Line #88 Fridge/DoctorStrange2016


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12	!! FridgeBrilliance
13	* Stephen Strange being on the hit list for [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier Project Insight]] prior to being the Sorcerer Supreme:
14	** Strange is famous for being a talented surgeon, and he could operate on other targets who may not have died straight away. This was implied in an interview with Kevin Feige: "So is Stephen Strange the Sorcerer Supreme? Probably not at that point in ''The Winter Soldier''. Is he an unbelievably talented neurosurgeon who’s opinionated and kind of arrogant? Probably. That might put him on the list."
15	*** Plus, even if they don't understand what's going on, and therefore target neurosurgery expert Doctor Strange, he may very easily be on the list thanks to past experiences HYDRA have of being thwarted by Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange, who can change the past.
16	** The scene with Kaecilius trying to convince Strange to join him really drives the point home that he would never have accepted the regime HYDRA wanted to bring.
17	** Additionally, HYDRA has learned a bitter lesson about underestimating a snarky, incredibly intelligent, quite wealthy and insanely talented jerk with the heart of a hero. Hi, Tony!
18	* The song "Shining Star" by Music/EarthWindAndFire. The song is about fulfilling your potential by following your dreams. Within the context of the movie, it fits Strange's CharacterDevelopment. Throughout the movie, Strange initially starts out as preserving his own reputation and career. After his accident, Strange tries in vain to repair his hands, but later finds a true calling as the Master of the Mystic Arts. In other words, Strange realizes that his accident have opened new doors for him.
19	* Strange seems to have an obsession with time, as he has a wristwatch collection, and later, thanks to the Book Of Cagliostro, becomes a TimeMaster. This is very fitting for a doctor, who, while studying his career, had to schedule himself to attend all the classes, study by his own and, later on, practice at the hospitals with real patients. Not to mention that surgeons, specially those who work on particularly delicate areas (like a neurosurgeon), need extreme precision and efficiency, two concepts commonly associated with punctuality and good use of time; and, of course, in emergency cases, that need to be attended at soon as possible, time is a decisive factor. The very first indication of the movie's overaching theme of time? Strange asking another surgeon to ''cover his watch'', as the ticking sound is distracting. Thematically, it's stalling for time while Doctor Strange saves a patient's life.
20	* Why didn't Doctor Strange use the Eye of Agamotto to heal the Ancient One's wounds? Because it would have caused one of the time paradoxes Mordo and Wong were so worried about. Sure, this wasn't directly spelled out, but the fact that The Ancient One's prophetic powers were failing is indicative that her time was up, one way or another.
21	** Unless Doctor Strange ''did'' use the Eye to reverse The Ancient One's wound/death, and the entire rest of the franchise from that point is simply one timeline that we are getting to watch as it plays out, to see what would have happened, despite the fact that this timeline was folded back into the original, as The Ancient One said would happen in ''Endgame''.
22	* The magic from the Eye of Agamotto wraps around Strange's wrist like a wristwatch. Fitting, considering the Eye of Agamotto is the Time Stone.
23	* Stephen subjecting himself to experimental surgeries and treatments (none of which actually worked), combined with his rush to get back to form as soon as possible without taking proper time to heal may have exacerbated his condition. Compare his tremors when his bandages first come off to shortly before his trip to Nepal.
24	* When Doctor Strange finds out that Kaecilius can manipulate the real world, he sends everyone to the Mirror Dimension so that Kaecilius and his followers can't affect the real world. Unfortunately, Kaecilius' power relative to the good guys is increased several times over in the Mirror Dimension. So, accidentally, the Doctor has put himself at a disadvantage in a fight to keep Kaecilius from affecting Earth - foreshadowing that later, he will intentionally put himself at an even bigger disadvantage in a fight to keep Dormammu from affecting Earth.
25	* Something tangential - Strange's broken watch has sentimental value to him, and he wears it through the movie. It's fitting that someone who wields the Time Stone has a broken watch on his person.
26	* Timeline: context clues and the greater MCU timeline mean that this film takes place ''before'' ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar''. Of the released movies and shows, only ''Civil War'' was set in 2016, in the spring, while season 2 of ''Daredevil'' and ''Luke Cage'' were set in fall/the end of 2015. The light snow in New York in ''Doctor Strange'' keeps with the winter feel, meaning the film is set around January 2016 or so. The first [[TheStinger stinger]] with Thor is set months later, bringing it in line with the late-2016 setting of ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' and ''Film/ThorRagnarok''.
