the sky, a bright flash of light was seen by everyone in the land, and it had made Magnifico terribly insecure. The man had realized that a greater magical power had come into existence, and for this reason, he employed all his might to find out the secret behind this flash of light. As part of his measures, the King announced that anyone who could bring any information about the light to him would be immediately granted their wish as a reward for their efforts.

On the next day, Asha had told her friends about Star and the powers that were now at her disposal because of this new friend, and so it became evident that one of the friends must have betrayed Asha. As revealed soon, it was Simon who had told the King about Asha and Star, for he wanted to be relieved of the frustration that loomed large over him. Simon naturally hated not having his wish with him, which had not been fulfilled either, and so he chose to tell the King about his friend, hoping that his wish would be granted.

This is how Magnifico found out about the teenager’s new friend, and when he arrives at her house, his intention is only to get hold of Star and make use of its powers for his own benefit. He grants Simon’s wish as well, which was to become a soldier in the royal army, and the King unleashes all his powers to catch Asha and Star. On the other side, the girl manages to win over another supporter in Queen Amaya, who is distraught at her husband’s evil turn, accepting that Magnifico is no longer the man she had married. Amaya and the six friends go to the castle to open up the tower, allowing everyone’s wish crystals to escape.

Meanwhile, Asha had been fighting who she believed to be Magnifico in the forest, but the opponent soon turned out to be Simon, who had been enchanted by magic to appear like the King. Magnifico was actually still inside his castle, and as Simon is subdued, the King uses his dark magic to stop all the wish crystals, and he also takes Star hostage.

What happens to King Magnifico?

As Asha reaches the palace to help Star and the people of the land, she too is taken captive by Magnifico, who is now supremely powerful. It is now that the protagonist encourages the people to stop having faith in Magnifico for their wishes and instead work towards fulfilling them on their own. Asha instills the same courage and belief among the people that Star had earlier instilled in her, and all the people start to sing in the same tune as the protagonist. This results in Star growing stronger and escaping captivity. All the wish crystals are also freed and returned to the people of Rosas, who learn the lesson of not putting all their faith in one person.

In the process, King Magnifico gets trapped inside the crystal of his own staff, and Queen Amaya, who becomes the new ruler of the lands, orders the staff to be placed inside the dungeons.

Wish‘s ending ascertains that Magnifico is defeated, but he is not necessarily destroyed or killed, which leaves a possibility of there being a sequel in which he returns. Another idea for a prequel can also be thought of, as what exactly happened with Magnifico and his family on their home island is left unclear. Star also gives Asha a magic wand before it goes away from the human world, and the protagonist is termed a fairy godmother by her friends and the people around her. As Star flies over the castle on Rosas Island, it forms the logo of Disney, and the film comes to an end. Wish also presents a short post-credits scene in which Sabino is seen playing the Disney tune on his guitar, which was a crucial part of his wish. Sabino had found out that his means of inspiring people was through singing, and therefore, the man now practices the Disney tune sitting by himself, probably symbolizing how Disney has inspired the imagination of so many over the past 100 years.

Celebrated anime artist Mari Okada’s latest work, Maboroshi, or Alice and Therese’s Illusory Factory, is an allegorical tale told through rich animation style and visual splendor. The plot, which has Masamune Kikuiri, a boy of fourteen, trapped in an unexplained time freeze, along with the rest of his town of Mifuse, is actually one about adolescent love and the difficult acceptance of romantic failure. After watching Maboroshi for two straight times, I am convinced that one needs to have a certain faith or belief in the anime genre in order to enjoy the film, which might otherwise seem slightly pretentious. However, for fans of anime and especially those enjoying subjects of adolescence, Maboroshi is surely an absolute treat.

Spoiler Alert

Plot Summary: What is the anime film about?

