Summary: Flashbacks show one of Adrian's servants impregnating herself with Adrian's sperm. Years later, Trieu comes to Antarctica to visit Adrian, revealing herself as his daughter. Adrian lets her in due to her intelligence and Trieu reveals her plan to take Dr. Manhattan's power and hopes Adrian will fund her. Adrian refuses. On Europa, Trieu's satellite has seen Adrian's message and she sends a probe to bring him back to Earth. Adrian leaves, frozen in gold to preserve himself until he gets back. In the present, Adrian is defrosted by Trieu. Meanwhile, Jon is transported into the 7K's base where Keene is prepared to take his powers. Angela finds the location and bursts in but is outnumbered. She tries to tell Keene about Trieu's plan but he doesn't listen and tries to take Jon's powers. However, Trieu and her people teleport to the 7K location and Keene is liquefied. Jon uses Keene's remains to teleport Adrian, Laurie and an undercover Wade to Antarctica. Honouring her deal with Will, Trieu murders the entirety of the 7K. Trieu takes away Jon's power and he dies. Meanwhile, Adrian decides to use his squidfall on Trieu's location, freezing the squids to make them lethal. They fall and Trieu is killed. Angela runs and makes it tot he theater where Will and her kids are waiting. She eventually makes peace with Will. Adrian is knocked out by Wade and Laurie prepares to apprehend him. Angela remembers Jon talking about all of his powers possibly being in an egg and she finds an egg in her kitchen. She eats it and checks to see if she can now walk on water.
The Good: I liked the reveals that kicked off the episode. I do like the twist that Trieu is Adrian's daughter and it nicely explains how she has been so knowledgeable and rich throughout the series. It also leads to a pretty good dynamic between her and Adrian which I enjoyed throughout the episode. Her motives finally become clear as evidently she was cloning her mother and bringing back her father so they could all witness her achievement. But bringing Adrian back ended up being her undoing. It's simple but effective storytelling. I also really like the detail that the gold statue we saw several episodes back was actually Adrian all along. The conclusion of Adrian's time on Europa was surprisingly solid. We finally got some answers on the game warden and why Adrian wasn't allowed to leave. He did it to himself in search of a worthy adversary since he was deathly bored on Europa since everything was so perfect. It's a sensible character development and it resulted in a surprisingly poignant send-off for the game warden who ended up being quite the interesting character. The rest of the episode had moments that I really loved. The highlight had to be Angela and Will's scene in the theater which neatly closed off their character arcs with the two of them finally coming together and giving each other the peace that they sorely needed. I also really liked the reveal of Keene's plan and how he learned that Cal was Dr. Manhattan. The details all added up, and just about every little question I had was neatly wrapped up. I also really liked Jon's death and I thought that it was a powerful send-off for the character. Lastly, I appreciate the irony of Adrian finally getting out of his decade-long imprisonment only to be arrested by Laurie. It was a sensible conclusion for the character. The part of the episode that really stood out was the ending. Coming back around to the idea of Jon leaving his powers behind was a really smart idea and it ended the show on a perfect note, wondering if Angela received his powers or not. I think she definitely did since it fits perfectly with everything Jon was doing in the last episode (Ex. he said that seeing Jon on the pool would be important for Angela later). I really like this ending and I think it serves as a lovely segue into the next chapter of Angela's life which may see her doing what Jon didn't by using her powers to help humanity. The Bad: The layers and layers of twists do get old eventually. This show reminds me a lot of "Westworld" which similarly relied on surprise twists and tight, satisfying writing to please the viewers. But just having that and not having a consistent emotional core to the story hurts the show and that is what happened here. Once all the mystery was gone, the only things I cared about were Angela's relationships with Will and Jon. Everything else was quite uninteresting to me and so I found it difficult to invest in the conclusion of this story because it all felt rather hollow. Even though there were fun twists and mysteries to solve throughout the seaosn, I can't help but feel that a simpler approach to this story and its characters could have made this finale feel more intense and emotional. The climax of the episode felt rather anticlimactic. For a show that was packed with unexpected twists and turns, the climax had none of those and was as predictable and generic as possible. There wasn't any drama to everything that happened in the climactic 30 minutes, so I felt an emotional disconnect when watching Trieu's plan unfold before being foiled by the main characters. The villains felt incredibly hollow. Trieu was only interesting because of the mystery surrounding her. Once that was gone, she became incredibly bland. Keene was never interesting since he was a boring white supremacist with absolutely no depth at all. This one-dimensional character never engaged me and I did not care at all when he died. How did he die anyways? I have no idea and I feel like the episode should have shown his death in a better way. Wade and Laurie had shockingly little to do in this episode. They were essentially just along for the ride and the writers couldn't come up with anything interesting for them to do in this final episode, which is a poor way of handling supporting characters. What's even more unforgivable is that Angela, the main lead of the show, is relegated to a passive role in this final episode. She does nothing for the story at all! That's a very poor use of the main character in the climactic moments of the show to have her do nothing of substance at all. It was very disappointing. The frozen squidfall was really strange. It completely destroyed Trieu's device and went straight through her hand, yet Angela can run through the rain with only a small bit of protection and be fine somehow. It was very inconsistent and took me out of the episode. The Unknown: Did Angela get Jon's powers? What will she do with them? Best Moment: Angela and Will in the theater. Character of the Episode: Angela. Conclusion: This was a mixed bag of a finale. On one hand, the show hit us with one last twist, satisfyingly answered questions and had a couple of great moments. But on the other, this episode was simple, predictable, unfulfilling and didn't utilize much of its cast in meaningful ways. In the end, this was a fine enough conclusion to the show. The show overall was alright. This show is the perfect example of why I don't like to use my season/series average scores to judge the overall quality of a show because it is quite off-base for this show. This show is not as good as the average score will make it out to be. It is plain to tell that this show was created based off of 3 brilliant story ideas: visiting the psyche of a survivor of the giant squid in 1985, examining if Hooded Justice was black, and showing us a love story for Dr. Manhattan. The episodes focused on these ideas were wonderful and easily the best parts of the show. But the sum of the parts does not hold up very well. These 3 episodes were awesome but everything else in the show did not live up to my expectations. It was too convoluted at first, and then it became too simple and unemotional in the end. I can comfortably say that I found the show to be simply decent overall, but that it did supply some of the greatest TV episodes in the last few years, and that is what I'm going to remember it for. Score: 60
1 Comment
Summary: In a flashback, Jon (Dr. Manhattan) meets Angela in a bar and proclaims that he loves her since he can "see" the future because he experiences all of time at once. He eventually convinces her to go out with him. They are happy for a while and Angela decides to get him to take the form of the deceased man Cal in order to blend in with society. After about 6 months, they fight and Jon goes to meet Adrian. Adrian gives Jon a device to allow him to forget who he is so he can live properly with Angela. In exchange, Jon teleports Adrian to a perfect world he has created on Europa. In the present, Jon wakes up confused. Angela talks to him and it's revealed that Jon went to talk with Will shortly before forgetting everything. Angela asks him to ask Will how he knew Judd had KKK robs in his closet, creating a paradox. Jon reveals that he knows he will be teleported away by the 7K and killed but Angela refuses to accept it and fights for him. Jon saves her and fights but he ultimately gets teleported away. Elsewhere, Adrian has been imprisoned and he speaks with the game warden who leaves him a cake. The cake has a horseshoe which Adrian has been using to dig a hole out of his prison.