27	* The movie came out in the United States the weekend of the Daylight Savings Time change. Appropriate for a movie where [[TimeMaster turning the clock back]] was so important.
28	* Why did Strange's astral form seemingly get super-charged from the defibrillator? Because magic is all about calling upon the power of other planes. On the astral plane, the material plane is an "other plane". Not to mention that being in his astral form likely made it easier to channel power than normal. When on the Material Plane, sorcerers have to actively channel energy to achieve results but while projecting Strange is already doing that, so having his body shocked mainlined the power right to his astral form... and right into who he was fighting.
29	* There is a warning about [[AnAesop driving safely]]. It comes [[RunningGag after the movie.]]
30	* When Strange does hand to hand fighting with the help of magic, this takes the form of strings of energy extending from his fingers. This is reminiscent of his earlier physical therapy where he was strengthening his fingers by pulling against elastic strings. He probably would have been doing that day in/day out for weeks at least. Thus, when making an instinctive use of magic, it takes a form that he is intimately familiar with.
31	** In addition, Strange is a surgeon, and (as he mentions) is sworn to "do no harm". So instead of manifesting energy as an edged or even blunt-force weapon, something designed to wound or kill, he manifests it as a rope, something more useful for tangling up an enemy or their weapon.
32	* Some commentators have said that Strange is quite similar to Tony Stark. While these similarities are mostly superficial and their character arcs are very different, it is worth noting that while Strange is based on mysticism, Tony Stark is a purely tech-based hero. As such, said slight similarities may be a case of the MCU coming full circle.
33	* Strange having less difficulty quickly performing precise spellcasting gestures as the movie progresses, in spite of his hands being just as damaged, could be a result of unconsciously channeling mystical energy to heal them, as Pangborn does with his spine, or of unconsciously learning to ignore them entirely as did the Master with only one hand.
34	* Races:
35	** The reason there are so few Asians at a place ''smack in the middle of Asia'': they're all students of the Ancient One, students who sought out Kamar Taj. After all, [[Literature/{{Discworld}} seekers after wisdom tend to prefer that wisdom which is a long way off.]]
36	** Or, quite possibly, the vast majority of her students ''are'' Asian; it's just that Strange, himself, interacts mostly with the foreign ones because they're more likely to speak English. He's only fluent in English and Google Translate, after all.
37	* At first, it seems Strange owes it all to Mordo speaking up for him that he was accepted as a student of the Ancient One, but we later learn that the Ancient One had long seen the future where she died alongside Strange. So she presumably intended to teach him from the start. So why refuse him? Well, to teach him a bit of humility and test his endurance, but more than that, she may have been trying to foster a bond between Mordo and Strange, as in her final moments she tells Strange of her concern for how rigid Mordo is in his beliefs. She may have suspected the direction he could go after finding out how she was prolonging her life, and hoped that his friendship with Strange could help him accept the reality that not everything is black and white. Sadly, while she did get a worthy successor in Strange, it would seem Mordo's part in her gambit didn't work out. We also know that she feared her impending death; using magic to stretch her last moments of consciousness as long as she could. She knew that she would die with Strange at her side. Thus it's possible she initially rejected him to try and put off her death, for however little more was possible.
38	* The world of the MCU is full of extremely advanced technology, and Strange should be rich enough at the start to have access to at least some of it, so why does he never even consider trying to replace his damaged hands with some kind of mechanical prosthetic? Well, as we are shown at the start of the film, as a surgeon Strange demands not just good, but near-perfect control of his hands in order to do what he does as well as he does. Indeed, he is dexterous enough to perform surgeries that other surgeons would not consider doing with just their hands. In other words, his hands are above-average to begin with. As good as the technology is in the MCU, it's likely any mechanical hand available would still not have the degree of precision control Strange would demand of it for surgeries, assuming he could even stand the time it would take to get used to using such hands.
39	** Additionally, if Christine's comments are anything to go by, his spending habits aren't the greatest.
40	* Even under the time-loop, Dormammu is aware enough to register its effect on the second loop. The Dark Dimension being timeless works both ways: Dormammu cannot resist the effects of the time-loop, but being timeless himself means that his memory is not "turned back" when the loop resets.
