to the people that say they didn’t really like doctor strange’s what if…? ep because they say that in the film it was clear stephen didn’t love christine that much or that he didn’t love her at all, i get you, okay ? the main focus was on strange’s origin story and not his love life so if you’ve only watched it a few times focusing on the main plot it’s understandable that you think like that so please, feel the urge to rewatch the film focusing on the following points and i promise you will change your mind and realise how much love there actually is between those two ♡
• ︎since the beginning of the film it is so very clear just how much she means to him, i mean, the man literally left a surgery to help her, all the people in that room knew who she was and what she meant to him and that’s why they offered to finish the surgery for him because they knew he wouldn’t be able to keep focusing when it was clear christine needed him
•︎ he’s trying to find out if she’s seeing anybody because..
•︎ he wants to ask her out ! yes, they aren’t together anymore but he wants her back ! and that day he’s got an excuse to ask her out on a date
• she rejects him so he decides to wear the watch she gave him like “ok even tho you won’t be there with me i still want a piece of you with me so i will take the only thing i have”
• i don’t even want to know what would have happened if christine hadn’t been by his side when he woke up after surgery. she probably stayed by his side all the time proving she still loves him just as much he still loves her
• stephen is devastated by the loss of his hands and his work so he pushes her away not because he doesn’t love her but because he loves her SO MUCH and he just can’t cope with that at the moment and he feels she’s just there out of pity and that obviously takes a toll on him
• THE WATCH !!! the only thing he didn’t get rid of because, well at this point i’m hoping you can answer that yourselves. he literally risked dying for that watch because it’s the only piece of her he’s got left and he will cling to it with his life
• he goes to the other side of the world and learns magic exists YET HE’S STILL THINKING ABOUT HER ¡! only god knows how many emails he actually wrote her
• the scenes at the hospital when she’s treating his wound literally speak for themselves
• the other scene at the hospital after the ancient one’s death doesn’t need much explaining either i mean just look at how lost and devastated he is but this time he will not push her away, this time he wants to stay with her and let her comfort him and if she hadn’t been called to the er they would’ve officially gotten back together
• i bet you whatever you want that when he was confronting dormammu and dying a thousand times because that way “everyone on earth will live” he was thinking about christine which i’m sure is a reference to “is she worth the pain?” “every moment of it”
• the end scene, the watch. enough said.
so i think that’s it, if you read all the way though here i love you ok and i hope my little essay helps you understand their relationship a little bit more and why they chose to use it as a plot line in what if…? and if you guys want to contribute with more points about palmerstrange feel free to add them ok ♡
All of the above. Or below the line. The chemistry between Stephen and Christine was wonderful. Charlize Theron has a tough hill to climb for sure. Then, I’ve seen this countless times, usually on tv shows: epic love story between 2 characters, and 3 months later they are shacking up with someone new ♀️
Okay but can we talk about the parallel between Christine telling Strange to face his fears, the Clea showing up asking Strange if he’s afraid?
When redhead Christine from another universe was saying goodbye to Stephen and him confessing that he was scared to have someone love him/care for him, Christine specifically told Stephen to face his fears.
At the end when Clea comes to gather Stephen to fix an incursion she asks Stephen to come along with her, unless he’s afraid! Then Stephen proceeds to say that he isn’t afraid in the least!
I think Stephen repairing the broken watch face then putting it away in a box was in part symbolism showing he had gotten his closure with Christine in this movie.
I absolutely adore Christine and Stephen but I think the MCU having a couple that loved each other but weren’t able to overcome their obstacles is so real and grounding. It’s the case for plenty of relationships and is a very real thing that happens all the time.
It’s also refreshing when a character has more than one relationship in their story as they evolve and grow as a person.
I’m hoping for a slow burn romance with Clea and Stephen in the MCU, although I don’t know how the writers are ever going to top I love you in every universe.
Super excited to see what the MCU and Charlize Theron do with Clea - it’s amazing that we finally have her in live action. ✨
Photo is Doctor Strange and Clea by Paul Smith.
“I think the MCU having a couple that loved each other but weren’t able to overcome their obstacles is so real and grounding. It’s the case for plenty of relationships and is a very real thing that happens all the time.
It’s also refreshing when a character has more than one relationship in their story as they evolve and grow as a person”
^ Same. It’s not something you see much in superhero movies–they typically just start with the iconic canon pairing (Batman movies are a big exception, they love adapting as many of his comic love interests as possible). And as for the DS movies, they so easily could’ve had Christinejust be the normal person audience surrogate and a symbol of Stephen’s normal person past, and then not have her in the sequel. They were already exes in the first movie, for one thing. But they made her an emotional, intrinsic part of his character exploration and development in MoM–essentially the core of it. Down to even the watch getting its own little sub-arc across both movies.