Maboroshi begins on a very normal night at the house of protagonist Masamune Kikuiri, a fourteen-year-old boy. Masamune and his friends from school were having their usual session of doing homework together, amidst fun and banter, until a series of loud noises interrupted them. As the entire town loses electricity immediately, the boys see tremendous explosions and fire break out at the steel factory in the distance. The town of Mifuse, where the film takes place, has only the steel factory to show as its pride and heritage, and the horrible accident at the place now threatens to destroy all of it, along with endangering the lives of the townsfolk. But Masamune, his friends, and the entire town survive, with hardly any physical effect on them. However, there is a mysterious catch to their whole survival, since Mifuse is now stuck in a mysterious and supernatural time freeze.

The explosion leads to all entry and exit points in the town, such as the railway tunnels and the seaports, being blocked forever. This ensures that the residents of the place can never leave the place or their fate, which is unnaturally stagnant, for no time passes in Mifuse following the accident. This means that nobody grows up or dies, and yet society keeps on existing in its usual state, living just like in the times before the accident. Therefore, Masamune and all his friends in school have to regularly fill out self-monitoring forms in order to ensure that there is no change in their emotions and feelings. Any such change threatens the existence of the town as cracks open up in the sky, and strange smoke from the factory in the shape of wolves rushes out to mend the cracks. Amidst such an unchanging world, Masamune keeps living a drab life, until he gets to know a young girl living in their town in secret.

How does Masamune meet with Itsumi?

The boring existence of Masamune’s life is evident from the very opening minutes of Maboroshi, as the boy completely understands the stillness of time in Mifuse. Masamune has been fated to always be a fourteen-year-old boy, with no ability to follow his dreams of becoming an artist, for he will never grow up. Even though he enjoys drawing and sketching, any pleasure in these hobbies gets sucked out when he thinks of the eerie permanence of his situation. The protagonist and his friends go around town, indulging in activities that would physically hurt them in order to feel pain for a long time, but none of it penetrates their strange situation. As expressed in a voiceover, the winter, which has been permanently stuck in Mifuse, does not make the boys feel cold any more. In more sense than one, Masamune and some of his friends have matured more than their age, simply because their bodies have been stuck at the same age while their mental development seems to have carried on. 

Having romantic feelings is still a very characteristic part of this young adolescent age, and Masamune also has a tremendous crush on one of his classmates, the reserved and slightly mysterious Mutsumi Sagami. However, the permanence of their lives and the absence of the possibility of any change to their fortunes make Masamune feel almost dead, and therefore, he does not pursue his interest in the girl, even though he is often caught up by her thoughts. Mutsumi, though, seems to be trying to catch the protagonist’s attention from her perch-like position on the top of the school’s tower. Although Masamune initially does not pay attention to the girl, an exhilarating moment of self-exposure by Mutsumi is enough to make the boy run up the tower. It becomes evident that the girl has other intentions behind this act, as she wants to take Masamune to the abandoned fifth blast furnace in the old factory in Mifuse.

Although some parts of the factory are still in use, as workers still visit the place, even though the factory apparently runs itself, the fifth blast furnace is completely abandoned and empty. The reason for this is made clear in a little while, when a young girl jumps out at Masamune and excitedly welcomes him to the place. But her behavior is unlike any human’s, and she is almost like a feral wolf cub, running around sniffing the protagonist excitedly. Mutsumi makes it clear that the girl, who is later named Itsumi, has been kept locked in the fifth blast furnace, even though she does not reveal the reason behind this. Mutsumi had been given the responsibility of taking care of Itsumi by her slightly deranged father, Mamoru Sagami, who is an important employee of the steel factory. But the girl was now in search of someone else who would also be able to come down to the abandoned furnace and care for the young girl. Thus, she chose Masamune to do it simply because she herself is romantically interested in the boy and wants to make him a part of her secret. In this manner, Masamune learns of the existence of young Itsumi, which soon changes his fate, along with that of the entire town.

What is Itsumi’s real identity?