41	** Which actually leads back to another turn to the fridge: Strange [[InvertedTrope only has to]] [[EvilOnlyHasToWinOnce die once.]] Since the spell rewound to before Strange's death, he only has to feel his death once, and in the end, never. Dormammu may kill Strange a thousand times before he finally agrees to bargain, but from Strange's perspective, as long as he had the will to die once, it was only a matter of '''time'''.
42	*** It was actually confirmed that Strange remembers all of the loops himself. The Time Stone would be kinda useless if you can't recall your mistakes from before rewinding. And if you notice, with each loop, he seems to be getting rather tired of delivering that same line repeatedly, as well. Though that suggests something else. Doctor Strange spent however many cycles, potentially centuries worth of that same short span of time, repeatedly fighting to the death against an incredibly powerful, theoretically unstoppable, foe, killing him over and over. He had plenty of time to practice everything that The Ancient One taught him.
43	* The Cloak is insistent that Strange use the metal-binding rack instead of the axe because it ''knew'' he'd be upset if he accidentally killed someone, even in self-defense. Relics choose their master based on... something... so it obviously has ways to know what goes on inside his head and what kind of person he is. It picked the weapon that suited his true style, rather than the one he was reaching for in a blind panic, and it ''insisted'' he stay true to himself.
44	** Also, Strange was an relative newcomer with problems ignoring his own injured hands. So it picked the relic whose instructions are, "Throw". Who knows what kinda crazy spiritual thing you'd have to do for that axe. The part where Strange grabbed the urn-thing he had no idea how to use was ''hilarious''...to Kaecilius.
45	* His insistence to the Ancient One that he be addressed as "Doctor" seems to be a holdover of his arrogance and inability to let go, but secretly it is exactly why she chose him. His use of the title is both an ''academic'' one, from a [=PhD=], and a ''medical'' one, from an MD, ''as well as'' his surgical qualifications, and while he no longer has the ability to perform neurosurgery, he ''earned'' that title via long, hard study, and academic prowess, and a devotion to saving lives. Even real-life doctors who have had to stop their active medical career are still doctors, even if they shift to teaching, research, or other outlets for their talents and education. And as we see, Strange works ''very'' hard, and that was precisely what The Ancient One saw in him that she knew her successor needed.
46	* Strange says he came to bargain. Dormammu says he came to die. They're ''both'' right.
47	* Strange does surgery while also identifying music. He drives a fast car while trying to get some work in. He can't master the portal until his life is on the line. All early indications that he ''works best under pressure''. He's better suited to the job of Master Of The Mystic Arts than he thinks.
48	* When Strange manages to finally make a working portal, you notice how he's shivering from being in the snowy Himalayas. And it dawns: his shivering is reminiscent of how his hands shake. Perhaps he finally realized, he had to surrender to the shaking in his hands.
49	* There are four surgical scenes in the film, with increasing stakes every time. The last one--the Ancient One's death--is the only one Strange can't really assist in, the one where he gives up control, and the only one that fails.
50	** This may be why The Ancient One tells Strange he has yet to learn to be selfless. He bailed out on a surgery he knew he'd fail. Instead of seeing it as a character development of letting others do things he can't do, she sees right through him and recognizes it's his own fear of failure.
51	* The sorcerers don't like to use guns, even though they're clearly familiar with modern tech. They're semi-traceable, need ammo, parts, and maintenance, can be disrupted easily with magic, and once the bullet leaves the barrel, the most dangerous part is out of your control. There's probably all sorts of ways to redirect a bullet back at the one who pulls the trigger, or towards any innocent bystanders. By the same token, they don't like to use ranged attacks in general.
52	* Strange and The Ancient One both like tea, and they're played by British actors. Thor doesn't like tea, and he's played by an Australian using a British accent.
53	* During the BatmanColdOpen, The Ancient One doesn't intervene until the librarian is dead, and doesn't bring backup. Because if anyone saw her using her space-bending powers, they might cotton on to how she's drawing from the Dark Dimension.
54	* When Strange is tempted by forbidden knowledge, he tests it by using an apple. Very ''Genesis'' of him.
55	** Building on that, this is Doctor Strange's ''first'' movie. In story terms this is like the ''first book''.
56	* The sorcerers aren't supposed to mess with time. But it sure is convenient that the fancy time artifact is just a few feet away from the book about how to mess with time and space, isn't it? Almost as if ''someone'' wanted it handy for Strange. Come to think, why is that book on the most-accessible spot on the rack?
