Rachel McAdams Explains Doctor Strange and Christine Palmer’s Romance

Although there might be some other Marvel couples and love interests that capture Marvel fans’ attention more than Doctor Stephen Strange (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) and Dr. Christine Palmer (played by Rachel McAdams) in Doctor Strange and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the couple is starting to become a new favorite after fans have seen them in the Doctor Strange sequel this summer!

Rachel McAdams recently spoke to Marvel.com about Christine and Stephen’s status as star-crossed lovers. Spoiler alert: go see Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness before reading any further!

Now that you’ve seen the Doctor Strange sequel, you know that Doctor Stephen Strange and Doctor Christine Palmer sadly do not seem to end up together in any universe within the multiverse (and the Marvel Cinematic Universe). Doctor Strange confesses that he loves Christine in every universe, but it never seems to work out between them and the couple says goodbye as Christine gets married to another man.

The Mean Girls actress called the two characters’ goodbye “a beautifully written scene” that was “simple and straightforward” without any “bells and whistles.”

“Doctor Strange wasn’t trying to dance his way out of something,” the Notebook actress explained. “He was just so vulnerable, naked, and honest. It was heartbreaking and beautiful, and Benedict [Cumberbatch] played it so perfectly. It makes me cry every time.”

We see in the Marvel movie that Christine Palmer keeps the watch that has been a special token of her relationship with Stephen Strange, even after they say goodbye.

“Part of her keeping the watch is a lot of unfinished business,” McAdams elaborated. “It’s a lot of trying to process the trauma she went through with him, but also hope there’s going to be a resolution within herself or from out in the world somewhere. When another Stephen shows up, she can’t help wondering if…. It’s hard not to transfer her love for the old Stephen and her desire for things to be different onto this Stephen. It’s very human for her to do that.”

Doctor Strange was often self-centered and distant, which was a big part of the couple’s problems. As Palmer said to Strange, he always felt he had to be “holding the knife”, at the expense of Christine and others around him.

But, McAdams added, “even when you’re betrayed, it’s almost harder to let go of someone who’s done you wrong. You kind of cling to them even tighter.”

We can see in the Marvel film that Christine Palmer gets a happy ending with another man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Doctor Stephen Strange does have a new love interest in the form of Clea, Charlize Theron’s character — so although some fans will mourn the love of Strange and Palmer, others might see the ending as a bittersweet change on a pathway to different loves for both characters!