To say that Maboroshi does not really adhere to the limits of reality would be an understatement, and the film intentionally keeps it that way till the very end. At first, Itsumi’s real identity seems to be that of a sister of Mutsumi’s, as Masamune is really surprised by the similarity in appearance between the two women. Mutsumi denies being related to the girl, for her own family has disowned her also, and her father does not keep in touch with her either. The world of Mifuse is seen to have occasional rifts or tears all around, and it is revealed that scenes of the reality, which exists on the other sides of the tears, can be seen from this world. In one such rift, Masamune sees his own grown-up self and realizes the true identity of Itsumi.

Itsumi seems to be the daughter of the grown-up Masamune in the original reality, as the protagonist had grown up to marry Mutsumi and have a child with her, revealing why the two women look similar. This child is Itsumi, and in the original timeline, the young girl seems to have separated from her parents during the festivities in the town when she climbed onto a nearby train without her parents noticing. The events of the night are also presented later on, as the girl was left behind by Masumune and Mutsumi only to teach her a lesson about not touching items at a store. But this led to extreme heartbreak, for the child moved away from the place inattentively, and the parents were left looking for her. As the train then crossed over the two realities, it ended up traveling to Mifuse, along with young Itsumi inside its carriage. The girl was found by the steel factory authorities, specifically by the protagonist’s father, Akimune Kikiuri, who immediately wanted to help her out by returning her to her original reality. Akimune had seen a label on Istumi’s bag and had identified her as his granddaughter, who existed in the reality that had actually moved on to the future. However, the deranged employee, Mamoru Sagami, refused to let the girl return to her reality and instead started a religious cult with her.

Not only is Itsumi a guest from the future in this supernatural town of Mifuse, but her emotions and feelings are also very directly connected to the existence of the place. Itsumi is the only exceptional figure in the town, with regard to the fact that she is the only person aging naturally. While the others have been fixed to their age since the accident took place, Itsumi arrives as a child and keeps growing older with the passage of time. It can be guessed that her emotions and feelings did not really affect the world earlier, but at present, they do start to have a devastating effect on the world. As is the rule at Mifuse, any change in feelings leads to the sky falling apart. So, when Itsumi sees Masumune and Mutsumi, basically the younger selves of her parents, romantically kissing, the girl grows extremely sad and experiences despair in love. This is because Itsumi has started to develop romantic feelings for Masumune herself, and coming across this scene makes her realize that there is no way for her to get the boy.

When Masumune realizes that the train in which Itsumi arrived at this world was from another reality, and so it can be used to travel back to the original reality, the boy decides to help Itsumi out. He is convinced that the girl needs to be returned to her own reality, and he sets out on an elaborate plan to achieve this plan.

What happens to the people of Mifuse?

Sometime in the duration of Maboroshi, it is confirmed that the people of Mifuse are actually not alive, and they are phantoms, or spirits. On the night of the horrible accident at the steel factory, the original residents of Mifuse town seem to have died from the impact, and the world that we are made to witness throughout the film is the spirit world mirroring reality. It is because of this that the residents do not grow in age, and time does not pass at the place. However, most of the residents are also committed to keeping the town and themselves in an unchanged state so that their world does not fall apart. Every time anyone goes through any extreme emotional feelings or has the desire to change themselves, they start to fall apart, quite literally, and the smoke from the factory comes and consumes them.

Mamoru Sagami worships this smoke, which probably signifies the effect of the Industrial Revolution on human beings, wanting them to be as mechanical and uniform as possible. Mamoru makes a cult out of this worship of his, and when the little Itsumi arrives at this reality, he starts to preach that the girl would be their savior and so she should be kept hostage at the fifth blast furnace. Therefore, when Masumune makes the plan of getting Itsumi on the train carriage and having his grandfather drive the train out to the original reality, Mamoru employs all his might to stop this from happening. But the teenager and Mutsumi, who currently helps him out, remain resolute and are able to put Itsumi on the carriage. Masumune is unable to board the train, though, and so Mutsumi also jumps out of it, choosing to remain with her beloved, despite the possibility of the world as they know it ending.