The Good: Another excellent episode. This show seems like it was created solely because there were ideas for these one-off episodes. There was the excellent episode about Wade, the all-time great story about Will and Hooded Justice, and now this wonderful love story between Angela and the all-powerful Jon. Each of these episodes provide unique and engaging experiences and they have been the definitive highlights of the series so far. Standalone episodes like this that get you invested in the characters and the story can make TV shows feel so special because this experience is so unlike anything else you can find. This episode finally introduced us to Dr. Manhattan who has been hyped up since the start of the series. Since I haven't read the comics, I was incredibly impressed by the idea of this character. Jon feels like an ordinary man with personality, yet the way he acts and speaks makes it evident that he has godly powers. He's a decent man, but he's one who has been gifted the ability to experience all of time at once as well as many other abilities. This is such a wonderfully creative concept for a superhero and this episode utilizes it perfectly, particularly the way he experiences time. The entire episode is spent jumping around many different time periods and it is magical to watch. The way it is structured is inherently messy, but it's stitched together by the idea that this is what Jon is experiencing. He is experiencing his whole life in this disjointed manner with time not being a straight line for him, so it engages the viewer into the experience even more by having us visualize time like he does. It's a really impressive way to tell a story, and it's a testament to how good the outstanding editing team behind this series really is. But this episode wasn't just plot explaining how Jon's powers work. It was a much more personalized experience than that. It was a simple love story between two characters who ended up having one of the most unique relationships I have ever seen. And it was simply wonderful to watch. I didn't expect that I would care this much for a relationship that was established so quickly, but the episode does a fantastic job of showing us what these characters like about each other and why they fell in love. I though it was a fantastic idea to have the episode be almost completed before we finally understand what it was that made Jon fall in love with Angela to begin with, and I thought that it was very sweet that Jon loved her simply because she was willing to stand up and fight for him despite him being a godly being. Even with all of his powers, she still decided that she had to help him. The story here is told nearly perfectly, and I really enjoyed this experience. And the ending was really well done too. We knew from the onset that the ending was going to be tragic (Jon said so himself), so the difficult part was making us care about this relationship so that this inevitable tragic ending would hit hard. And the show succeeded at this in flying colours. By the time the end of the episode came by, I was dreading the end of this relationship and it was genuinely sad at the end to see Jon get teleported away. The decision to consistently show scenes from their first meeting through the bar ended up being a fantastic choice since it really added to the emotion of this ending while also allowing us chances to reflect on how far these characters have come and how lengthy and complex of a love story we just witnessed. I also really liked how much this episode explains about the show. Almost every remaining question I had was answered in this episode. The biggest answers being for questions regarding Jon, Will's motives and just about everything regarding Adrian. While I liked getting answers for Will and Jon, the answers surrounding Adrian pleased me the most. Finally we have a full picture of what this character is and what he has been doing on Europa. I thought the scene between Jon and Adrian was great. Since I haven't read the comics, I'm not familiar with what their relationship is like, but I really enjoyed their interactions in this episode. I liked that a weapon intended to cripple Jon was used to help him, and I also liked that Adrian's current imprisonment was his own choice and that what seemed like an attractive decision ended up being a horrible choice that led to him wasting his life away. Just like in "This Extraordinary Being", the acting, directing and editing was outstanding in this episode. It was very well put together and felt surprisingly cinematic. Lastly, I'm a big fan of puns so I can comfortably say that this has to be one of my personal favourite episode titles. It makes me wonder if Angela's last name was decided specifically to make this episode title work. The Bad: This episode makes one big mistake and that's introducing a paradox into the story. I was really impressed with how Jon's powers were integrated into the story naturally with some clarity on how they work. Jon can see and experience everything but he can't change anything because of the way he perceives time. In his case it has already happened, so even though he knows what happens next, he can't change it. This was a sensible way to have time travel and it makes perfect sense. But then for whatever reason, the show went out of its way to introduce a paradox when it really didn't need one. It takes away from the brilliant way that the episode introduced time-travelling elements and I don't think that this paradox adds enough story value to be justified. In the end, it was a poor decision. The Unknown: For once I don't have much for this section. This episode had answers galore and didn't raise many questions at all. What have Will and Trieu been doing this whole time? What are they going to do in the finale? Where did the 7K take Jon? Will Angela be able to see him again? Will Adrian finally be able to escape Europa? What is his role in the story? The finale is next and he still hasn't connected up with the main story. Best Moment: Jon tragically being teleported away, while at a different point in time he finally gets Angela to agree to dinner with him. It was such a sad end to their story, a story which had been nearly perfectly executed, to build up to this tragic conclusion. It's amazing how much I care about this relationship after just this one episode, and it's a testament to how good this was. Character of the Episode: Jon. Conclusion: This was another masterful standalone episode. While not quite as good as "This Extraordinary Being", this was another creative experience, giving us a highly personalized view at the love story between Angela and Jon. I absolutely loved this. Score: 85 Summary: Flashbacks show Angela's past. Her parents were killed by a bomb in Vietnam, her grandma came to bring her back to Tulsa but she died of a heart attack right after they met. In the present, Angela wakes up to Trieu giving her treatment for consuming Will's nostalgia. Angela talked a lot while she was out and Laurie has pieced together the story of Cyclops. She goes to Jane to tell her that she thinks 7K is Cyclops under a different name but Jane traps and captures her, revealing herself as a 7K member. Meanwhile, Bian runs some tests on Angela's mind. Trieu talks to her for a bit but leaves for the grand opening of the Millennium Clock. Angela gets out and explores the facility, discovering that all of the Dr. Manhattan booths are connected to Trieu. Trieu finds her and tells her that Dr. Manhattan is actually in Tulsa pretending to be human, and that the 7K are planning to capture him to take his power. Angela runs away and goes back to Cal who is revealed to be Dr. Manhattan. Angela knows who he is and takes a device out of his head, turning Cal into Dr. Manhattan. Elsewhere, Adrian is determined to be guilty by the game warden.
