Till Dance Do Us Apart
Steve Rogers finally got the girl. And they lived happily ever after. But who are 'they'?
Remember in the Winter Soldier Steve Rogers was called 'a man out of time' in the Museum dedicated to him? And, as it usually happens in the MCU, these words mean so much more than we can assume at first sight. We just needed to watch 'Endgame' to realize that.
Marvel's movies show us really whole stories, but even they can be rather ambiguous sometimes. That also can be said to the very final scene of the 'Avengers: Endgame'. It seems rather clear (even though fans have some questions like 'How did Captain America return the Soul stone', but we'll keep this one for the Russo brothers): Captain decided to live a different life, he gives his legacy to Sam (and Bucky seems pretty OK with that) and both of them have a rather fishy conversation:
Sam: You want to tell me about her?
Steve: No. No. I don't think I will.
Fans are really delighted and relieved that after having a rather stressful life, Steve finally got his 'happily ever after'. But why Steve or Sam simply doesn't say 'Peggy' – I mean Sam knows about her, doesn't he. And why Steve refuses to tell something about their happiness. Maybe it wasn't Peggy? But who then?
Marvel's movies show us really whole stories, but even they can be rather ambiguous sometimes. That also can be said to the very final scene of the 'Avengers: Endgame'. It seems rather clear (even though fans have some questions like 'How did Captain America return the Soul stone', but we'll keep this one for the Russo brothers): Captain decided to live a different life, he gives his legacy to Sam (and Bucky seems pretty OK with that) and both of them have a rather fishy conversation:
Sam: You want to tell me about her?
Steve: No. No. I don't think I will.
Fans are really delighted and relieved that after having a rather stressful life, Steve finally got his 'happily ever after'. But why Steve or Sam simply doesn't say 'Peggy' – I mean Sam knows about her, doesn't he. And why Steve refuses to tell something about their happiness. Maybe it wasn't Peggy? But who then?
Why it's Peggy?
First and foremost, Peggy Carter was the one and the only love of Steve Rogers during the events of the 'First Avenger'. It was Peggy who believed in him and saw something underneath (this really shy CGI thin body) his appearance. (It was not the serum which makes Captain able and worthy of lifting Thor's hammer, it was his personal human strength which apparently Peggy Carter somehow felt.) And it was Peggy who was like the North Star to him, every time he looked at his compass. And it seems like in the 'Endgame' we simply get a very logical and very happy ending for Steve and Peggy.
In the 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' Wanda showed to our bravest avengers their worst half-fears\half-nightmares. What did Steve Rogers see? There was some kind of a club crowded with people. There were men wearing the uniform, wine spilt on the shirts which seemed more like an injury, also some soldiers had a fight. And it seems more chaotic than joyful. But finally Steve saw Peggy, who said rather significant words that are more related to the final scenes of the 'Endgame'. She said, 'The war's over, Steve. We can go home. Imagine it!' Originally, the scene was interpreted as if Steve felt lost in this crazy 21st century, he didn't belong here, and so, it is his dream to go home, to Peggy, as if he didn't miss 70 years of his life. Everything seems pretty clear and straightforward, but it doesn't seem like it is a nightmare or something that Steve would be afraid of. Watching this scene after 'Endgame' gives this episode another explanation. Captain will really come home after the war will be over. The Infinity War. After Thanos was defeated, after everyone (almost everyone) of his dearest friend will return back to the life, Steve would leave everything and go home. To Peggy.
Why it's not Peggy?
Let's imagine for a second, that Steve traveled back in time just to dance with Peggy, as she promised to her, and that's it. How is this possible? Well, here some reasons for that.
Steve will definitely not put Peggy out of her own original timeline. She is one of the S.H.I.E.L.D.'s founder. And when Steve was peacefully lying in the Arctic ice, she did a lot of great things. How this can be achieved without her? The other fair point is that to have this happily ever after with Peggy she also needed to time travel so that to make this alternative life with Steve that wouldn't impact the original timeline. Who knows. (OK, MARVEL knows, but they won't tell us).
Remember this interview Steve watched in his museum? Peggy said that Steve Rogers still had impact on her life. She stated that she's now married to a man whom Steve had saved during the WWII. So, what are they – I mean Peggy and Steve – are going to do about this unknown husband? And just a friendly reminder this movie was also shot by Russo brothers.
Thanks to the ABC 'Agent Carter' (that was shot 2015-2016 and, yeah, Russo brothers directed two episodes) we have a possibility to follow Peggy's life a year after Steve was frozen in the ice. We find Carter in 1946, a year after Steve's death. She is still mourning him, but after her reuniting with Howad Stark and the Howling Commandos and keeping by herself the last sample of Steve's blood (which Howard Stark was able to save and keep in secret) she seemed ready to say goodbye to Steve and continue with her life. That's where in Season 2 she has got two love interests and in the end there was a hint that Peggy made her own mind (and by hint I mean a really passionate talk and a kiss with chief Daniel Sousa). (Come on, everyone can understand her, Daniel is a much better dancer than Steve). And as Jarvis (Howard's butler, not the pre-Vision) said, Peggy just needed a reason to stay in LA. Seems like Daniel Sousa may be this reason.
