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
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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