DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS (2022)

#it’s always “ily” and never “ilyilyieu”

the red thread of fate is an east asian belief originating from chinese mythology. it is commonly thought of as an invisible red cord around the finger of those that are destined to meet one another regardless of time, place or circumstances as they are their true love. the thread may stretch or tangle, but it will never break.

I don’t want you to go.

I think one of the things that pisses me off the most is that DS1 is so glorious when it comes to handling Stephen's relationship with Christine....

But then MoM and What If S2 come around and they ruin everything! Why is Stephen moping like a teenager? Why is Christine saying she could never love him? Why is he so obsessed with her still? It's such a regression for BOTH characters. He deserves better and so does she.

DOCTOR STRANGE, dir. Scott Derrickson (2016)

requested by anon

Doctor Strange & Christine Palmer in What If…? Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands - Marvel Studios

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DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS (2022) dir. Sam Raimi 

Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness (2022) dir. Sam Raimi

Doctor Strange’s wristwatch as a metaphor for his heart

I had this idea some time ago but rewatching DSITMOM made me realize that this concept is actually canon. I’m sure many people already wrote many essays about it because it’s kinda obvious at this point, but I’d like to try my own input since I don’t write about the MCU that much.

We’re first introduced to his watch when Stephen is getting ready for the Neurological Society dinner. It’s important to notice that the dinner is previous to a conversation between Christine and Stephen in which she says that everything is about him. Christine never had fun with those and declines, and yet, Stephen wears the watch proudly.

This is actually a way to tell the audience that, even though he’s rejected, he keeps the arrogant and proud attitude because apparently he’s content (and comfortable) with it.

I also noticed that this take is blurred, which could possibly mean that his judgment is clouded by his arrogant and material behavior, preventing him from listening to what his heart truly desires.

In addition, I found this scene to be relevant because in here, Stephen isn’t wearing the watch. He has the most terrible and toxic attitude towards Christine, and I like to think that that’s only possible because he’s in a place where his heart isn’t reachable, despite his feelings for her.

The following relevant scene is about Stephen having the watch stolen. The deleted scene with the dog is also important because it shows that, although his heart is broken and got permanent scars, it also shows that he still has compassion. He’s hurt and broken, and he pushed Christine away by hiding the watch when they had that argument, but he also kept her in mind by taking the watch with him. “It’s all I have left”, as in, “a broken heart is all I have left. Don’t take away it from me, I still want to feel something.”

One last input is the fact that Mordo returns the watch to Stephen, and it feels to me that Mordo is the one offering meaning to him again by introducing him to magic.

Next, we’re introduced to Stephen’s struggle to reach out for Christine once more. The watch is next to him because it’s a moment when he and his heart are both vulnerable.

Christine’s name is carved in his broken heart, plus time is a recurrent theme throughout the movie. Stephen is aware that he still loves her but he wasn’t willing to change for her, and that was the reason they broke up.

But it’s interesting because this quote makes me wonder if Christine actually had doubts about Stephen’s feelings for her. “Time will tell” sounds to me that the present isn’t doing enough, even though the viewer is aware that yes, Stephen did love her. We now know that he was just afraid of showing it. It’s very possible that he didn’t appreciate her or tried hard enough to open his heart to her back when they were together, which explains why this quote exists. Stephen regrets that he wasn’t kind and brave enough to show his feelings, and all is left is a constant reminder that Christine tried her best to reach out for him but gave up at some point. His heart (watch) is full of regret.

Finally, the movie ends with Stephen wearing his heart proudly, even though it’s broken. I’m not entirely sure about what that could possibly mean, if he’s willing to carry his love for her or keeps his distance in order to protect her (because the movie came out in 2016 and a sequence was only released SIX years later yeah). The meaning was lost, so I’m not linking this scene to the next movie. And with that, let’s take a look at DS2 (because we’re not talking about IW and Endgame).

The movie opens with Stephen waking up and seeing his reflection on the watch after having a “nightmare”.

I don’t believe this particular moment has something to do with his heart, but the very next scene does. Because Stephen is attending Christine’s wedding aaaaand he’s wearing the broken watch. It breaks his heart yet again to let her go and that applies to the watch.

And yes, it’s quite important for Stephen to wear the watch in this scene because he and Christine talk about their relationship and why they wouldn’t work out. As I said in earlier posts, Stephen isn’t willing to change yet, not even for her. I also noticed that, when he fights, he doesn’t wear it either, and we could come up with many reasons, from protecting it in order to not damage it further or even the fact that he hasn’t found happiness and love by being a sorcerer. The meaning isn’t important here.