We don't really know what happened next to Peggy and Daniel (as the series was cancelled after Season 2), and we know even less details about Sousa's past. So, what if he was the man that Steve saved? Just some assumptions, you know.
But then again, in this very heartbreaking interview she said, 'even after he died, Steve was still changing my life.' So, maybe he did it once again.
We don't really know what happened next to Peggy and Daniel (as the series was cancelled after Season 2), and we know even less details about Sousa's past. So, what if he was the man that Steve saved? Just some assumptions, you know.
But then again, in this very heartbreaking interview she said, 'even after he died, Steve was still changing my life.' So, maybe he did it once again.
Why it's Natasha?
Remember after undoing Thanos' snap Hulk confessed that he tried somehow to get Natasha back but it didn't work out. What if visiting Warmir where the Stone Soul belongs, Captain somehow managed to save Black Widow?
Yes, we know that Soul stone works like Soul for Soul. And Russo brothers confirm that Black Widow, Hamora and Vision are 100% dead, but again it's Marvel. Vision is going to be a huge part of 'WandaVision' Disney+ series (huge, because his name is actually in the title), and Black Widow movie is waiting to be released. So, there are plenty opportunities to get Natasha back. And what if it is Captain America who saves his very best friend (and maybe even more than a friend) from being dead or imprisoned in the Soul Stone. Well, let's see.
"You know, I keep telling everybody they should move on and grow. Some do. But not us."
Firstly, these words are full of mourning not only for their lost friends but also for both of them, because both Steve and Natasha can't overcome what had happened, they are stuck in between. And again what if speculations. If we assume that Steve has begun his new life with Natasha, these words turned out to have a very literal meaning. They need to hide somewhere in time to live a very normal life they didn't have on the original timeline.
There is also one Natasha's phrase that kind of makes this theory worth considering. Right before they travel back in time and right after Captain's inspiring speech Natasha says, 'I'll see you in minute.' And she smiles directly to Steve her eyes full of joy and hope. So, what if they really met in minute when Steve would come to save her. I mean nothing is impossible in the world where time traveling and multiverse exist.
I feel like I need to end this piece with even more ambiguous assumptions.
Peggy Carter: The world has changed and none of us can go back. All we can do is our best, and sometimes the best that we can do is to start over.
Getting back to 'Winter Soldier' we watched Steve visiting Peggy at hospital. Does Peggy say that Steve needs to move on, even if he could travel back in time he couldn't return time that he missed.
And to honour Tony's impact on Steve, we should acknowledge that Steve could come back to his time so that to get some kind of normal life, as Tony Stark suggested him in the end of the 'Age of Ultron' and showed in the 'Endgame'.
And to honour Tony's impact on Steve, we should acknowledge that Steve could come back to his time so that to get some kind of normal life, as Tony Stark suggested him in the end of the 'Age of Ultron' and showed in the 'Endgame'.
Steve Rogers: I will miss you, Tony.
Tony Stark: Yeah? Well, it's time for me to tap out. Maybe I should take a page out of Barton's book and build Pepper a farm, hope nobody blows it up.
Steve Rogers: The simple life.
Tony Stark: You'll get there one day.
Steve Rogers: I don't know, family, stability. The guy who wanted all that went in the ice seventy-five years ago. I think someone else came out.
Tony Stark: Yeah? Well, it's time for me to tap out. Maybe I should take a page out of Barton's book and build Pepper a farm, hope nobody blows it up.
Steve Rogers: The simple life.
Tony Stark: You'll get there one day.
Steve Rogers: I don't know, family, stability. The guy who wanted all that went in the ice seventy-five years ago. I think someone else came out.
Relation with Tony Stark meant to Steve a lot, and watching his friend enjoying and appreciating time with Pepper and Morgan in the beginning of the 'Endgame' and seeing his friend losing everything he has and sacrificing his own life so the others could live makes Steve to reconsider everything he has been through and where he is leading now. And Steve decided to experience the kind of life Tony chose to live. He used to force himself to move forward, but it doesn't work out for him, so when he found opportunity to go home and the conditions were stable (every survived or returned back avengers seems to make peace with where they are) Steve chose himself and his life and his own happiness. But Steve is not the only one who doesn't have a chance to live a normal life. Natasha was treated badly by KGB and by herself, and then the S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra happened to her, not to mention Thanos' snap. So, maybe Steve intended to save her and give her a chance to live a very different kind of live. Together.
It's Been a Long Long Time
