Recap: Marvel's "Eyes of Wakanda" Ties Everything Together in Epic Finale

To this point, Marvel’s Eyes of Wakanda has taken us to three different points in history, ranging from 1260 BC to 1400 AD. Now, in the fourth and final episode, we jump to a much more modern point in time. However, there is far more to this story than meets the eye.

The episode begins in 1896 Ethiopia, where War Dog Kuda and Wakandan prince Tafari are on a mission to recover a stolen artifact. However, they are outmatched by an ongoing battle in the city. After seeing that the violence is too dangerous for them to traverse, Kuda decides they should abort their mission. Tefari objects and expresses his desire to make history before sneaking off.

Kuda tries to call Tefari back over their comms but Tefari ignores him. Before Kuda can follow him, Tefarie returns with the artifact, an axe. As Kuda scolds him, Tefari quotes Noni, saying he was following his own path.

As Kuda and Tefari make their way home, we can see the familiar silhouette of the Watcher in the sky. We know if he is present, something big is about to happen.

Kuda and Tefari argue in their vehicle about being reckless and having a duty to return home to their families. As Kuda explains the dangers of letting the outside world get their hands on vibranium, Tefari sees a figure appear ahead of their vehicle. He yells at Kuda to stop, but he is too late and the being launches their vehicle into the air.

Kuda awakens to see Tefari still unconscious and the mystery being approaching their vehicle, bearing Panther claws. Kuda tells the Panther to stop but eventually has to fight. Tefari eventually joins the fight, wielding the axe they just recovered. The Panther lunges for the axe and Kuda and Tefari get the upper hand before the Panther pleads with them in Wakandan. She removes her helmet and Kuda says he has never seen her before. She uses her technology to show them visions of the story she is about to tell.

The Panther explains that she is from 500 years in the future. Kude and Tefari see the ruins of what was the Golden City, the capital of Wakanda. In her time, Wakanda never embraced the outside world. She explains that an alien race known as the Horde invaded Earth. Without the help of Wakanda, the outside world fell. And when the Horde came for them, Wakanda could not hold them back either.

The Horde is an alien race in the Marvel Comics as well. There, they act as a hive mind and infect Celestials to either kill or corrupt them. They have battled the Avengers and the Eternals on multiple occasions.

The Panther explains that her futuristic Wakanda was no match for the Horde without the help of the outside world. She says she used their technology to jump back in time to find a moment she could change that would alter her timeline, in direct defiance of the Avengers: Endgame time travel rules. She explains that Tefari recovering the axe was that moment because it prevented a “forgotten son of Wakanda" from finding it and challenging the throne, which would have led to the then king opening Wakanda up to the outside world.

This is of course referencing the events of Marvel’s Black Panther. The axe in question is the one Killmonger steals from a museum before challenging T’Challa. Without that occurrence, T’Challa never opens Wakanda’s border to the outside world, leaving the nation on its own when the Horde arrives 400 years later. Of course, this also means the Earth survived the attack from Thanos without the help of Wakanda, but that could be a whole other series.

After hearing the Panther’s story, Kuda still refuses to help her. They ask her to give them information only someone from the future could know and she says the queen is pregnant with a fourth child. Kuda calls this a lie but Tefari is silent. The Panther explains that she cannot survive another time jump before she is pulled back to her own time before she can assure the axe is returned. With her gone, Tefari explains that she was telling the truth and that only the royal family knows that the queen is pregnant. Eventually, Kuda agrees to return the axe.

Back in the future, the Panther tells her remaining Dora that they need to prepare another jump so that she can finish the mission, even though she likely will not survive it. They are interrupted though when the Horde arrives and a fight ensues.

Kuda and Tefari make their way to where they need to return the axe. On their way though, a building falls on Kuda, trapping him beneath rubble. He urges Tefari to finish the mission and he reluctantly agrees. Meanwhile, the Dora are all wiped out by the Horde, leaving the Panther on her own.

Tefari reaches the building and replaces the axe. However, when he calls for Kuda, he gets no response. The Panther stands her ground and tries to hold back the Horde from reaching the still open time portal. Kuda wakes to find Tefari removing rubble from atop of him. They limp away from the rubble together, having accomplished their new mission.

Back in Wakanda, the prince explains to his mother, the queen, that they did not return with the axe because he made the call to abort the mission. Kuda later applauds his bravery and points out that no one will ever know the story of his bravery. Tefari says it is the mission that’s important, not the story, though he laments that he will never see the future he fought for, as we see Killmonger staring at the axe in the museum before the episode comes to a close.

This was an unexpected and very satisfying conclusion to this short series. In true What If…? fashion, what seemed to be an anthology story was pulled together by a time traveler in the end. Throw in some more visually stunning action and a touch of Marvel lore and you’ve got a successful finale. Plus, it is pretty cool that Disney Legend Anika Noni Rose now gets to call herself a Black Panther.

Marvel’s Eyes of Wakanda is streaming now on Disney+.