57	** That may be a bit of fridge brilliance in itself: Many people keep the manuals for their devices/gadgets near the object that they pertain to, for quick reference. In the case of a gadget going haywire, it wouldn't make much sense to keep the manual for it somewhere inconvenient.
58	* A bit of ProductPlacement in the final scene can count as this: the Yakult sign in Hong Kong that's among the first things to get repaired by the Eye of Agamotto. Yakult is the brainchild of one Professor Shirota ''Minoru'', the closest thing to naming the unnamed cameo in this scene.
59	* The Ancient One notes (and demonstrates several times earlier in the movie) that what drives Strange isn't seeking to bask in his own success but to avoid failure. His refusal to move on after the accident reflects that: he sees his inability to perform surgery as a failure, even though nothing is wrong with his ''mind'' (or other senses) and he could still have a very successful and famous career as a researcher or teacher, or being the brains behind neurosurgeons who might have the physical skills but not the knowledge. He can't accept that because it's all about him; if he can't do it personally, it's a failure. His realization of that is what allows him to defeat Dormammu. He goes into it ''knowing'' he's going to fail and be killed, but in the worst case scenario he's saved everyone else on Earth. By accepting that he will fail and that it's not all about him, he's given himself the opportunity to succeed.
60	** This becomes even more poignant following the revelation in his next movie about Donna.
61	* During a training sequence, Mordo pulls out the Staff of The Living Tribunal. He explains to Strange that each magical relic chooses its wielder, hence explaining how the Cloak of Levitation chooses Strange: it's got a similarly fancy and cheeky personality that, in a momentary scene, demonstrates it is obsessed with appearance, just like Strange. However, exactly why the Living Tribunal chose Mordo is not explained... until TheStinger. Mordo is a KnightTemplar with an extreme case of BlackAndWhiteMorality regarding the Laws of Nature: just like the Living Tribunal. Astute viewers will note, all throughout the movie, Mordo's obsession with order, justice, balance and law make him a perfect fit and an obvious choice for the relic. Unfortunately, see FridgeHorror's first entry...
62	** It also makes sense that the Cloak of Levitation is a good match for Strange because neither of them are fighters. Stephen does not engage in combat unless absolutely necessary; he prefers to use trickery and self-defense before resorting to attacks. The Cloak only provides flight and support for its user, not physical power, so it complements Strange's MartialPacifist ideology.
63	* A big reason for why Doctor Strange is shown to have TookALevelInBadass following this movie outside of him being naturally gifted and studying hard is that it was confirmed that all the times Dormammu killed Strange were many more than shown and at certain points we see him doing a better job of defending against Dormammu's attacks, he also would remember all of it, that vast amount of experience gained would of course boost his strength and power.
64	* The timeless nature of Dormammu's universe suggests that he's ''always'' been there: an embodying consciousness originating at the birth of that universe. The Collector's account of the Infinity Stones' history in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'' indicates that the six Stones originated at the birth of ''this'' universe, embodying aspects of its makeup just as Dormammu does for ''his'' universe. The Time Stone's ability to balk Dormammu makes perfect sense, because he was stymied by ''one of his own kind''.
65	* Look at the direction Strange turns his little time-controlling knob to advance and reverse time, from his perspective. Clockwise and anticlockwise.
66	* The mind-blowing "Open Your Mind" psychedelic sequence uses a ''lot'' of hand imagery. Of course it does: the Ancient One's background monologue about what's happening to Strange mentions that thought affects reality in the dimensions he's witnessing. The landscape of his experience is being shaped by his own obsession with repairing his damaged hands.
67	* With ''Series/WandaVision'' revealing sorcerers can use [[RunicMagic runes]] to prevent spellcasting in a given area (except their own), one realizes that the three Sanctums are three '''GIANT''' runes that protect Earth (and possibly our entire dimension) and prevent extra-dimensional intruders (like Dormammu) from casting (at least at full power, perhaps) inside of its boundaries while allowing Earth's spellcasters to do the same. ''JUST'' like Wanda's Hex and Agatha Harkness's basement. If not exactly the same, then on a similar principle.
