Recap, Ending Explained, and Easter Eggs

Notice! This post contains SPOILERS for What If...? Season 3, Episode 3

Marvel And if...? Season 3 offers an exciting first look at what a Red Guardian and Winter Soldier team-up could look like in the MCU... before 2025 Rays*. Set in a reality where Alexei Shostakov is unhappy with his secret mission in the United States, as seen in Black Widowthe Red Guardian decides to break protocol and join forces with Bucky Barnes' Winter Soldier during one of his darkest known missions. The result is an exciting alliance between the two Russian agents (with a surprising twist at the end).

In And if...? Season 3, Episode 3, Red Guardian prevents the Winter Soldier from killing Howard and Maria Stark in 1991. As such, this creates a new timeline in which Alexei and Bucky become fugitives on the run from authorities (and S.H.I.E.L.D.). With that in mind, here's a recap of the new episode, our breakdown of the ending, and the biggest Easter eggs and references we found in And if...? Season 3.

And if...? Season 3, Episode 2 Spoilers and Key Story Takeaways

"What if... Red Guardian stopped the Winter Soldier?"

• In 1991, Red Guardian is not satisfied with his secret assignment from General Dreykov to serve as a data analyst, so he secretly boards a plane to join forces with Bucky after hearing about the Winter Soldier's next mission based on information from a Russian spy. incorporated in the USA called Rook.

• Red Guardian arrives just in time to stop Bucky from killing the Starks, wanting witnesses to strike fear into the hearts of Americans in the name of Russian superiority.

• Law enforcement begins to arrive, turning Bucky and Alexei into fugitives with no extraction provided by the Red Room.

• Believing that Rook will help them escape the United States, Red Guardian and the Winter Soldier head to Las Vegas, evading the police and Bill Foster's Goliath.

• Patching himself up, Red Guardian helps the Winter Soldier recover a single memory from his past as Bucky Barnes. However, Barnes later receives secret orders from Dreykov to fire Alexei.

• Arriving in Las Vegas, Bucky and Alexei discover that Rook is none other than Obidiah Stane, who simply sold information in exchange for Hydra and the Russians killing the Starks. After the Winter Soldier kills Stane, the pair briefly fight Goliath before being cornered by Hydra.

• Breaking their brainwashing, Bucky and Alexei fall fighting Hydra. Winter Soldier is taken back into custody to receive further conditioning, although it is revealed that Alexei escaped to start a new life as a gym teacher before Foster recruited him to join the Avengers.

And if...? Season 3 Episode 3 Finale Teases a Big Major MCU Reveal

Was Obidiah Stane really behind Stark's murders?

Believing that Rook was a true Russian hero fighting for revolution against capitalism, Alexei is devastated to learn at the end of And if...? Season 3, Episode 3 that Stane is nothing more than a true American “capitalist pig” who was just looking out for his own interest. However, the revelation helps both Red Guardian and Winter Soldier turn against their trainers and generals, leading to their defiant last stand at the end of the episode. However, one has to wonder what this ending could mean for the main MCU.

The only real difference established in this episode from the main MCU timeline is Alexei stopping the murder of the Starks. As such, it stands to reason that Stane's revealed role behind Hydra's information about the Starks and where they were on December 16, 1991 would also be true on Earth-616. If so, this makes the murder of the Starks and the MCU's first villain even darker with the revelation that Stane orchestrated the murder of Tony Stark's parents years before hiring the Ten Rings to kill Tony himself, as seen in the film. 2008. Iron Man.

And if...? The Biggest Easter Eggs and References from Season 3, Episode 3

Referencing Civil War, Avengersclassic video games and more

There are some really cool MCU nods and pop culture references made in And if...? Season 3, Episode 3. Here are all the biggest ones we found:

• 1991 footage of Civil War - Just like in Captain America: Civil WarGrainy security footage from 1991 is shown the night the Starks were murdered, although altered in this reality to show Red Guardian's involvement.
• Dreykov's daughter - In general Dreykov's daughter Antonia is shown in a picture frame in his office, the future Taskmaster who will soon make his MCU return in Rays* alongside Red Guardian and Bucky.
• Alexei playing Tetris Alexei is shown playing Tetris while waiting for your plane. The classic puzzle game was created in 1985 by Alexey Pajitnov, a Soviet software engineer.
• Classic Winter Soldier Theme - As Bucky pursues the Starks, the haunting Winter Soldier theme from the live-action films and plays.
• Bill Foster's Goliath in action - Played and voiced by Lawrence Fishburne, a young Bill Foster is working for S.H.I.E.L.D. and tracking Alexei and Bucky, although his debut as Goliath was in And if...? Season 2.
• The Ranger Morales Voice Bill Foster's main partner in the episode, Ranger Morales is voiced by Oscar-nominated actress America Ferrera, known for her role in Barbie, Superstore, Ugly Bettyand Astrid's voice in the How to train your dragon films.
• Thelma and Louise Canyon Jump Avoiding the police, Alexei and Bucky do a classic canyon car jump, as well as Thelma and Luisa which was released in 1991.
• The Coney Island Hero The only memory the Winter Soldier can remember is Coney Island, a reference to Civil War when he recalls the same memories with Steve Rogers.
• Red Guardian in 2012 Avengers - Recruited by Bill Foster, Red Guardian is shown at the very end of the episode entering the classic 2012 filmed circle. Avengers.

New episodes of And if...? Season 3 launches daily at 3am ET/12pm PT on Disney+.

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  Release date

  February 14, 2025
  

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  Release date

  July 25, 2025
  

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  Release date

  July 24, 2026
  

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