History Recap / WhatIfS1E4WhatIfDoctorStrangeLostHisHeartInsteadOfHisHands

* SummonMagic: To get enough power to change time, Strange has to summon and absorb several magical creatures.

* AlienNonInterferenceClause: Strange Supreme, in a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment, begs Uatu to save the universe, but the Watcher refuses, citing this, [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech additionally stating he of all people should know of the consequences of manipulating time and space to this extent]].

* AndIMustScream: The episode ends with Strange Supreme alone in the tiny crystal bubble which is all that remains of the universe after he causes a RealityBreakingParadox. Christine also vanishes as a result of the paradox, leaving him alone. Considering how, earlier in the episode, Strange Supreme mentioned that he made himself immortal, he's stuck there forever, with the knowledge that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero this is all his fault]] and it was AllForNothing.

->''"One life, one choice, one moment can destroy the entire universe."''

* CornerOfWoe: After losing Christine for good and destroying his universe, Strange Supreme crouches down and buries his face in his hands in what remains of his universe: a tiny pocket for him to spend the rest of his days.

* SparedByTheAdaptation: A '''very cruel''' variation. As grim as his fate here might be, if it's any small consolation, Stephen avoids his initial fate from the end of ''Infinity War''. Not that being blipped is any more cruel than being forced to spend eternity alone in a prison of your own making (as Strange Supreme would later put it) for what you have done...

* SparedByTheAdaptation: A '''very cruel''' variation. As grim as his fate here might be, if it's any small consolation, Stephen avoids his initial fate from the end of ''Infinity War''. Not that being snapped any more cruel than being forced to spend eternity alone in a prison of your own making (as Strange Supreme would later put it) for what you have done...

* SparedByTheAdaptation: A '''very cruel''' variation. As grim as his fate here might be, if it's any small consolation, Stephen avoids his initial fate from the end of ''Infinity War''. Not that being snapped is much more cruel anyway.

* AnAesop: Some risks are not worth taking, which Strange Supreme found out ''[[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor the]] [[TimeCrash hard]] [[RealityBreakingParadox way]]''.

* KilledOffscreen: Brutally enforced. Every hero and villain in the MCU (and, for that matter, everyone and everything else) has been outright erased from existence at the episode's end.

** He later screams this as [[spoiler:he desperately tries to stop the world from succumbing to the RealityBreakingParadox of Christine surviving her death.]]

* BigNo: Stephen lets out a particularly heartbreaking one after an untold amount of futile attempts to avert Christine's death--even after actively trying to make sure he is the one who dies in the accident.

* EveryoneHasStandards: Dr. Strange will absorb anything that comes from the portal... except for bugs. Doesn't stop him from stealing their capes, though.

* AnAesop: Some risks are not worth taking, which Strange Supreme found out ''the hard way''.

* YouCantFightFate: Strange tries to manipulate the scene before Christine dies, rather by taking an alternate route, avoiding the trip altogether, or switching places so ''he'' could die. No matter what happens, however, Christine is still fated to die, albiet in different ways. Stopping it from happening quite literally destroys that universe, Christine included.

* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: Uatu points out that while Strange Supreme's motivation was understandable, he knew the consequences of tampering with time, was warned several times about it from his friends and mentors... and yet still pursued the dark path of his own free will. This is best shown when Good Strange rejects the illusion of a revived Christine, causing Strange Supreme to fly into a rage.

** In one of his attempts to prevent Christine's death, Strange lets her drive, possibly expecting that this will result in him dying instead of her.

* DeconstructedTrope: Whether it's an intentional deconstruction or not, the episode depicts the StuffedIntoTheFridge trope as being responsible for Doctor Strange [[LoveMakesYouEvil descending into villainy]] and eventually causing a TimeCrash.

* MismatchedEyes: O'Bengh, the librarian of the Lost Library of Cagliostro, has one blue eye and one red eye.

* {{Bookends}}: The path that led Strange to study the mystic arts began with him sobbing over Christine's death and [[spoiler: his story ends with him doing the same over both Christine and his whole universe.]] He even has an identical [[RapidFireNo reaction]].

** Related but subverted, the Ancient One ends up as this because she splits two timelines so she can call upon the Strange who has moved on to battle the Strange obsessed woth breaking the Absolute Point. She knows how dangerous this gambit is, but hopes this can save their universe.

* YouCantFightFate: No matter what Strange tries, Christine is fated to die. Stopping it from happening quite literally destroys that universe, Christine included.

* WhamShot: Strange Supreme yelling at someone outside the edge of his universe, which fades away to reveal he is yelling at Uatu to fix everything, citing him as a god. The Watcher is having none of it.

** When Uatu muses on whether or not he should warn Strange Supreme, Strange Supreme asks "Hello? Who's there?", indicating that he heard Uatu, a first for the series.

* ArtStyleClash: Several creatures Strange Supreme absorbs are 2D animated, appearing in slower framerate with sharp outlines and flat shading. Some shadows are animated in a similar fashion. This is largely in part due to [[Creator/YoramGross Flying Bark Productions]], known for ''WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheTeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' and ''WesternAnimation/MonkieKid'', providing the episode's animation.

* DownerEnding: The universe outside of a small pocket ends as a result of Strange Supreme's attempts to revive Christine, who ends up fading from existence once again.

Doctor Stephen Strange offers to drive Doctor Christine Palmer to an award ceremony. However, they get into a car accident, resulting in Christine's death in this reality, while Strange's hands remain intact. Fueled by grief, [[Film/DoctorStrange2016 Stephen sets off into the world to find himself, eventually learning about the mystic arts, and stopping Dormammu.]] But two years later, he’s still haunted by Christine’s death, leading him to begin a dark journey to gain the power needed to resurrect her, bringing about dangerous consequences as Doctor Strange Supreme.

* KilledOffscreen: Brutally enforced. Every hero and villain in the MCU (and, for that matter, everyone and everything else) has been outright erased from existence.