Did What If…? crash and burn? The Rotten Tomatoes score for season 3 suggests that the Disney Plus series stumbled at the final mile.
What If…? has never been a tentpole franchise for the MCU. The animated series has been a welcome addition to the Disney Plus lineup, even if most agreed that it didn’t live up to its full potential. Yet with the studio seemingly pulling out all the stops for its final outing, expectations were at least moderately high earlier this month heading into the debut of season 3.
Sadly, it seems What If…? was never able to live up to the expectations fans had. The Disney Plus series hit an all time low with season 3, at least when it came to reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. The project scored a dismal 43% with audiences, even while scoring a respectable 75% critics score. This lags far behind its prior seasons, with season 2 scoring 64% with audiences (90% with critics), and season 1 landing an impressive 92% with audiences (90% with critics).
What Went Wrong With What If…? Season 3?
The reasoning behind the low Rotten Tomatoes score for the Disney Plus series likely ties into the thing holding back every MCU project for the past few years: expectations. When What If…? first came out, the premise was fresh, with fans allowing the novelty to carry them through the project. However, as the multiverse gimmick wears thin, there’s an expectation for fans that the project hold some sort of broader importance to the saga as a whole with season 3.
Even accounting for a true quality drop with season 3 despite maintaining a similar writing team from season 2, these expectations help explain the cataclysmic (albeit consistent) downfall of the series on Rotten Tomatoes. Every franchise with multiple incarnations must do one of two things to appeal to a core audience: Refine or innovate. What If…? seemingly did neither, and paid for it with their score.
What If…? season 3 is now streaming on Disney Plus. Stay tuned for the latest news regarding the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content!