Itsumi leaving the spirit world and returning to her original reality would destroy the entire spirit world, and the train she is on is the only way to escape this fate, but Mutsumi still chooses her love over a desolate survival. Therefore, she unites with Masumune, and as Itsumi leaves the world on the train and returns to her reality, the town of Mifuse, or, the version we have been watching, ceases to exist. Maboroshi no longer shows the townsfolk, signifying that they no longer exist.

Maboroshi‘s ending shows a young adult Itsumi, some years after the incident of her getting lost and magically traveling over to a different reality. The woman arrives at Mifuse, the town of her reality, and travels to the abandoned steel plant, remembering how she had experienced her first heartbreak with Masumune at this very place. This signifies that Itsumi has memories of all the incidents, and so they were not just figments of her imagination but very real events that took place.

It’s a Barry Allen film all over again. The first part of the 2024 animated film, Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths, sends the DC Speedster on a mission to save the multiverse from an unknown enemy. While the main villain himself hasn’t made his appearance in the first part of the film, he is certainly going to make a grand entrance in the second part, where the combined forces of the infinite earths will stand against him. The events of the first part have been quite complicated for those who haven’t read the original comics (including me), and therefore I’ll try my best to explain the events of the first part as per my understanding. It is also to be noted that the animated film isn’t strictly following the comic book and therefore has a completely different chronology of events. So, without further ado, let’s follow Barry Allen on his mission to save the multiverse.

Spoiler Alert

What Was Happening to Barry Allen?

Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths begins with the moment Barry Allen got his powers after a fatal accident, which we have seen multiple times in movies and TV shows featuring the speedster. Barry heard a strange voice in his laboratory whose significance was explained at the end of the film. As the film moved forward, it was revealed that the Flash had been constantly shifting between two alternate Earths; the first one was Earth-1, where Barry got his powers and met Iris West, and later proposed the idea of forming a league of superheroes to save the planet from Lex Luthor’s evil android, Amazo. And the second reality was Earth-3, which was featured on Crisis on Two Earths, where Barry encountered the villainous version of the Justice League, whose planet was on the brink of destruction.

As these two different storylines progressed further, Barry encountered a strange beggar (probably Pariah in disguise) who informed him that the world was ending, and he was the only one who could save it. The Speedster had the ability to travel through time and across the multiverse, which made him a suitable candidate for the mission. Though Barry initially failed to understand the Beggar’s cryptic message, it all made sense when he came across the massive antimatter wave that completely destroyed Earth-3.

Who had unleashed the destructive wave, and why?

The Monitor (a version of Marvel’s The Watcher in DC Universe) had tasked its loyal assistant, Harbinger, with bringing the most powerful superheroes to his spaceship so he could explain the threat looming over the entire multiverse. Someone had unleashed a massive antimatter wave upon the universe, which was decimating everything in its path. So far, the wave had erased entire realities from existence, therefore disturbing the balance of the multiverse. It was for this reason that the Monitor gathered the superheroes so that they could help it stop the disaster and bring back balance.

The Monitor believed that the antimatter wave was a natural phenomenon and not a sentient foe, but he was completely wrong. Anti-Monitor, the villainous counterpart of the Monitor, had unleashed a world-destroying wave upon the multiverse in order to consume the energies of the populated planets. Perhaps it was the reason why it targeted the Earth in every universe, as it was the most habitable planet in the known universe. Additionally, when Earth’s superheroes tried to save the planet, Anti-Monitor accelerated the speed of his destructive wave so as to stop them from accomplishing their mission. Anti-Monitor wanted to become stronger than his counterpart and perhaps had a desire to rule the multiverse, which explains his motive to unleash such a destructive force.

How Did Barry Save the Earth?

The superheroes on Monitor’s spaceship started to brainstorm ideas to stop the force but were completely clueless until Barry Allen shared his Speed Force trick with them. As Monitor had mentioned earlier, the antimatter waves nullified time travel, but Barry was still able to vibrate across planes, separating the dimensions, which implied that the superheroes could use the same trick to survive the impact. It brought in the idea of a vibrational generator on each of the Earths; however, constructing such massive towers in such a short time span was nearly impossible. While the superheroes failed to finish the task, Barry Allen once again went back to Earth-1 and used his powers to slow down time. He took Iris with him to spend an entire lifetime constructing the tower and used Amazo’s abilities to power up the tower before the wave could completely destroy the earth. Iris died before the construction could be finished; however, Barry didn’t give up hope and fought till his last breath. He even gave Amazo the ability to redeem itself and serve humanity like its creator, Dr. Anthony Ivo, intended.

