What If…Hela Found the Ten Rings? review S2 E7

What If…Hela Found the Ten Rings attempts to stabilize a season that is starting to feel like it’s not living up to its potential especially with so few episodes remaining.

Some of the challenge for this season has been the lower-level scenarios raised. There’s nothing as intriguing as What If…Captain America and Iron Man restored the Avengers before Thanos arrived? Or What If…Loki Gained Control of the Infinity Gauntlet?

Another issue has been the season’s attempts to make minor moments in Phase 4 and 5 films have more impact. The scenario raised with Hela (Cate Blanchett) Found the Ten Rings ponders what if Odin stripped Hela of her powers like he did Thor? Odin dispatches Hela to China where she encounters Wenwu, wielder of the 10 Rings.

It was a major coup to get Blanchett to reprise her Thor: Ragnarok role in animated form. Blanchett only had one live action take with Hela, but she mastered the quippy and arrogant demeanor of the character quickly.

The title is somewhat misleading as it’s not exactly a situation where Hela Found the Ten Rings so much as she found their possessor. Wenwu is intrigued by Hela’s attitude and invites her to help him bring order to the world. There’s not a ton of romantic flirting playing out in the MCU and the short run time doesn’t help explain why Wenwu is immediately captivated by Hela.

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Like Thor in his first solo adventure, Hela gradually starts to learn her ways of doing things weren’t for the best. With the help of Wenwu and some other familiar characters from Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings, Hela begins her path to redemption.

Again, the short run time hurts the full measure of Hela’s redemption arc. It’s immensely challenging telling a comprehensive mindset shift in two hours let alone 29 minutes.

On the plus side, Hela’s training to become more attuned with the natural power of the land is engaging. It also makes for some beautiful visual sequences. With Shang-Chi sitting on the bench since his MCU debut, it would have been nice to see him incorporated into the story even a little.

Blanchett makes this episode a breeze to watch though this premise needed more time to full play out.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Photo Credit: Disney