The Good: I really liked the editing of this episode and how Angela's memories and Will's memories were spliced together, allowing us to experience Angela's identity confusion with her. It was a clever idea and executed really well. Furthermore, getting a look at Angela's memories like this provided a natural way to explore her tragic backstory with how she was always alone and never had anyone to care for her, explaining the trauma that made her so angry. I like the consistency with how this show examines its themes about superheroes. The show has taken its perspective and continues to reinforce the message it has for us in new and unique ways. I really liked the exposition we got in this episode. Finally things seem to be clear about almost everyone. Courtesy of Laurie's scenes, we now completely understand what the 7K are up to. The twist that Jane is a member was well executed, and we finally get a full reading of what they are after: ruling America and making Senator Keene a god. Furthermore we also learn how Will and Trieu are opposing the 7K's goals and are making efforts to stop them. These reveals work well because they help bring the story together in a satisfying way while finally letting us know what these mysterious characters are all about. The Cal twist surprised me. I didn't see it coming at all since I assumed that Dr. Manhattan was on Mars this whole time, and the idea that he has been right in front of us the entire time as a background character is quite the twist. And it seems like Angela was aware of this too (see: The Unknown) which is a very interesting development. I'm excited to see what comes next and what kind of a role Dr. Manhattan will play in the story as a character. I look forward to finally meeting him in the next episode, and the cliffhanger has me very excited. The Bad: This was very much a transitional episode. That doesn't make it bad, but it makes it very unspectacular. This episode was all about laying down exposition for the story while giving us Angela's backstory to make it more engaging. It's a fine watch but you can clearly tell that the main purpose of this episode is to hype up the next 2 episodes rather than telling its own story. I still find Trieu and Keene to be very two dimensional characters. They have been framed as important but there isn't anything about their motives that particularly interest me now that things have been revealed. I suppose that's why there has been so much mystery in this main storyline, it's an attempt to hide how simplistic and boring these character motivations really are. Trieu's motives may still be interesting, but at the moment she seems like a pretty bland character. I hope we get some time dedicated to her in these final episodes. There were some things in this episode that bothered me. For one, Laurie getting to learn everything because Angela talked in her sleep was highly convenient and it felt like far too simple of a development to be satisfying. It feels like the writers needed Laurie to know this stuff, so they found a cheap way for her to already know rather than make the character do anything to earn this information. Following this, Laurie does a really stupid move and gets herself captured. For a really smart FBI agent, they portrayed her like an idiot in this episode and I didn't like that. Also, Angela being able to go around the Trieu facility so easily without anyone noticing didn't feel right. Surely security should be much better here. Also the door to the room with the elephant opening because the control panel was smashed is a stupid trope that I hate seeing in movies and TV shows. It makes no sense. Adrian's story in this episode wasn't very good. Not only does it continue to make little sense, but I'm struggling to find the purpose of his story, which is especially frustrating since just about everything else is becoming clear now. Watching this ridiculous and utterly confusing court scene tested my patience, and it was difficult to watch without knowing any of the stakes or consequences to Adrian's actions. I just couldn't get invested at all. The Unknown: What happened to Wade? Where did he go? It seems like he survived the attempt on his life. Why did the 7K try to kill him anyways? What does the Millennium Clock do? Why is Trieu trying to restore her mother using Nostalgia and cloning? What does she need her for? What are her current motives and goals? Is she simply trying to stop the 7K? It feels like she is up to something more. Dr. Manhattan is Cal! How did this happen? Angela apparently knew this all along. How does she know Dr. Manhattan? When did they meet? Why did she agree to this? What will happen now that Dr. Manhattan has revealed himself? Will he be able to stop the 7K? Best Moment: Trieu finally revealing everything to Angela. It was a good twist with the reveal that Dr. Manhattan is in Tulsa, and this moment finally cleared up almost all of the murkiness in the story. As a result, everything became clear for once, and it felt like I finally understood the stakes and motivations of the characters and I could finally connect with them. It took a while, but finally the confusion has gone away and I feel like I'm watching a proper story now. Character of the Episode: Angela. Conclusion: This was a transitional episode with several flaws, but it also had some good reveals and a well-edited story showcasing Angela's past. The episode was good, just there was nothing at all special about it. Score: 64 Summary: Laurie tries to get Angela to agree to treatment but she passes out and finds herself reliving Will's life. Will becomes a cop in 1938 and is warned to beware of Cyclops. Will arrests a white man, Fred, who burns down a Jewish store but is surprised to learn that his fellow cops set him free. Will comes in angrily but is calmed down and sent to continue his day. Later, the white cops kidnap Will and threaten him by hanging him before cutting him down. On his way home, Will saves innocent women from an attack, becoming Hooded Justice. He returns home and admits to June that he's angry. Afterwards, Will makes an attack on Cyclops by finding out where Fred works. Will is met by Nelson who enlists him to form the New Minutemen. Later, Will discovers that Cyclops is using mind control on black people to get them to fight each other. He doesn't get any help from the Minutemen and investigate son his own, murdering an entire building full of Cyclops members. Will returns home and sees his son putting on his makeup and panics, screaming at him. June decides to leave him after this, seeing that the anger has taken over him. The flashbacks jump to years later, showing that Will used the Cyclops mind control to get Judd to hang himself. In the present, Angela wakes up next to Lady Trieu.