Due to Barry’s relentless efforts, few of the Earths survived the impact of the antimatter wave, but unfortunately, Amazo lost its life in the process. Barry, too, was taking his last breath when The Spectre, paid him a last visit and revealed that the danger wasn’t over. Even if the superheroes had survived the impact of the destructive force, the entity pulling the strings was still at large and needed to be stopped at all costs. The Spectre informed Barry that he needed to stop it before the “beginning of everything.” At first, Barry believed that The Spectre was talking about the beginning of his Speedster journey, which was why the older Barry went back in time to the night of the fatal accident—the scene we saw at the beginning of the film. However, older Barry quickly realized that The Spectre was talking about the beginning of humankind or something like that, which was why he went back further, only to vanish into thin air before he could deliver the message.

What to Expect Next?

The first part of Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths introduced some important characters like Doctor Light and Psycho-Pirate (the shady man who went into the costume-changing machine). These characters are most likely to play important roles in the second part of the film, where their actions will take the narrative further. As far as we know, Doctor Light will play a key role in the league of heroes who will try to stop the Anti-Monitor, whereas Psycho-Pirate will side with evil.

Additionally, the Anti-Monitor’s prime motive is to travel back in time and stop the creation of the Monitor’s universe so that he would be the sole entity ruling the multiverse. Maybe it was the reason why The Spectre wanted Barry to travel to the beginning of the creation of the multiverse so that he could stop Anti-Monitor from fulfilling his evil objectives. At the end of Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part 1, we saw that Barry, along with several other superheroes and villains, vanished completely, which implied that Anti-Monitor had already accomplished what he had set out to do and that it would be really difficult for the superheroes to stand a chance against such a powerful entity. The Spectre and the Monitor are their only hope in these dark times, and it is most likely that these extremely powerful beings might help the superheroes travel back in time and stop the evil “from the beginning.” But what about Barry? The entire film runs from his perspective, so it wouldn’t be wrong to speculate that the heroic Speedster might somehow return in the second part and help the Earths’ superheroes stop the Anti-Monitor. The next installment of the film will tell better.

The whole idea of the What If? series is to reimagine individual stories and explore the possibilities around them. But the entirety of season 2 of the Marvel animated series got busy making sequels, prequels, and interconnected narratives of the already established universes. And the last episode of season 2 was no different. We really hoped that Strange Supreme, who had made appearances in the previous episodes, would get some sort of a redemption arc, but in the end, he is back to doing what he does best: resurrecting Christine Palmer by any means possible. No character in the episode had any real significance, yet the creators tried to fit them into the narrative, making it more tacky all the way to the end. People who love spotting “one million” Easter eggs in the Marvel franchise might find the episode interesting. But is that all that Marvel now has to offer? One giant Easter egg hunt without any story or plot to follow?

Spoiler Alert

Why Does Strange Bring Peggy Carter To Sanctum Infinitum?

The finale of What If? season 2 picked up from the last episode, where we saw Strange Supreme pay a rather “strange” visit to Peggy Carter, who was still stuck in the 1602 universe after saving it from the brink of destruction. The two Guardians of the Multiverse had known each other for quite some time, as they had fought a battle against Infinity Ultron in the season 1 finale. Additionally, the two shared a similar grief of losing their loved ones in their respective universes, a void that they failed to fill in their lifetime.

Speaking of Strange Supreme, the sorcerer lost his beloved in a car accident and blamed himself for the loss. He used his powers and went back in time in order to change the outcome of the events, but what was destined to happen happened every single time. Strange was an obsessed lover. He was ready to explore any possibility that would bring his Christine back, and he thus used the lost books of dark magic to manipulate time. In the process, Strange absorbed the powers of the dark creatures and eventually turned into a monster himself. The sorcerer lost his sanity and ended up destroying his universe just for the sake of saving his beloved.

