Summary
Episode 7 reinvents two villains to surprisingly fun effect, combining two distinct mythologies and delivering as much flirtation as action.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings had a pretty interesting mythology that hasn’t been explored in the MCU outside of that movie, so it’s nice for Episode 7 of What If…? Season 2, “What If… Hela Found the Ten Rings”, to return to it. It’s also novel for it to do so through the lens of Hela (Cate Blanchett), one-time villain of Thor: Ragnarok fame, though the title is a little misleading. While Hela does indeed find the Ten Rings, she finds them attached to Wenwu (Feodor Chin), and what follows is an interesting redemption arc for two villains who, through each other, find a better purpose for their thirst for warfare and power.
What If…? Season 2 Episode 7 Recap
As the Watcher explains, the idea here is that during Odin’s (Jeff Bergman doing a really accurate Anthony Hopkins) conquest of the Nine Realms, Hela got a bit carried away, which is understandable since he kept referring to her as his executioner and suchlike. When he decided that they should stop the warmongering and chill out, she thought he was being silly, so tried to overthrow him using Mjolnir. In a reversal of that scene in Ragnarok, Odin shatters the hammer, and in a reversal of the events of the first Thor movie, strips her of her powers and sends her crown spiraling down the Midgard, only accessible if and when she becomes worthy of it.
Meet-Cute
The helmet crash-lands in China, where Wenwu and his bangles find it. Without her powers, Hela is easily subdued by Wenwu and his men, and he takes her captive, though seemingly for selfish marital reasons. It’s worth reminding folks here that these are two villains, since the whole thing is played with the banter and charm of a rom-com meet-cute, and even when Hela is threatening to kill him it has a sultry touch to it.
But the romance doesn’t last. Hela reads Wenwu’s proposed alliance as a manipulative ploy to exploit her warrior spirit, which is understandable given her entire life thus far has been that, so she assaults him and escapes, guided by Morris, the faceless flying blob from Shang-Chi, to Ta Lo.
The animation during Hela’s escape from Wenwu’s compound and entry into Ta Lo is nice, and the episode overall is one of the better-looking ones. Ta Lo, a place with so much magical energy that Hela’s presence there obscures her from Heimdall’s view, is full of natural beauty and swirling cherry blossoms and flying dragons, all of which are a little contrary to the gothy look we’re inclined to associate with Hela. Jiayi (Lauren Tom) isn’t intimidated by Hela or compelled by her offer to lead the villagers against Wenwu, Odin, and perhaps his new girlfriend Frigga, and instead begins to teach her the ways of Ta Lo like Mr. Miyagi schooling a young Daniel-san.
Wax On, Wax Off
Of course, Hela already knows how to fight, so she’s really learning about herself. It takes some time to get there, but she eventually realizes that her lust for power isn’t for power, really, but for freedom. She has always existed in Odin’s shadow, forced to do his bidding, and every choice in her life thus far has been made for her by her father. She can’t be free while Odin is still around.
Luckily, Odin, warned by Heimdall about the potential power of the Ten Rings being a threat in the “primitive” hands of a Midgardian, arrives to claim them for himself. Hela arms herself and rides off to battle him, which she does alongside Wenwu. With Hela suddenly being able to channel the power of light through Jiayi’s teachings, they make a good team.
How does What If…? Season 2 Episode 7 end?
Together, Hela and Wenwu are able to take Odin down. In putting aside her thirst for conflict and bloodshed, she also earns her helmet back, which returns to her and encases her in a gleaming white version of her Asgardian battle armor. It’s a simplistic metaphor for her having seen the light of mercy, but it’s a cool enough moment. Odin, impressed, volunteers his throne to her, and she resolves to use it to rebuild the cosmos.
As The Watcher intimates at the end of the episode, Hela and Wenwu formed a powerful partnership for precisely this purpose and traveled the universe bringing peace to all worlds – including, it’s heavily implied, getting a handle on Thanos before he started his whole balancing campaign. For a story about two bad guys, it’s a surprisingly happy ending.
What did you think of What If…? Season 2 Episode 7? Let us know in the comments.
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