The Good: Well here it is. It was only a matter of time before a Damon Lindelof show goes completely insane with an episode hyper-focused on a single character, whose story is told in a meaningful and creative way, making for a very memorable experience. This episode channeled the same feeling as other outstanding episodes like "The Constant" and "International Assassin" and had its own spin on the formula to create an equally riveting piece of television. The examination of Will in this episode was nothing short of phenomenal. He has been such a mystery so far, so it was fascinating to pull back the curtain on his life and see what he's all about. And true to what this show has been about so far, Will is all about anger. Anger is what fuels him, and throughout this episode it is about the only emotion he seems to feel. Going through what he has, it's easy to understand his rage, and there were many horrifying moments in this episode that really accentuated why Will has every right to be upset and take vengeance on the racists in Cyclops. But if things were so black and white, this episode would not be interesting. Getting justice may be good for the world but it certainly isn't good for Will or his family, and that leads to the depressing end of the episode where Will seemingly loses faith in the Minutemen, and in his rage, he loses his own family. The episode has shown how supportive June was of him, but Will never seems to give anything back to her. And when their son is born, Will is as neglectful of a dad as he could possibly be, leading to a shocking scene where his son puts on the Hooded Justice makeup, forcing Will to look at the horrifying legacy he is leaving behind. And it's this moment that finally alienates June, leaving Will to live out his life as a lonely man, still bent on getting justice against Cyclops and nothing more. It's a sad story to watch and it's paced and executed to perfection to make us sympathize with the character and feel the struggle that he does. This nicely fits with the theme of racism and with the stories that are being told in the present day. Anger has been on display throughout the show on a consistent basis, and the show is plainly sending the message that angry vigilantism is not true justice. Here we see Will taking out Cyclops with pure rage, but they don't ever go away. There's no change and all that happens is that Will loses who he is and loses his family. This nicely ties in with the present day story where Angela is one of several characters who are also fueled by anger, wanting nothing less than to murder all the racists to solve their problems. But if there's one thing that Will's story tells us, it's that this type of justice is no true justice at all and that more needs to be done to solve these problems. The examination of these themes in this episode only added on to what was already a great experience. Something that I thought was really impressive was the episode's outlook on superheroes. Once more we see that the masks are worn to hide trauma. Will wears the Hooded Justice mask to hide his own identity and his pain, pretending to be a white man to push his own pain to the side so he can be something that he's not: a hero. The show has painted its heroes in a consistently gray perspective and it does so here again. And Will is not the only example. Captain Metropolis is another example of this, as despite being a hero he turns his back on racism, only willing to push forward his own agenda for the people rather than doing something genuinely helpful to society. His story isn't fully fleshed out and I would like to know more, but I get the feeling that I will have to read the comics to learn more about him. The reveal that Will was Hooded Justice was really well done. It's a very unique take on this character to have him be black the entire time, and I've learned that this was a unique take from this show, not part of the original Watchmen comics. I really love this idea and I think that it's the kind of bold story choice that justifies the existence of this show as a Watchmen property. This is somebody with a vision enacting the story that they had in mind. Now is a great time to bring up the American Hero Story TV show segments that had been shown in previous episodes up until this point. I'm very grateful that we were shown these scenes because they informed me about who Hooded Justice and the Minutemen were. Without them I would have been legitimately confused about Will's identity and who Hooded Justice was. What we were shown ended up being just enough for me to understand the weight of the Hooded Justice identity reveal, while also making it a pleasant surprise to learn that Will used to be one of the vigilante superheroes of the past. I also thought that these sequences were plain fun as I really enjoyed seeing a TV show within a TV show that was shot in a completely different style from everything else. The scenes were fun while also giving me some important story details without me even realizing it. The overall presentation of this episode was astonishing and was one of the biggest highlights of the episode. The filming was top notch, and I was almost always impressed by one thing or the other. Be it the impressive switching between Will and Angela's face or something like the astonishing POV shot of Will being hanged, I was almost always in awe at the style in which this episode was filmed. I also thought that the black and white filter was an inspired choice and that it worked really well for this story. The Bad: Nothing was bad. I suppose that the one thing this episode was missing was a single moment that really made me feel something for Will. The episode had several fantastic scenes but nothing quite went far enough to make me feel as much as the aforementioned episodes "The Constant" and "International Assassin" did. The Unknown: Was there a greater purpose to Nostalgia? Why did Trieu make it? What happened to Angela while she was unconscious? How did Trieu get her? Will Angela be affected by this experience? What is Will's current agenda? Why did he murder Judd specifically? Does he have a plan to take down Cyclops/the 7K? Best Moment: Will finally snapping and murdering everyone in the building before coming home and lashing out at his own son. It's horribly sad to see this man cave in and let anger completely dominate who he is, ruining his life in the process. Character of the Episode: Will. Conclusion: What a phenomenal piece of television. This was absolutely superb from start to finish, giving us a highly personal experience with Will while also giving us big reveals, a compelling story and one of the most memorable television experiences I have had. Add on the outstanding acting, editing, cinematography and overall presentation of the episode, and you have one hell of an experience. Score: 87 Summary: Flashbacks show that Wade was in New York when Adrian dropped a giant squid on the city, killing 3 million people. In the present, Laurie calls Wade into her office, having planted a bug on his desk. She requests that he inform her about the pills Angela is hiding but he refuses since it's personal. At home, Wade's extra dimensional security breaks down and he is frustrated. It's revealed that he always has some form of reflectatine to protect himself from psychic blasts. Wade goes to a support group and meets Renee. They hook up but Wade realizes she is part of the 7K so he follows her to their hideout where they are testing out some kind of portal. Senator Keene is part of 7K. It's revealed to be a trap and Wade is captured and offered by Keene to get Angela off of the board and in exchange he will show him something. Wade is shown a video by Adrian, revealing that the giant squid was his doing to unite people and prevent nuclear war. The squidfall is also his doing, and he is also the one who made Redford the president. Shaken by what he has seen, Wade goes through with selling out Angela and Laurie comes in to arrest her. Angela swallows all of the pills at once. Wade returns home, and thinks about getting rid of his extra dimensional security but changes his mind. The 7K pull up to his house with loaded guns. Elsewhere, Adrian is catapults himself out of imprisonment. He is revealed to be on a moon orbiting Jupiter, and he has been using bodies to spell out the message "save me". However, he is pulled back in by the game warden who arrests him.