As we met Strange in What If? season 2, we thought he had overcome his grief and had now become a savior of the universe. He brought Peggy to his Sanctum Infinitum, where he had locked the supervillains of the multiverse who were trying to destroy their respective universes. Or, as Peggy said, Strange was collecting universe killers. He needed the woman’s help to catch one of the supervillains who had escaped his grasp, and therefore, Strange wanted one last favor before he could send Peggy back to her universe. Something had been off since the beginning, and even though Peggy was suspicious of Strange’s actions, she decided to help.

Strange teleported Peggy to a universe where HYDRA had successfully unleashed the powers of the Tesseract and destroyed the world in the process. Strange wanted Peggy to locate a woman whom he had lost in these lands, but it turns out it was none other than Kahhori, whom we had seen earlier in Episode 6. According to Kahhori, Strange wasn’t only collecting supervillains but also superheroes in order to re-forge his universe and bring Christine back. So Strange’s madness hadn’t come to an end, and he was still pursuing his obsession with all his heart. But the question here is: why did Strange need Peggy to catch Kahhori? If Strange is powerful enough to capture both Peggy and Kahhori all by himself, then why play the nice guy and set a trap? Or is it because of the Tesseract that Kahhori was able to disappear into the respective universe? The episode refuses to explain any of it.

What was Strange trying to do?

So, Strange Supreme had been hunting supervillains and superheroes across the universe to sacrifice them in “The Forge,” which would resurrect his universe and probably bring back Christine. We believe someone really didn’t have the time to get creative with the name of this “villainous machine.” Otherwise, who would call it “The Forge”? Or maybe it was a reference to the Golden Forge from where Thor got his ax. We don’t know.

Nevertheless, Strange tried to convince Peggy to join his devilish schemes, as she could understand his grief over losing a loved one. Peggy was much more rational than Strange could ever be, and therefore she decided to help Kahhori destroy The Forge before Strange could commit genocide once again. In order to distract the evil sorcerer, the two righteous superheroes freed Strange’s prisoners and created a riot-like situation at the Sanctum Infinitum.

How Did Peggy And Kahhori Stop Strange?

While trying to locate The Forge, Peggy came across a version of Erik Killmonger donning the five infinity stones. In a really lousy fight that followed, Kahhori used her powers to teleport Killmonger out of his suit, and Peggy stole the infinity stones so that she could have a chance against Strange Supreme. After getting some battle gear, the two arrived in a hollow chamber where Strange planned the mass execution, but before they could destroy Strange’s most expensive weapon, the sorcerer intervened and tried to kill the heroes by any means possible.

During the final battle, Strange used his powers to lock Peggy in a dream-like state where she had the chance to step back from becoming a super soldier. In such a scenario, she would have been able to avert Steve’s death, but Peggy saw through the cracks in the narrative and quickly punched Strange in the face for pulling such a dirty trick. When everything failed, Strange tried to speed up the sacrifice ritual. That was when the heroes and the villains falling into the pit gave away their weapons to Peggy and Kahhori so that they could stop the mad sorcerer.

While Peggy attacked Strange with all her might, Kahhori used the distraction to teleport all the superheroes and supervillains to another location so that Strange couldn’t finish what he had started. Her actions enraged the sorcerer even further and he transformed into a demonic version of himself and tried to kill Peggy and Kahhori. In the end, Peggy grabbed the five infinity stones in her palm and threw a punch at Demon Strange, which separated him from the demons that were possessing him, bringing him back to sanity for a moment. However, the demons quickly took back control of Strange’s body and tried to bring Peggy to The Forge. Eventually, Peggy used his tactics against him and pushed the Demon Strange into The Forge, thereby ending his existence forever. For a brief moment, we saw Strange trying to control his demons so that he could be stopped from destroying yet another universe. Perhaps his sacrifice was his only redemption.