68	* Kaecilius takes over a church for his hideout. (There is a deleted scene where he kills the priest.) He places the torn-out pages from the spell book over the bible on the lectern and the page that it reads is 2nd Corinthians, Chapter 5, which begins: For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling. It is a section about wanting an eternal, everlasting home, which is what Kaecilius is after. And ends with this: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. The end is as close as the MCU gets to a damnation scene. This is a pretty fitting page, given that it is nearly impossible to see without stopping the image to read it.
69	* How exactly does Strange recover so quickly from being stabbed in the chest and needing emergency medical attention? Simple: he's unconsciously channeling dimensional energy into his body to make up for his injury, just like Pangborn did to recover the use of his legs.
70	* Doctor Strange is often compared to Tony, because of their many similarities in personality. But more subtly, Strange's showdown with Dormammu also links him to another MCU hero (one who, as it happens, shares his first name, albeit with a slightly different spelling).
71	-->'''Strange:''' I can do this again. And again. And again.
72	-->'''Rogers:''' I can do this all day.
73
74	!! FridgeHorror:
75	* The Eye Of Agamotto:
76	** The ending reveals that the gem inside the Eye Of Agamotto is the Time Stone. It currently remains at Kamar-Taj, meaning that we now have not one but ''two'' Infinity Stones on Earth (the other being the Mind Stone, which is currently with Vision at the Avengers). Let's remember that ComicBook/{{Thanos}} is currently looking for the Infinity Stones, meaning that Earth is twice as likely a target even compared with anywhere that houses one of the remaining infinity Stones.
77	** It gets worse. Do remember that Strange only managed to drive off Dormammu by using the Eye Of Agamotto. If Thanos gets the gem inside the Eye, then Dormammu can break off his deal with Strange and invade Earth again, without anything to hold him back.[[note]]Presumably by this point they will have repaired the sanctums rendering it a moot issue.[[/note]]
78	*** Dormammu's perspective is timeless. How's he supposed to change his mind about the bargain, if time doesn't pass for him? So far as he's concerned, he ''only just'' made his promise, and ''always will'' have just committed to stick to it. Plus, the Book Of Cagliostro contains lots of time magic, not just how to use the gem inside the Eye Of Agamotto.
79	* It's probably a good thing for Christine that she didn't understand what the heck was going on when Strange and Lucian were duking it out astrally, causing all that poltergeist-activity in the hospital. Indeed, it's even a good thing that she walked away when she did, rather than renew their relationship. Because if she ''had'' stayed with him or insisted on an explanation, Strange would've eventually had to admit to Christine - a fellow surgeon, bound by the same Hippocratic Oath as himself - that he'd gotten her to ''help kill somebody'' with the defibrillator. She thought she had reason to be upset with him ''before''... Consider how upset Strange himself was about having to break the oath, even though it was clearly in self-defense.
80	* As for Mordo's new crusade at the end of the movie (reduce the number of users of magic), that crusade will probably set him against [[Series/AgentsOfSHIELD Ghost Rider]] sooner or later. Not a guy who learned tricks from some ancient book, but an actual creature literally from Hell. And the Ghost Rider will want some words with him, too, as the event of the last stinger is clearly something that requires vengeance.
81	** Ghost Rider tends to take vengeance on people who are doing things that they know are wrong. Even his penance stare relies on the target not believing themself to be absolutely justified, as Mordo does. But it won't matter, since Mordo will not be hunting Ghost Rider. Mordo is hunting his fellow sorcerers, believing that sorcery is, ultimately a misuse of magic. Ghost Rider is, by definition, ''given'' the powers of hell, ''by hell'', to do exactly what Ghost Rider ''does'' do, most of the time.
82	** A more immediate consequence is his first victim: Pangborn. We don't know what Mordo did to him ''after'' returning him to his helpless state. If he killed him, Mordo murdered a defenseless man.
83	* Considering that both New York City and London have been the site of some nasty ''non-magical'' otherworldly incursions of late, any benefit that might once have come from siting the Sanctums in major urban ley-line nexus points may have outlived its worth. Even before Kaecilius' treachery, Kamar-Taj has nearly lost the former Sanctum to the Chitauri and/or a World Security Council nuke, and the latter to an OmnicidalManiac dark elf, just in the last few years. And who's to say that HYDRA - who'd acknowledged magic pretty much from day one, thanks to Red Skull's cockamamie obsessions - didn't have the Masters on its blast-'em-from-orbit list, too? Restricting their attentions to ''supernatural'' antagonists may have been a very bad policy to maintain into the 20th and 21st centuries, leaving the magicians more vulnerable to becoming collateral damage in a sci-fi battle than they'd ever suspected.