The Good: This episode dove deep into the psyche of Wade which I really enjoyed. This show hasn't delved too deep into characters up until this point, so I was both surprised and pleased to get an episode entirely centered around Wade and his struggles. Wade ended up being a really interesting character. Previous episodes hinted at how paranoid he is about another giant squid coming, but this episode really dived into that paranoia. We learn that Wade never goes anywhere without reflectatine coating his head, even without his mask he has a hat which is lined with it. Furthermore, he frequently runs emergency drills for potential squidfall to ensure that he will be safe from it if it ever happens again. I thought that this fear was presented to us in a logical way. First we see the cause of his fear with the fantastic flashback sequence to kick off the episode, while also giving us the memorable visual of the giant squid in the middle of New York City. Then afterwards we get the suggestion from Laurie that Wade is not past his trauma yet, and she even enforces the show's theme of masked superheroes hiding personal trauma by putting the idea in our head that Wade only joined the police force so that he could have a reason to hide in reflectatine all day, an idea that is all but confirmed as the episode goes on. But Wade denies all of this. He tells Laurie he is past his trauma and even tells the support group that he's out of the tunnel. But he says all of this wearing reflectatine on his head the entire time, and his actions at his own house suggest that he is just another man troubled by the pain he suffered in the past. Wade's arc ties nicely into the plethora of reveals we get when he explored the 7K's hideout. There are several questions raised about their motives (see: The Unknown), but this episode answers just about every question I had about the squidfall and the mysterious giant squid event that took place in 1985, and giving really satisfying reveals for every answered question. Furthermore, these answers don't only service the plot, but they also service the arc that Wade goes through. Wade has held onto his trauma for 30 years, unable to let it go, but here he discovers that it was all a hoax and he shouldn't have been so scared about the squids since it was a trick this entire time. This is a huge revelation for him that puts him into huge inner conflict, which we see explored as the episode goes on as he betrays Angela. But it looks like he has made the wrong choice as not only has he sold out his friend, but it looks like he might have to pay for his mistake with his life. Another wonderful piece of character work is when Wade thinks about tossing his extra dimensional security, but goes back to get it. There are some habits that you just can't toss away so quickly. It's a lovely examination of this character, and it by far the most compelling content we've gotten from this show so far. The reveals in this episode were really strong. I've already touched on the reveals surrounding the squid, and I think they are brilliant. The video recorded by Adrian was an absolute highlight of the episode, so densely packed with information to analyze in order for us to better understand the story. In some ways it reminded me of the outstanding orientation video from "Lost". The other key reveal was that Senator Keene is actually working with the 7K. This is a big surprise and it brings a lot into play about prior scenes in the show and what his motivation is. Plus we also got it confirmed that Judd was part of the 7K and that the two of them were apparently working to keep the peace. I'm intrigued to learn more about how the 7K operate and that little bits of information we got here were wonderful. The Bad: I didn't connect with Wade's key decision as much as I should have. The episode had a lot to do, so much that I think it wasn't able to spend as much time with Wade's choice of betraying Angela as it should have. I wasn't as in-tune with the characters thoughts and emotions as I had hoped. The show is still a bit frustrating to go through. This episode was excellent but it is hurt by the fact that I wasn't particularly invested in the show in the previous 4 episodes, only intrigued. I feel that this could have been a better episode if prior episodes had built up the world and characters in a more compelling way up until this point. I thought that the Adrian scenes were out of place here. In an episode entirely focused on Wade it felt strange to switch over to what Adrian was doing, and it hurt my investment in Wade's story when I was suddenly ripped out of it and sent somewhere else. The Unknown: What are Senator Keene's goals? Why is he part of the 7K? What are they planning to do with the portal? Why did they go to kill Wade at the end of the episode? Is it because he knew too much? Did they succeed? Why was Keene involved in some of the events from previous episodes? Why did he send Laurie to investigate in Tulsa? And why did he allow himself to be threatened by a fellow 7K member at the funeral? So Nostalgia are pills containing memories. Does this mean that Will gave Angela his own memories? What happens now that she swallowed all of his pills? Will she essentially be living his life now? What's going to happen to her now that she has done this? Also she's now arrested. What is Laurie going to do with her. So Adrian is on a moon orbiting Jupiter. Why? What is he doing so far away? Who is keeping him there? Who is this game warden exactly? Who is he asking to save him? It looks like there was more he had written that wasn't shown. What else did he write? Best Moment: Adrian's video was a wonderful piece of television. A ton of important answers were revealed in this video, but on top of that, it was a pivotal moment for Wade who realized that everything he had believed in for so long was just a hoax. His entire world came down in front of him during this video, and it was amazing to watch. Character of the Episode: Wade. Conclusion: This was a great episode. We got a lot of big reveals and important plot details while also being taken on a compelling character journey as we explored Wade who turned out to be a really interesting character. Though the episode is hurt by how messy and confusing the show has been up until this point, I still think that it was really well done and I had a blast watching it. Score: 72 Summary: Lady Trieu buys a farm property where something falls from space. Angela works on disposing the evidence that Will was in her bakery. She returns to the heritage center to view her family tree but is shaken by a loud sound. She goes outside to find her car and Laurie standing with it. Angela finds some pills in the glovebox and hides them. Angela enlists Wade to help her find out what the pills are. While disposing evidence, Angela is seen by a mysterious man. When she goes into work, she finds out that Laurie is her new boss, and Laurie is onto Will after discovering his prints on Angela's car. Laurie, Angela and Petey go to the Millennium Clock to meet with Lady Trieu. Will is in contact with Trieu. Angela learns that Laurie knows about her history with Cal, and confronts Cal about speaking with her. Trieu discusses her plan with Will. Elsewhere, Adrian gets fetuses from a lake and forms them into more clones, more determined to escape.