The same cannot be said about this moment, though. This is when Christine gifts Stephen withe the watch. It’s complicated to make assumptions here because MCU!Stephen is different from 616!Stephen. Donna’s death was the reason why 616!Stephen closed his heart to the world and became a greedy womanizer, whereas MCU!Stephen’s past is not known for those traits, even though Donna’s demise still affected him in other ways.

Plus, it’s odd to assume that Christine didn’t feel loved here (assuming the quote “only time will tell how much I love you”), mostly because Stephen’s reaction says A LOT. But then again, DSITMOM has tons of flaws about script and plot and yadda yadda yadda. Point is, it’s unlikely that Stephen didn’t have any other relationships in the past, but I feel like Christine is the one who touched his heart by the very first time, and this is why he’s so adamant about loving her and only her. Besides, who else would love such an insufferable man like him for what he is? Well, she did - for a while.

But the point is, Christine isn’t stuck in the past and she does want to keep improving, whereas Stephen is too stubborn to give it a try. And this is why we’re introduced to the concept that every Stephen blows up with every Christine, and this is where my issue begins. Because, again, I hate the determinism of the multiverse. I don’t like the idea of interchangeable variants either (in fact, I hate it). Because 838!Christine’s experiences are NOT the same from main!Stephen. She loved HIS Stephen with HIS particular flaws, and she lost the trust she put into him because of HIS actions. And then she projected her fears onto main!Stephen.

Why am I saying this? Because 838!Stephen, just like the main one, loved Christine and used his watch to “unlock a door”, as in, the key to open him is his heart, something that he lost the moment he walked a dubious path (and it wasn’t that dubious at all, for starters. As a comic book fan, I’ve seen Stephen doing so much worse). Point is, Christine gives his “heart” back to unlock a door, and that’s how Stephen interprets this moment.

But then again, it’s the old interchangeable concept. It’s not HIS Christine, it’s a projection of his feelings for her. It’s meaningful to him because his heart is still broken.

And then, when Stephen opens up and 838!Christine finally tells him to face his fears, this is the moment he finally realizes that he needs to change.

Because, and bear with me on this one, he had hope that his watch/heart would be fixed by Christine. But this is not the way to go in any relationship ever. It’s always up to you to fix your own issues before committing yourself to someone. Christine (thankfully) never hoped to change Stephen because she knew he didn’t want to change. But she made him realize that HE was the one who needed to change, and that he WANTED to change. It’s always comfortable to be in a position where you stay as the victim in order to not move on with your life. It demands TONS of work and maturity to evolve. Stephen’s arrogance and stubbornness blinded him. Because, as I said, he was adamant about loving Christine since she was the one who touched his heart by the first time. But something rang in his mind and heart. He does not have to be adamant and closed to love anymore due to his fears. He’s ready to face them now. And this is why he fixes the watch himself. Plus he’s smiling. He’s genuinely smiling.

Of course, he’s happy. When you finally find the strength to change and seek a new path in your life, it feels like you got rid of a dead weight on your shoulders. You feel lighter, relieved even.

ALSO

Stephen puts the watch in a drawer. It’s not like he’s closing himself again. He’s merely putting all the pain and sadness behind him and keeping the good memories as a lesson that allowed him to grow. The watch is fixed, yet he’ll not wear it.

Christine will always be a huge and meaningful part of Stephen’s life. She allowed him to grow, she made him a better man, but she never tried to change him. It was Stephen who finally, FINALLY, put his arrogance aside and paid attention to the lesson. And he will never forget that. But he also deserves happiness. I absolutely adore that there’s more room for jewelry because, yes, we’re allowed to experience love again, especially when we’re not ready the first time we try (and after we blame ourselves for failing).

And this is how Stephen is ready to move on. I will never see their journey as something bad. How many relationships did we have in which we ended up broken and bitter? And how many are truly meaningful and mature enough to add to our personal growth? Honestly, seeing this in a movie means a lot. And I can’t wait to see more of mature Stephen in his next relationship with Clea. She’s not a consolation prize, she’s merely a consequence of Stephen feeling ready and healed enough to try again. She will not fix his broken heart because he fixed it HIMSELF. He healed before moving on and this is extremely important because we must not find solace in other people as a copying mechanism to run away from the pain and the responsability of being held accountable for own actions. It’s always up to us, not our partners, to solve our own issues. Of course, they can always support us, but there’s a difference between transferring said responsability to them and being mature to do it ourselves.

Thank you for coming to my tea party.

Marvel Rewatch → Doctor Strange (2016) dir. by Scott Derrickson

This Stephen is different. He is.

palmerstrange day 2023 ♡ found family

COSTUME DESIGN Graham Churchyard DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS (2022)

It’s not that I don’t want to care for someone or have someone care for me. It’s just I get scared.

DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS (2022) dir. Sam Raimi