84	** However, this may be in the process of being subverted by Strange himself: By ''Film/ThorRagnarok'', Dr. Strange is meeting with Thor, an Avenger that fits within his 'mystical' bailiwick. It could be that with Strange poised to become the Sorcerer Supreme, the office could begin to include non-mystical threats as well.
85	*** In fact, the idea that nonmagical invasions were a threat has been jossed by The Ancient One's final conversation with Doctor Strange. She mentions having seen what would happen "up to this point" countless times. She knows the timeline up to and past the attacks on New York and London, so she already knows that the Avengers form and succeed in New York, and that Thor and Loki return to save London.
86	*** Plus, it was jossed even further in ''Endgame''. It explicitly shows the Sanctum Sanctorum during the New York invasion, completely untouched, with The Ancient One on the roof lending a hand to the Avengers without them even realising it, taking out the passing aliens with ease. Later, the other sorcerers from Kamar Taj gather and use portals to bring everyone from Wakanda and Titan to the battlefield in Upstate New York, and also cast shields to protect the battlefield when Thanos calls in an airstrike in an attempt to take out Wanda.
87	* Strange's plan to trap Dormammu in a time loop until he agrees to a bargain could have backfired horribly. Dormammu keeps trying to just kill Strange outright, which of course doesn't work. What would have happened if instead of killing him, Dormammu decided to ''torture'' him? A being like this can certainly inflict [[AgonyBeam agonizing pain]] on Strange without doing any physical damage, and as soon as he either dies from sheer stress, or deliberately resets the loop, the agony starts all over again. Everyone has a breaking point, no matter how stubborn, and Strange would eventually reach his.
88	** The time loop may be designed to reset every few minutes, regardless of whether Strange lives or dies. Or maybe Strange knows a "suicide spell" he can use to escape torture. There are plenty of ways out of this, but the film doesn't spell one out explicitly.
89	** It is stated that Strange remember and experience each and every single killing attempts that Dormammu did on him and regardless of the exact times regarding the number of times that Dormammu kills Strange, this definitely puts a huge dent onto Strange's mentality. Strange could actually suffer from PTSD from being killed over and over and with only Wong and the Cloak for companionship, who would be able to help him overcome such traumas?
90	** Torture is pain + time. The former, Dormammu would know about. But the latter, Dormammu doesn't understand. If Dormammu doesn't understand time well, he probably doesn't understand the concept of torture very well either.
91	*** Besides all of which, Doctor Strange ''doesn't'' have a breaking point. The whole point of the time loop was that, if Dormammu ''didn't'' stop hurting and killing Doctor Strange over and over again, then that is also fine since it would trap Dormammu with Doctor Strange in that short span of looped time, forever. Dormammu would still not be able to take over the Earth. Doctor Strange ''intentionally'' went in, knowing that he could suffer and die over and over again for eternity, because that would mean that Earth was saved.
92	* When Strange and Palmer tell the gunshot victim's family that they saved his life, it’s presented as a happily-ever-after moment. But after the brain has been deprived of oxygen for that long, the brain damage is inevitably severe, and he might be better off dead.
93	** They had actually called brain death. The body itself was still alive and pumping blood, which is why they were wheeling him in for organ donation.
94	* It looks like Mordo might have been convinced to stay with Strange and be a bit more flexible regarding the natural law right up until the Hong Kong Sanctum is preserved and the Zealots are toast. He fights the Zealots and Kaecilius even as the natural law is in the process of being broken. He even tells Strange to get up and fight when the Zealots have them cornered outside of time. The straw that broke the camel's back was that Strange went and made a deal with Dormammu. Mordo has no way of knowing for sure what was agreed to; for all he knows, Strange is doing the same thing the Ancient One did. There's no way Mordo will stay with Strange, always wondering what the hell the bargain was.
95	* Mordo is astonished at Strange’s ability to master the mystic arts so quickly. It seems there are very few minds on the planet capable of what Strange does. Incredibly lucky coincidence, then, that one should happen to show up at the door of Kamar-Taj just when they need him... or is it? Could the Ancient One have had a hand in the events leading him to her? Could the “accident” that destroyed his hands actually have been a controlled event?

Context Fridge / DoctorStrange2016