An ongoing problem throughout Marvel Studios’ animated multiverse show What If…? comes from the baffling way many of its episodes are framed. Each installment of the series has a “What If…” title, but those titles rarely get at the core of what a given episode is doing, or what might be engaging or thrilling about it. Season 2 was a particular low point in that regard, with even the best storylines hidden behind question titles seemingly designed to produce an apathetic shrug. Season 3 has the same problem, which comes to a head with what’s simultaneously the season’s best and worst episode: “What If… Howard the Duck Got Hitched?”

It’s hard to imagine even the most dedicated Marvel fan caring about Howard the Duck’s marital status one way or the other. But it’s also bizarre to frame the episode that way, since that isn’t what it’s about at all. A more accurate title might be “What If… We Made an Episode of This Show Solely for the Most Dedicated Deep-Cut MCU Fans?” This episode is slight and silly almost to the point of stupidity. Like so much of the series, it doesn’t meaningfully interrogate anything that happened in the primary MCU timeline, or bring any insight to the Marvel Universe. It’s just a weird extended chase montage that feels closer to a Scooby-Doo episode than a Marvel movie.

But that gives the story and writing team a freedom they didn’t have with much of the rest of What If…? And it let them put together an episode that’s all fan service and manic comedy, with no stakes, rules, or meaningful boundaries. It’s a featherweight experience compared to nearly everything else in the show. It’s also a weirdly satisfying experience for obsessive MCU-heads, who’ll get to play the Rick Dalton pointing game in practically every shot, and nod along with the callbacks in every other line. In other words, it’s perfect for what What If…?........

© Polygon