During What If? episode 9’s ending, The Watcher revealed to Peggy that Strange’s death resurrected his universe and brought Christine back to life. But as it was destined, the two won’t be able to be together. Strange had been wiped off from existence and would never take birth in this universe. Perhaps it was the kind of sacrifice one makes in love. Kahhori, on the other hand, was sent back to her universe, where she would use her powers to protect the weak and eliminate evil. And for one last rodeo, before returning home, The Watcher took Peggy to the Tree of Universe, the new multiversal spot that was created by none other than Loki himself. It wouldn’t be wrong to assume that in the next installment of the What If? series, we are indeed going to see stories around Loki’s new multiverse. I really hope that the third season of What If? won’t repeat the flaws of the second installment and instead follow individual stories, something it does best. 

The first season of What If? mostly functioned as an anthology show and then haphazardly tried to connect everything together to form the Guardians of the Multiverse. Season 2 of the show is not only reliant on characters established in Season 1, but it also has Strange Supreme forming a link between some of the episodes, as if the lack of a cohesive plot is what made the first season so unenjoyable. The fifth episode of Season 2 showed Captain Peggy Carter being pulled through a portal by Wanda-Merlin and Nick Fury. And in the sixth episode, we saw Strange Supreme meeting with Kahhori, who said that he had been looking for her for a long time. Episode 8 of What If? Season 2 furthers these connections while imagining a world where the Avengers exist in the year 1602.

Spoiler alert

Peggy Carter finds Steve Rogers

The plot is centered around the kingdom on Earth that’s being ruled by Hela. Her ministry includes Thor, Wanda-Merlin, Nick Fury, Loki, and Happy Hogan. This particular universe is plagued with rifts in space that keep destroying everything that they hold dear, and they are actually inching towards oblivion. Fury and Wanda-Merlin have apparently kidnapped Peggy from her timeline and employed her in this one because they believe that she is the one who can solve this issue. However, when she fails to save Hela from being sucked into the rift, Thor orders everyone to arrest Peggy, thereby forcing her to go on the run. It’s unclear why neither Thor nor Loki does anything substantial to help out Hela. They are gods. Later on, we do learn that Loki has misplaced Mjölnir, and maybe that’s why he is unable to fly. Well, this version of Hogan has his Hulk powers, but he doesn’t use them.

Anyway, Hela is gone, and Thor picks up her scepter, which seems to have the Time Stone in it, and becomes the king of the kingdom. The Watcher confronts Peggy and advises her to take his hand and return to her universe because the one she is in is doomed to die. Peggy says that she can’t let that happen and decides to eavesdrop on the conversation between Thor, Wanda-Merlin, Happy, and Fury to see where their heads are at. She sees that even though Thor wants to arrest her, Wanda-Merlin is still hopeful that she is the key to the universe’s survival. She thinks that Peggy is going to find another person who is suffering from time displacement, and that’s going to stop the rifts from destroying everything. Based on that information, Peggy goes to Stark and asks him to make a contraption that will match the energy of the time-displaced person, called the forerunner, with the energy of the rips and send them back to their original universe. Stark says that the only thing that can power such a contraption is the Time Stone in Thor’s scepter, and they’ve to steal it. And, in order to steal it, they need thieves, i.e., Steve Rogers, Bucky, and Scott Lang. Peggy stops this trio from robbing Loki and convinces them to join her mission to save this universe.

A Rift Appears in Thor’s Court

Margaret (1602’s Peggy) is apparently dead, and Peggy’s Steve is missing after the altercation with the Red Room. So, of course, this iteration of Rogers and Peggy begins to generate romantic feelings for each other amidst this bizarre situation. That’s when they are attacked by Happy and a bunch of Yellowjackets, i.e., the army that Darren Cross was planning to build in Ant-Man with the Pym Particles. Lang can be seen using his Ant-Man suit to fight back while the rest of the heroes take on the Yellowjackets, who are regular-sized. Much like the Asgardian conundrum, I am confused about the existence of shrinking capabilities in 1602. It has to be magic, because that kind of technology didn’t exist back then.