The Good: The opening sequence was really interesting. This was a brilliant way to introduce another important character, and the scene really allows Trieu to shine. She's clearly quite intelligent and accomplished, yet she is polite and likes to crack jokes as she goes about her business, almost like she enjoys toying with other people. She is really engaging, and watching her manipulate the couple to get what she wants is fascinating. Plus, this opening sequence raises even more intriguing questions as the mystery of this world gets more and more complex. I enjoyed the tensions between Laurie and Angela throughout this episode. I have always enjoyed crime dramas, so it's really fun to watch Angela try to escape as Laurie puts her in increasingly uncomfortable positions. In this episode, Laurie both becomes Angela's boss unexpectedly and brings her along for her investigation, which leads to some unexpected developments with Trieu. One detail I really liked was how the car falling at the end of the previous episode that Laurie thought was meant for her was actually for Angela instead. It was a nice little twist from what we expected, which allowed the show to touch on an idea that was heavily explored in "The Leftovers". I've really enjoyed seeing how Lindelof's work on "The Leftovers" is reflected in this show. The Bad: This episode falls a bit flat. This is an episode that needed to exist with the characters more established than they currently are, because it was difficult to care about the stories being told here. The main problem is Angela, who was very much the centerpiece of this episode. We know such little about her that it's hard to invest in her conflicts and decisions when they come up. There are two key problems that come with this. For one, we have no real idea why Angela isn't telling Laurie anything. Sure, she doesn't trust her, but why? Why doesn't she trust Laurie? And why does she need to protect Will as well? Is it because he is family? If that's the case, the show has done a woeful job of illustrating that this is Angela's motive, and as a result I'm really disconnected with Angela's overall story. Another big problem comes from the scene between Angela and Cal. We have had lots of scenes with Angela's family so far, with Topher, Cal and the other daughters. But they haven't really done much for me since I don't care very much about these characters and their relationships. This very much feels like the situation from "The Leftovers" season 1 where the Garvey family were completely unengaging until the full story was revealed at the end of the season. I feel like once we learn about Angela's story, this will be fine. But since we don't know her story, these early episodes aren't compelling at all. The Angela/Cal scene I specifically wanted to mention is when Angela asked him what he told Laurie. We don't know why Cal telling information to Laurie would be dangerous, and that's a problem because we don't understand the stakes of the conversation we are watching. Furthermore, Cal says he lied to Laurie, yet we never find out what he said. Are we really supposed to treat Cal talking to Laurie as a big deal if even the show doesn't seem interested in exploring it? The final scene of the episode really embodies my problems with the show so far. It's a very nicely acted scene with two enigmatic characters I'm interested in. But there's no substance to latch onto while they talk. It's just two characters vaguely talking about a plan that we know virtually nothing about, giving us tons of questions, but nothing else. It's very unsatisfying to watch these endless questions pop up, and I hope that the show starts focusing more on characters as we're almost halfway through the show's run and we still know very little. Adrian's scenes are still frustrating as well. We do still get some good reveals about the nature of his world, and I still do enjoy the mystery of his storyline. But when the rest of the episode is frustratingly vague, these confusingly artistic sequences only serve to test my patience and further annoy me. The Unknown: What was that meteor that landed in the Clark land? How did Trieu know it was coming? What is she going to do with it? Also, how did she make a baby for the Clarks? Was Lady Trieu the one who lifted Will then? Why is she working with him? How do they know each other? What is the deal they have? How is Will betraying Angela? What is Trieu's goal? What is the Millennium Clock for? Apparently Trieu is doing something with her daughter. What is she doing to her? How is it similar to what Will is doing to Angela? Who the heck is Lube Man? (as a side note, Red Scare is hilarious, I like him a lot) Why does Wade live in a bunker? Who is his ex? What are the pills that were given to Angela? Adrian says he was not the maker of the clones. Then who was? Best Moment: The unexpected opening sequence. Character of the Episode: Trieu. Conclusion: This was a frustrating episode. I enjoy mystery very much, and it can work really well in episodes like the previous one. However, this episode was too much mystery with too little story substance to tide us over. This was easily the least enjoyable episode of the series so far. Score: 54 Summary: In D.C., Agent Blake sets up a fake bank heist to take down a vigilante who has been going around the city. Later, Blake is met by Senator Keene who wishes for her to go to Tulsa, suspecting that Judd's death was the work of a vigilante. Blake brings another agent, Petey, with her to Tulsa. On the flight they see the Millennium Clock and Blake learns more about Petey, who reveals that he knows Blake used to be a hero. Upon arriving, Blake quickly interrogates Wade, learning that Judd's funeral is already happening, giving her very little chance to investigate the body. At the funeral, Blake introduces herself to Angela, knowing that she is Sister Night. Suddenly a 7K member arrives and threatens to blow up Senator Keene with a bomb. Blake shoots the 7K guy, but the bomb still goes off, and Angela saves everyone by throwing it in the grave and covering it with Judd's coffin. Blake speaks with Angela and reveals that she found Judd's secret compartment and passively threatens her. Throughout the episode there are scenes of Blake telling a joke to her ex Dr. Manhattan via a phone that goes to Mars. Blake leaves and suddenly Angela's car falls down right in front of her. Elsewhere, the master rides out in the countryside only to be reprimanded by the game warden. It turns out that his name is Adrian Veidt and he is imprisoned at this location.
The Good: 3 episodes in and already there is a formula break episode that centers on a completely new character that we haven't seen before. Lindelof did this in "The Leftovers" and he doesn't shy away from it here. The character of choice here is Laurie Blake who we learn a lot about in this episode as she is set up to be a potential foil for Angela. The character is really interesting and everything we learn about her is fascinating, certainly the best character work done all season. I love the idea of a former superhero who has soured on other people like her and as such is now specializing in vigilante hunting. She's a very interesting and complicated character who I suspect was explored more thoroughly in the comics that I have not yet read. But what I saw here was really engaging as Blake is set up as a thrilling rival for Angela. She's smart, experienced and ruthless in her approach and what comes next should make for some compelling viewing. Perhaps the most interesting part about her came from her relationship with Dr. Manhattan. The lengthy joke that she told him throughout the episode was incredibly interesting to me. Evidently, the heroes she mentioned in the story were all people who are established in the universe, and while I don't yet recognize all of them (see: The Unknown), this joke gave me tons of fascinating details about how the heroes operate and how things work in this world. But not only was this joke interesting and revealing of Blake's morals and value, I was also pleasantly surprised by the reveal that Blake used to be in a relationship with this Dr. Manhattan, the closest thing to a god in this universe. It was pretty sad to see her continuing to speak with him (if he's even listening), saddened by the fact that he has left, but understanding of why he has forsaken humanity. It's a very dreary perspective on humans as a whole, and it's a viewing that absolutely fascinates me. I can't wait to see more about Blake and Dr. Manhattan in future episodes. The show as a whole does have plenty of similarities in its approach to "The Leftovers". Not only from running a character centric episode like this, but also from telling its story in such a mysterious and convoluted way, encouraging us to analyze every scene in detail to get whatever information out of it that we can. In the first two episodes I have complained about it feeling like too much to be asked to invest without any engaging characters to help us through it. This episode helped repair this by centralizing on Blake and getting more information from her point of view while still raising more and more questions. I was thoroughly interested during the whole episode, which ended up being a spectacular example of how to reveal information about an unfamiliar world. I laughed when I saw that the mysterious contents of Blake's case was a vibrator that seems to be made to mimic Dr. Manhattan's manhood. That was quite possibly the last thing I was expecting to see in there, but it makes perfect sense considering Blake's relationship with Dr. Manhattan. The Bad: But not everything about the approach from "The Leftovers" works here, because it certainly did not entirely work in season 1 of that show. Despite my interest in the plot and the world, it feels like the show hasn't started to tell its story yet from an emotional perspective. I've only been engaged in a very basic level, invested in the plot and the world, but nothing has gotten me to engage with the characters or the story in a way that I get lost in them. In short, the show so far has felt hollow and flat in its storytelling structure, even though it has sucked me in with its world building. One key example would be the scenes with Adrian in this imprisonment of his (see: The Unknown). These scenes are well constructed and well acted, that's for sure, but they have utterly failed to emotionally engage me. In each episode they break the pacing of the story to offer me