Completely new to Watchmen and I'm confused as f*ck - (no spoilers please)

ShineOn7

Mods - could you leave this as a standalone thread for those new to the show? I'd imagine the main Watchmen thread has loads of spoilers

I started this show this week and it's very confusing if you're new to the Watchmen backstory. Yet there is something very watchable about it

Is there a spoiler free guide anyone can recommend to get your head around the Watchmen universe for those of us new to it?

I've so many questions, but episode 3 last night really left me looking at the screen saying "what the fúck?"

• - Who is Dr Manhattan?
• - Who/what the hell is Jeremy Irons' character supposed to be?
• - Was Jean Smart's character supposed to be ringing Mars in episode 3?
• - Why did she laugh manically when the car dropped out of the sky at the end of episode 3?

I love the work of Damon Lindelof so I'll stick with it for another episode or two. But I think I'll have to bail if the confusion continues

No spoilers please

Thanks

Penn

ShineOn7 wrote: »

Mods - could you leave this as a standalone thread for those new to the show? I'd imagine the main Watchmen thread has loads of spoilers

I started this show this week and it's very confusing if you're new to the Watchmen backstory. Yet there is something very watchable about it

Is there a spoiler free guide anyone can recommend to get your head around the Watchmen universe for those of us new to it?

I've so many questions, but episode 3 last night really left me looking at the screen saying "what the fúck?"

• - Who is Dr Manhattan?
• - Who/what the hell is Jeremy Irons' character supposed to be?
• - Was Jean Smart's character supposed to be ringing Mars in episode 3?
• - Why did she laugh manically when the car dropped out of the sky at the end of episode 3?

I love the work of Damon Lindelof so I'll stick with it for another episode or two. But I think I'll have to bail if the confusion continues

No spoilers please

Thanks

Pretty much all of that will be answered, but I'll give answers below in terms of what most people knew going into the show from the comics/film

Who is Dr Manhattan?
Of the original team of superheros (the Watchmen), Dr.Manhattan was the most powerful, and the only one with actual superpowers. He abandoned Earth after the events of the comic.

Who/what the hell is Jeremy Irons' character supposed to be?
Can't fully explain until you're a few more episodes into the show without spoiling.

Was Jean Smart's character supposed to be ringing Mars in episode 3?
Her character, Laurie Blake, is the daughter of two of the Minutemen, The Comedian and Silk Spectre, and she became Silk Spectre II as part of the Watchmen. She had a relationship with Dr.Manhattan before he left Earth. The booths are supposed to be "Leave a message for Dr.Manhattan on Mars" so even though she knows he's probably not listening, it's like she's talking to him.

Why did she laugh manically when the car dropped out of the sky at the end of episode 3?
Partially the absurdity of the situation but also how it related to the joke she was telling about the girl who tosses the brick into the air and how it eventually falls back down and kills God.


Everything will be explained, but I'd say the quickest and easiest thing to do would be to read the plot synopsis of the Watchmen comic on Wikipedia. It won't spoil the show, but explains a lot of the background info.

ShineOn7

Great post Penn, thanks

Laurie Blake, is the daughter of two of the Minutemen

Who are the Minutemen?

ShineOn7

I've since found this and I'll watch it later

Hopefully it covers the origins well

The Watchmen Explained | What You Need to Know Before the Watchmen HBO Show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X28Iysf63t0&feature=youtu.be

Potatoeman

ShineOn7 wrote: »

Great post Penn, thanks



Who are the Minutemen?

Did you watch the movie? It covers most of it.

Penn

ShineOn7 wrote: »

Great post Penn, thanks



Who are the Minutemen?

The thing about the world of the Watchmen is that really, none of them, bar Dr.Manhattan, have any powers. They're just costumed vigilantes more than anything. So Minutemen were the first group of costumed vigilantes, then the next team called themselves Watchmen. There have been clips of a TV show featuring a vigilante called Hooded Justice in the first few episodes, he was one of the Minutemen.

Some like The Comedian were members of both the Minutemen and Watchmen. Minutemen also had Nite Owl and Silk Spectre, whereas Watchmen had Nite Owl II (someone who took over from the first Nite Owl) and Silk Spectre II (the original Silk Spectre's daughter).

Again, none of the above are spoilers as it comes from the comics.

Penn

Potatoeman wrote: »

Did you watch the movie? It covers most of it.

There is an important change in the movie from the comics which completely confused me

The incident in New York

Mickeroo

I would advise reading the graphic novel before you carry on, or at the very least watch the Zack Snyder film. Just bare in mind the show is a sequel to the book rather than the film though, as the endings were a bit different.

You will enjoy the show a lot more if you know the back story imo.

Potatoeman

Penn wrote: »

There is an important change in the movie from the comics which completely confused me

The incident in New York

It’s was too weird for the movie but not big of a change overall.

ixoy

Potatoeman wrote: »

It’s was too weird for the movie but not big of a change overall.

But relevant in that the squid does feature in the show.

Penn

Potatoeman wrote: »

It’s was too weird for the movie but not big of a change overall.

Yeah I don't think it affected the movie too much going with that change, but it's an important change for the TV show depending on whether you've read the comic or only seen the movie.

Mickeroo

I don't think the film ending works particularly well. The whole idea of

the squid was it would unite humanity against an outside threat, instead they had an American superhero be the perceived cause in the film which imo would just unite everyone against America.

At least that was always my reading of it.

Potatoeman

Mickeroo wrote: »

I don't think the film ending works particularly well. The whole idea of

the squid was it would unite humanity against an outside threat, instead they had an American superhero be the perceived cause in the film which imo would just unite everyone against America.

At least that was always my reading of it.

Both result in him leaving though. It’s kind of an issue for the TV show but you could read 10 pages from the comic that highlight this difference and be caught up.

Penn

Mickeroo wrote: »

I don't think the film ending works particularly well. The whole idea of

the squid was it would unite humanity against an outside threat, instead they had an American superhero be the perceived cause in the film which imo would just unite everyone against America.

At least that was always my reading of it.

I think the fact the attack happens on America though negates that.

Potatoeman wrote: »

Both result in him leaving though. It’s kind of an issue for the TV show but you could read 10 pages from the comic that highlight this difference and be caught up.

Again I think the biggest issue is just explaining the squidfall events. I'd watched the movie before reading the comics, but for the first few episodes and especially the squidfall in the first episode, I'd completely forgotten about the giant squid and only remembered about Manhattan being the cause. That threw me the most out of everything.

Potatoeman

Penn wrote: »

I think the fact the attack happens on America though negates that.

Again I think the biggest issue is just explaining the squidfall events. I'd watched the movie before reading the comics, but for the first few episodes and especially the squidfall in the first episode, I'd completely forgotten about the giant squid and only remembered about Manhattan being the cause. That threw me the most out of everything.

I read the comic first so it didn’t bother me that much. Turning something into a movie usually means cutting things and I thought the movie done a good job overall.

In the new TV show I thought the main bad guys were a little disappointing, too one dimensional. Hoping for some more dept and twists.

ShineOn7

Thanks for the replies, but after 3 and a half episodes I'm out

There's not enough keeping me invested in the "what-the-fúckery" of it all

Nerdlingr

Just keep watching it. I knew nothing/very very little about The Watchmen and although the first few episodes are disorientating, stick with it and it reveals itself. The payoff is brilliant. Best TV show I've seen for a while.