Since What If? Season 2, episode 8, refuses to clarify this aspect of the show, and I think it’s pointless to worry too much about it. We even see the Destroyer make an appearance, and because that thing is technically unbeatable, Peggy accepts her defeat, which allows the rest of the heroes to run away from there and work on the heist with Stark. Red Skull has a cameo as an executioner, I suppose. Peggy comes across Banner, who is imprisoned with an iron mask on his face. That can be a reference to the film The Man in the Iron Mask, right? Maybe. Peggy does the most obvious thing. He irks Banner, and he Hulks out, and then she breaks out of the prison by riding on Banner’s back. Once everyone is together—Peggy, Steve, Bucky, Lang, Stark, and Banner—they infiltrate Thor’s castle and wait for the opportune moment to steal the Time Stone from the God of Thunder’s scepter, insert it in Stark’s device, and fix everything. However, they are forced to improvise as a rift opens right inside Thor’s castle, and it seems to be the one that’ll destroy the universe.

How Did Peggy stop the 1602 universe from collapsing?

At the end of What If? Season 2, episode 8, the protagonists fight Thor’s army while Wanda-Merlin keeps the rift from expanding and killing everyone. Peggy tries to get the Time Stone from Thor, but Thor fights back with his Wakandan sword. When Wanda-Merlin realizes that Peggy is on the correct track, she uses some of her powers to hold back Thor. Fury takes the scepter and gives it to Stark. He inserts the Time Stone into his cubical contraption, and Peggy inserts her hands into the box. An Iron Man-like glove forms around her left hand, which has the stone at the center of it. As she is about to be struck down by Thor, Peggy uses the Time Stone, and that brings everything to a halt and reveals the forerunner, i.e., Steve Rogers. He says that, a long time ago, he and his fellow Avengers engaged in a battle with Thanos. While trying to attack his Infinity Gauntlet, Rogers hit the Time Stone, and that somehow created this 1602 universe or sent him to the 1602 timeline. Thor seemingly confirms this theory. Even though Peggy doesn’t want to lose Rogers again, she is forced to erase all the time-displaced people from existence. When she pushes the Time Stone again, it vanishes, along with everyone else in the court. Even the rift vanishes, which means that the 1602 timeline is safe. And while all that is fine and great, I am confused.

Did the Time Stone send all the Avengers back in time? Or did Steve’s actions merely create this universe? If that’s the case, then hitting the Time Stone should have erased (or, as the Time Variance Authority likes to say, “pruned”) everything. Since the universe is intact, I think Steve hitting the Time Stone only brought him and those around him into this timeline. If Steve was the only one who was time-displaced, he would’ve been the only one who would have disappeared. As we see everyone disappearing, I think he pulled the characters of the episode into this timeline, and Peggy simply sent them back to where they were originally from. The characters’ shoddy memory could’ve been an after-effect of the Time Stone or we can assume that they were stuck in this 1602 universe for so long that they forgot their original identities and assumed the ones that this new destiny had in store for them. Either way, the lack of explanation is perplexing, especially since Marvel is known for their descriptive and expository scenes.

Peggy is unaffected by the reversal of this event because she isn’t tethered to the Time Stone. Of course, she is heartbroken after losing Steve twice in a matter of hours. She expects The Watcher to take her back to her timeline. However, instead of the omnipresent narrator, Strange Supreme visits Peggy, and he tells her that he has quite the story to share with her. It’s safe to assume that Strange is trying to get Dr. Christine Palmer back again. He has probably recruited Kahhori, who is one of the most powerful magic users in the multiverse. And now he is about to get Peggy to side with him. Now, if Strange is going up against The Watcher, it’ll definitely be difficult for Peggy to pick a side. Given how righteous Peggy is, I guess she is going to come up with a solution that will harm no one and benefit everyone. Well, that doubt will be clarified in the next few hours as the last episode of Season 2 drops tomorrow. So, let’s wait and watch what Strange is up to.