Damon Lindelof’s risky take on Watchmen kicks off with a thought-provoking series premiere.
After months (even years!)
Below, we dig into all of that and more fromWatchmens first episode.
Credit: Mark Hill/HBO
CHANCELLOR AGARD:Well, theWatchmenpremiere sure is a lot of television.
But I guess the best place to start is at the beginning.
The only other survivor from his escape party is a crying baby.
Unfortunately, unlike in Supermans origin story, a nice white couple isnt waiting there for him.
Hes all alone as he walks through the night with the baby in his arms.
Ive said this before, but it reminds me of the Joker gang in the future-setBatman Beyond.
CHRISTIAN HOLUB:Hey Chance!
Glad to be back with you recappinganother superhero show.
Its clear right away that this version ofWatchmenhas a different focus than the original.
Too late for this unfortunate cop, though.
The police basically declare war in return, issuing an open-ended authorization of force against this militant organization.
Thats where Kings character comes in.
Im not sure the translation of Rorschach into a racist icon is as black-and-white as it seems.
Both of them seem to love solving crimes by rounding up usual suspects and treating them harshly.
In both cases, this is their interpretation, not something the original people may necessarily have agreed to.
Im going on way too long here so its time to toss back.
Shall we discuss that scene next and its many visual hints and callbacks?
Yes, I think the episode purposefully draws many parallels between the cops and Rorschach.
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross mechanical techno score does a fantastic job of setting the shows tone.
I clocked a few other similarities, too, some benign and some troubling.
Its a very weird choice.
For the most part, the assault on Seventh Cavalrys slaughterhouse avoids that.
Well, that is until the Owlship comes out of nowhere, manned by Crawford (!
), which elicited a whoop from me when I watched the pilot for the first time.
What the hell did you make of this scene?
CHRISTIAN:Well Chance,I first saw this episode a few weeks ago at New York Comic Con.
And yet somehow this Veidt scene is even weirder upon second viewing.
Its almost reminiscent ofDoom Patrolin its pure surreal strangeness.
You and I are both fans ofDoom Patrolof course, but its an odd fit with theWatchmentone.
For any newcomers reading this: Adrian Veidt, a.k.a.
Ozymandias, is the antihero of the originalWatchmencomic.
But What do you do after saving the world?
is a hard question to figure out.
Tired of getting caught in the tangle of their lives.
Ostermans father was a watchmaker, and the son wanted to follow suit.
This framework does not do that, and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Hopefully, the show will interrogate this concept in future episodes.
On that note, lets talk about the ending.
An episode that starts with a real-life racist massacre ends with…a white cop getting lynched.
What do you make of the way ourWatchmenpremiere ends, Chance?
Feel free to discussOklahoma!as much as you want here.
Initially, Crawford is presented as a good guy.
However, the premiere quickly starts to put some cracks in him.
Tick tock, tick tock, to Angela after dinner.
Is that why I loved this premiere so much?
Notes from the Black Freighter:
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