What If...?'s Chadwick Boseman episode is the kind of swing Marvel should be taking more often

Slate

In practice, the Disney+'s What If...? has been "a half-filled—or is it half-empty—cup," says Karen Han. "The two episodes neatly encapsulate both sides of the coin. The first, 'What If … Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?' posits a world in which Peggy Carter, Steve Rogers’ love interest, received the super-soldier serum instead of him. The resulting romp is fun—watching Peggy knock squads of Nazis on their asses will bring a tear to the eye of anyone who, like me, misses Agent Carter—but also feels curiously hollow. One of the issues plaguing the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been its dearth of female superheroes—only Captain Marvel and Black Widow have actually centered on female characters—and watching Peggy take Captain America’s place only highlights how few women have actually held the spotlight. The temporary nature of Peggy’s captaincy only makes it all more bittersweet....'What If … T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?' does a better job of making the series’ premise spark, as its more outlandish premise makes it feel more like a one-off comic than a throwaway episode. The second episode feels the kind of swing you should be taking when you can do anything with these beloved characters—with basically zero consequences. For instance, this episode turns Thanos into a sort of curmudgeonly good guy, as he’s been talked out of his Infinity War plans by T’Challa. It’s also a more interesting exploration of T’Challa’s character. As Charles Pulliam-Moore of io9 notes, in the comics, and to a certain extent the MCU, an inherent conflict in the character of T’Challa has been his responsibility as the leader of the nation of Wakanda versus his drive to explore the rest of the world. That manifests in a different way, here, as T’Challa is only now reckoning with his heritage and past. This T’Challa is allowed to be a little looser and more carefree, and the episode also acts as a bittersweet farewell to the character; unless Marvel decides to do what Disney did with Carrie Fisher and Peter Cushing in The Rise of Skywalker and Rogue One, this is the last time we’ll see (well, hear) Chadwick Boseman as the Black Panther....The question now is whether or not the series will keep trying to tell interesting stories, or whether it will capitulate to the same demands Marvel’s other Disney series have,  swerving in a more boring direction to better fit into the larger MCU plan. A quick look at what’s in store suggests that things could go either way..."

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• Chadwick Boseman's What If? episode packs an emotional punch: "How strange it is to consider the second episode of Marvel's What If...? in the context of what we know instead of losing ourselves entirely in its musings about infinite possibility," Melanie McFarland says of Boseman's final performance. "The difference in consideration is subtle but changes much; it's the shift over from what could be to what might have been." McFarland adds: "Over the years a number of shows and movies have included scenes of a character insisting their family and friends deliver their funerary testimonials while they're alive, usually so they can provide notes. Such turns are usually played for laughs and serve to prove the character's narcissism. But not always; the Better Things episode 'Eulogy' shows how such exercises can be incredibly loving and genuine.The spirit behind this episode comes from a different place, mainly because the people making it weren't aware that its star knew it could be one of his final acts. That sorrowful surprise lends it an affectionate shine some might interpret as overly sentimental. That estimation isn't entirely off, given the unapologetic idealism dominating this episode, along with its near lack of crisis or any sense of a real threat to its protagonists. My response to all that is, indeed, those are valid criticisms. But the charm of 'What If . . . T'Challa Became a Star-Lord' renders all of that beside the point. Of higher importance is the way the actor and the episode's creators caters to the fondness Boseman's fans still carry in their hearts for him by sending him off with a fantasy proving his power to bend wills not through vibranium enhancements or mystical endowments, but principled debate and reason. "
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• Michael Rooker didn't work with Boseman in person, but is touched that their episode was the T'Challa actor's final performance
• What If...? director Bryan Andrews wanted to show a different side of T’Challa, but not change him in some "crazy" way: That “we were being careful with the character and not taking him to some weird place,” appealed to Chadwick Boseman as well, says. Andrews. “It was just one other way for Marvel and Chadwick to reiterate how wonderful this character of T’Challa is. That he doesn’t necessarily need to have the official mantle of the king to accomplish all these great things, (he can do it) just by being this amazing person. This one drop of light in a dark universe can change it.”
• Head writer A.C. Bradley breaks down Boseman's What If...? episode: “He’s not a character that arcs so much himself. He’s a character that changes the world around him,” says Bradley. “We came up with this idea that he kind of becomes a Robin Hood. He is still princely and king-like, in the fact that he is all about creating the best world for people, creating the best life. He’s still very true to who he is.”