maybe one or two more answers, but in the process, they raise more and more questions. It's frustrating to see that the show hasn't even attempted to make me care about this character or his plight, whatever it may be (again, see: The Unknown). Instead the show is opting to test my patience with this strange storytelling. It's interesting, but I need something more engaging to latch onto in the early episodes of the show. Perhaps I am missing something from the comics, but even if I am I can't help but feel that knowing more information would only serve to make this storyline even more frustrating. That's because if you take out the mystery, there is nothing else left to make the Adrian story engaging. I do worry that this show is trying too hard to symbolic and artsy. At the moment I am only invested in the Blake storyline and the world, none of the other characters have piqued my interest yet. Symbolism is lovely to see in film, but it only works if there is a good story underneath. I hope that "Watchmen" proves that it is telling a worthwhile story instead of simply being artistic. The Unknown: Plenty in this section. What is the Millennium Clock? What is its purpose? Does it have a role to play in the story? Who were all of the people that were mentioned by Pete? Lady Trieu? Adrian Veidt? We learn that Adrian is the man in the castle we have seen in every episode so far. Why is he imprisoned? Who is holding him? It was stated earlier that Adrian has been declared dead. Is he actually dead? Where is he anyways? Why is he here? What did he do to merit imprisonment? Apparently Blake knows him and does not like him. Why? What is their history? Who were the three heroes mentioned in Blake's joke? The last one is certainly Dr. Manhattan. But who are the other two? I'm not yet sure about the first one, but I can guess that the second one might be Adrian. The way Blake described the character fits what we have seen from Adrian in his imprisonment. Apparently the second hero had teleported a giant squid into New York, murdering 3 million people to stop genocide. How did he do this? How did it stop genocide? Is this the reason why there is squidfall? If this hero is Adrian, could this mass genocide be the reason for his imprisonment? Was the falling car at the end the work of Dr. Manhattan? Why did he drop the car in front of Blake? What does this mean? Does this mean that Dr. Manhattan heard her? Why did he drop Angela's car though? Is he trying to help Blake? Does this mean that Dr. Manhattan is the one who lifted Will away in the previous episode? Are they working together? Best Moment: The end of Blake's call to Dr. Manhattan was a very sad moment for the character. Evidently she wants to be with him, but seeing that he has abandoned humanity evidently left a huge scar on Blake, causing her to seemingly forsake humanity as well. It's a fascinating bit of character work. Character of the Episode: Blake. Conclusion: This was a really interesting episode. The focus on Blake made for what was the most engaging episode yet, with some good character moments and lots of exciting answers about the world of "Watchmen". However, the show's continued emphasis on mystery and symbolism over story is getting frustrated, and even focusing on just a single character wasn't enough to overcome this problem. There needs to be more emphasis on characters and story for the show to hit that next level, and despite the exciting formula break in this episode, the flaws prevented it from being anything special. Score: 65 Summary: A flashback shows Will's father OB getting a letter which he keeps in his pocket. In the present, Angela smuggles Will away, not believing he killed Judd. Will claims to have psychic powers and that Judd was part of a conspiracy. Angela grieves and leaves Will in her bakery. The cops find Judd and Wade questions Angela. Angela reflects on the White Night, a day that 7K members coordinated a series of attacks on cops, killing dozens of them, forcing them to all wear masks to protect their identity. Angela barely survived the night. Red Scare goes to Nixonville to attack the white supremacists he suspects murdered Judd. Angela gets a DNA sample from Will and tests it at a center. She then goes to a wake for Judd and pretends to feint so she can investigate him. She discovers a KKK suit in his closet, which she takes before leaving. Angela returns to Will who has freed himself. She also learns that Will is her grandfather. She goes to turn Will in but suddenly her car is taken away by a magnet from the sky with Will inside. Elsewhere, the Master gets his servants to perform a play about Dr. Manhattan. His servants are revealed to be clones.
The Good: There's quite a bit to like about this. Will is a very interesting character already and I'm enjoying Louis Gossett Jr's performance. The character's arrival amped up the intrigue massively, and his relationship to Angela adds even more to an already exciting dynamic. Will single handedly drove the plot forwards in this episode, suggesting a deep conspiracy involving Tulsa which should be fun to explore. The first steps taken in this episode were through the reveal that Judd is likely part of 7K which took me by surprise. It seems that Will murdered him to make a statement against the 7K. The twist that Will is Angela's grandfather is an interesting one. We still know very little about Angela (which is consistent with the idea that these masked heroes are very defensive about their identity), so we don't fully understand the significance of this reveal yet. But I am certainly interested to get to know her family history a little bit. One scene in particular that stood out was when Angela moved Will into the car, which was framed as if she was giving him a loving hug. This suggests there are more family problems to this character than what meets the eye, and that she may be in dire need of a grandfather who cares for her. I was impressed with how the show conveyed this message to me through visuals alone rather than through exposition. I also really liked the flashback to the White Night which solves some of the early mysteries of the show. This nicely explains why the 7K are so feared and detested by the cops, since they have been shown to ruthlessly act against them and murder them. It also explains why Angela and Cal have adopted 3 white children, since they were Angela's partner's kids. I liked these answers and I thought that the White Night was presented to us in a pretty good way. I also liked what this flashback sequence did for Angela, suggesting that like all other masked heroes, what really fuels her is anger for what the 7K did and what they can do in the future. This idea that anger is what fuels heroes is an interesting one and I'm curious to see how the show explores it from here. The Bad: Unfortunately the perspective that this show takes is at odds with the message it is sending. It's difficult to root for the police to beat racism when in our world they are a primary cause of systemic racism. As such, it feels strange to root for the police to resolve racism, especially when there is explicit police brutality in this episode with Red Scare's attack on Nixonville. Additionally, the view that all racists are white supremacists is a very short-sighted perspective to take, and it does not do justice to the complexity of racism in society. As a result of these issues, it gets difficult to buy into the problems presented in the show and it's hard to root for the heroes to solve these problems. I think that this show hiding character from us will be a big problem. Keeping Angela as such a mystery seems like a big mistake since she is the main character of the story, and we view the show from her perspective in most scenes. Not knowing who she is and what she wants makes it difficult to fully invest. For example, it's very unclear why she didn't inform anyone about Judd's body and why she is hiding Will. Sure she knows he couldn't do it because he is really old, but he himself confessed! As a cop, surely she should be working to solve who really murdered Judd rather than attacking some white supremacists. It's unclear why she keeps all of this secret, and as such, I can't invest in her story since I don't understand why she is doing all of this. The Unknown: Who is Will? How did he hang Judd? Does he actually have powers? Who were his friends in "high places" that seemingly saved him at the end of the episode? How did they know where he was? Who is the master? What is this play? It seems to be telling the origin story of Dr. Manhattan. Why is this important? What is the significance of the watch? It seems that Mr. Phillips and Ms. Crookshanks are clones. How have clones been created? What is the master doing with them? Where is this all happening? Was Judd corrupt? Why was he fighting the 7K if he was one of them? Could the robes have been planted in his closet? Was he even an active member, or was it just an heirloom of some sort? It wasn't the Rorschach mask, it was the old school KKK outfit. Is this an important detail? Best Moment: Angela finding Judd's robes. It was a big reveal that opened up the story in a big way. Character of the Episode: Will. Conclusion: There wasn't a whole lot to this episode, but some questions got answered, the story was built up, and we learned more about the characters. A decent episode overall. Score: 61 Summary: A flashback to Tulsa in 1921 shows a black boy escape the 1921 Tulsa massacre. In 2019, a police officer pulls over a man suspected of being involved in the 7th Kavalry, a modern day KKK organization. The officer is shot but he lives. The police chief Judd is informed by this. Elsewhere, Angela is enjoying a quiet life with her family. However she is secretly a cop who hides her identity to remain safe. She learns of the 7K's return and brings in a suspect to the police. The suspect is questioned by Wade and beaten by Angela, revealing the 7K's location. The police attack the 7K and kill most of them. Judd's family joins Angela's for dinner and Judd and Angela discuss the upcoming war with 7K. Later that night Judd hears that the injured police officer has woken up and goes to see him, but his car is stopped. Angela receives a phone call and is told to come to a specific hill. Once she arrives she sees that Judd has been hanged and there's an old man in a wheelchair next to him, likely the same person from the Tulsa flashback. Elsewhere, a master lives in a castle with two servants who constantly praise him.
