Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Marvel's What If...? Season 2, Episode 5

Summary

• Captain Carter is transported to an alternate reality in the year 1602, setting up the next episode of What If...? season 2.
• The Watcher is surprised by the actions of Earth-1602's Scarlet Witch, suggesting she may be more powerful than him.
• Captain Carter gets through to Steve Rogers and the Hydra Stomper destroys Red Room, along with the help of Natasha Romanoff's Black Widow.

MCU's Bucky Barnes. However, the episode ends in a way neither Carter nor the Watcher himself could have expected.

As seen in Soviets' Red Room in the years following WWII, turning Steve into a living weapon under the control of Melina Vostokoff. However, Captain Carter found herself in another reality entirely following a major battle with the Hydra Stomper and a team of the Red Room's Black Widows.

Where Did Captain Carter Go At The End Of What If Season 2, Episode 5?

Earth-1602

Following Peggy and Natasha Romanoff's battle with the Red Room and Rogers' sacrifice to destroy their floating fortress, Peggy has every intention of finding Steve whom she believes is still alive. However, before she and Black Widow could begin their search, red cracks appeared in the ground below Carter's feet, pulling her into a portal and transporting her into another reality. This marks the second time Captain Carter has traveled across the multiverse, the first time being with the Guardians of the Multiverse assembled by the Watcher seen in What If...? season 1's finale episode.

This new reality Peggy has found herself in appears to be an alternate MCU set in the 17th century, setting up What If...?' season 2's eighth episode entitled "What If… the Avengers Assembled in 1602?". This episode is confirmed to be inspired by Neil Gaiman's Marvel 1602 comics, featuring Marvel's most classic heroes had they been active during the Elizabethan era.

Who Surprised The Watcher By Taking Captain Carter?

The Scarlet Witch May Be More Powerful Than The Watcher

In the final shot of What If...? season 2, episode 5, Captain Carter wakes up to find herself before new variants of Nick Fury and Wanda Maximoff's Scarlet Witch, both of them wearing dated yet fitting attire for the Elizabethan era. As such, it's strong confirmation that Peggy has indeed found herself on Earth-1602 (also known as Earth-311). Furthermore, Fury and Wanda refer to Captain Carter as the hero who can save not only their queen but also their entire world. As such, it's possible that "Sir Nicholas Fury" is the head of Queen Elizabeth's intelligence arm just as he is in the original comics.

It's also notable that even a cosmic being as supposedly all-seeing as the Watcher could be surprised by this version of the Scarlet Witch. Having been confirmed as a nexus being and wielder of immense chaos magic, perhaps all variants of Wanda Maximoff and their actions are more unpredictable on a cosmic level and can catch even Uatu off guard. At any rate, it will be interesting to see what kind of action The Watcher takes in future episodes. One can imagine that he'll soon start investigating Carter's disappearance.

How Captain Carter Defeated The Hydra Stomper And Red Room

Steve Rogers Broke Free From The Red Room

Having broken through to Steve by the episode's end, Peggy could only watch as Rogers flew in his Hydra Stomper armor to destroy the Red Room's floating fortress. Likewise, Natasha fired a cable at the Hydra Stomper before attaching it to Melina, ensuring that the Red Room's leader was destroyed as well. Appearing to be a final act of the man who'd long been trapped within the armor that had been keeping him alive for long, Rogers' sacrifice was quite heroic, especially after he finally got to see the woman he loved after so many years alone and trapped as a weapon of the Red Room.

However, Peggy refuses to believe that Rogers died in the resulting explosion. Even though she's now in another reality by the episode's end, it's likely that she'll eventually return to her own reality to begin her search for Steve. With any luck, she'll be able to locate Rogers and they can finally be together, just like the Captain America and Peggy of the main MCU known as Earth-616.

What's Next For Captain Carter In What If...? Season 2?

Saving A New Reality

Going forward, it certainly looks as though Peggy Carter will become a critical hero who's needed to help face whatever crisis has come to Earth-1602. Likewise, one can imagine that Uatu the Watcher may once again involve himself in the affairs of various realities following this episode's surprise ending, rather than just being the ive cosmic observer he's meant to be in the MCU multiverse. At any rate, Captain Carter's future in an alternate past will be revealed when Marvel's What If...? season 2, episode 5 begins streaming on December 29th.

Marvel's What If...? Season 2, episode 5 is streaming now on Disney+.

Key Release Dates

• Blade (2025)

  Release Date:

  2025-11-07
• Avengers: The Kang Dynasty

  Release Date:

  2026-05-01
• Avengers: Secret Wars

  Release Date:

  2027-05-07