Before I get into things, I want to mention that I have never read the Watchmen comics or seen the 2009 film. My reviews for this show will be from somebody who knows nothing about this universe. So if you want somebody who will appreciate all the connections and callbacks in this show, you've come to the wrong place. The Good: I thought that the presentation of 1921 Tulsa was magnificent and it started the show in an affecting and horrifying way. I'm not a big fan of most modern superhero films and TV shows, but I was surprised to see this superhero show start with a big focus on racism, showing that there is perhaps a bigger message here than just showing us cool superhero characters doing cool things. This subversion continued throughout the episode. I came into this show expecting superheroes, but so far all we have seen are ordinary people, making this one of the more unique takes of superheroes I have seen. The parallels between the masked 7K members and the masked cops are not lost on me, and it seems like the show is already setting up to make a point about how these masked heroes aren't so different from the people they are putting away, particularly when we see how the cops beat down a suspect without even a shred of evidence to get what they need to catch the bad guys. It feels more like vigilante justice than legal justice. I was not expecting any themes like this, so it was a welcome surprise. That being said, I can plainly tell that this is a Damon Lindelof show. There are so many genuinely strange and confusing moments throughout this episode, such as the squid rain and the master (see: The Unknown) which I'm really unsure how to feel about currently. I think this stuff could have been implemented better (see: The Bad), but it catches my interest as really creative worldbuilding that lets me know that it is worth learning more about this world and its history. I thought that the action and writing in this episode was solid. I enjoyed the ridiculous action sequence against the 7K which decided to butcher dozens of cows. I also really appreciated the foreshadowing of the final reveal with Judd saying "my funeral" and the old man being seen earlier in the episode asking Angela if she thinks he can lift 200 pounds. It's really satisfying to see the twists and reveals telegraphed in advance, just you don't notice it at the time. I hope the rest of this show's complexity is revealed as satisfyingly as this. The Bad: This might be because I'm not a comic reader, but this was too much for me. The world has so many differences from our world but none of these differences were presented in a way that felt easily accessible to me. I feel like I'm drowning in an ocean trying to learn the rules of this world and it is far too difficult. Seeing that I know nothing about this universe at all, I would have liked the show to offer some information on how superheroes operate in this world and why things are the way they are. Instead all I've been given are tons of questions as the show builds mystery. There's nothing wrong with mystery but I need to be given something to grasp onto before I get invested in the mystery. This show hasn't given me enough detail about the world to really care. Furthermore, I thought that the characters were really weak in this episode. Nobody has caught my eye yet and I feel like there isn't anything for me to emotionally engage with currently. Lindelof likes to create his mysteries, but there's one thing that he seems to be lacking, as he did in "The Leftovers" as well: creating compelling characters in the first episode. The story in "The Leftovers" was brilliant but it took me 9 episodes before I was fully engaged in the overall narrative. It looks like that is going to happen here as well since all we have gotten in this episode is mystery and intrigue without even a hint of relatable characters. A show like "Lost" was far better in this regard because it spent the pilot episode making likeable characters before delving into mystery. I wish this show had done the same. The Unknown: It's a Lindelof show so I already have plenty of questions. Was the old man at the end of the episode the same boy from the Tulsa flashback? He was holding the same "watch over this boy" note so I think that's a fair assumption. Who is the baby he picked up in the flashback? Anybody important? What is causing this squid rain? It's very strange and I'm not sure it will be explained. I'm hoping that it's not something I should already know from the comics. Why does everyone hide their face in this world? Where did the 7th Kavalry come from? What else is different about this world from our world? I'm sure there are many other questions I had that I can't recall right now. We are thrown into the deep end as we are introduced to this world. I've heard the name Dr. Manhattan thrown around before. Who is he? What is his story? A newspaper shot says he is on Mars. Will he be important? Are Angela's children all adopted? Will this have importance in the story? Who is this master character? The scenes with him were incredibly strange and left me baffled. I have no clue what to think of this character so far or the people who serve him. I can only assume that he will become important later on. Perhaps this is the main villain of the story. Best Moment: The final visual of Judd hanging while the mysterious old man from before sits next to him, his words from earlier in the episode finally coming clear. It's engrossing and it was the moment that really got me interested in this mystery. Character of the Episode: Judd. Conclusion: This was an interesting pilot. There's lots of mystery to get engrossed in, but unfortunately there hasn't been nearly enough characters to get engrossed in. I am interested in the show for sure, and I think there is plenty of potential for it to be good. But none of that has been realized yet, and this first episode proves to be frustrating more often than it is compelling. I'm interested in the show, but that doesn't mean that what I've seen so far has been particularly good. Score: 59 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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