Watchmen- HBO-(Spoilers)

brevity · 22-10-2019 12:38pm

What’s with the squid (was it squid?) falling from the sky?

I also saw a poster in classroom with “Understanding squid” on it.

Is this to do with the squid at the end of the comic?

ðŸ¦‘

johnny_ultimate · 22-10-2019 12:49pm

Yeah assume it’s a continuation of the ‘alien attack’ from the book. They referenced continuing inter dimensional attacks in the interrogation sequence as well.

RobbingBandit · 22-10-2019 3:05pm

Loved the Mount Rushmore very graphic stuff throughout definitely what I'd expected from a Nixon regime America the timeline is very confusing though, the minutemen and Watchmen reference were quick to miss the opening scenes were scary to see on tv

Sleepy · 22-10-2019 3:56pm

The opening scenes were set in the real-life Tulsa Race Massacre

Really strong start, hoping they stay true to the Rorschach test aspect of the graphic novel and the absence of black and white morality. It seems they're going that way with the cops being portrayed in a fascistic light and the white supremacists being correct in their belief that the Rorschach Journal is true.

Some really good world-building additional material on the HBO site too: https://www.hbo.com/peteypedia

jface187 · 22-10-2019 9:28pm

"It's better for the audience to be confused than bored" is a quote heard before in relation to not over-explaining things. Unfortunately with Watchmen, I was both.

I know it's only the first one, so by the end I could love it. I have read the book, but I think the show should stand on it's own. Also having read the book hasn't helped me understand this.

For everyone harping on about Alan Moore work being used without his consent, a lot of Watchmen characters are based on Charlton comics, who went out of business and DC bought them and didn't know what to do with them. So they gave them to Moore.

ERG89 · 22-10-2019 10:55pm

I gotta read watchmen again, I've been on a Alan Moore binge reading From Hell & next in line is The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

About the show I thought it was fine. Not as good as The Boys but far better than I was expecting. Nice for a show to focus on getting across the plot & setting as much as introducing the characters in the first episode. I'll be honest I'm still a little lost with where it is heading. I was expecting Don Johnson to swerve the viewer & be with the Rorschach group.

Acosta wrote: »

Very impressive stuff and a great soundtrack from NIN.

That track that played over the pod interrogation scene was soooo good, not sure who is responsible for it.

pixelburp · 23-10-2019 8:19pm

I thought it was a decent enough pilot, nothing spectacular though; those first episodes can often be barely watchable anyway wedging pages of worldbuilding, character backgrounds and broad arc at the expense of cohesion - so at least here there was just enough slivers of info given to keep the story going.

World building, especially alternate universes, are a delicate balance to strike so the pilot did a great job doling out aspects of this different America through character-action. Heck it even managed that most lazy or crutches, the rookie cop who has to learn alongside the audience. Lots of moments to pause and observe the details: Nixon on mount Rushmore, the extra stars on the flag (Vietnam is a state!), and so on.

Nothing plot wise to go on just yet, more questions than answers really, not least who Jeremy Irons' character is - but I can guess. Ditto his staff, who seemed ... odd.

Brief_Lives · 25-10-2019 10:59pm

TheIrishGrover wrote: »

I enjoyed that. As with Thrones, my (overvalued) tuppence worth:

The Good
Thought Regina King was great. And she is an actor that I can find grating.

Interesting (And understandable) take on Rorschach's legacy. As others have pointed out, in the comic he was a psycho, not a misunderstood hero. So yeah, I thought the white supremacists latching on to him was very understandable.

I liked the style (The sort of chapter headings etc) and the design of the universe (Set in 2019 with electric cars being the norm but people using pagers for example).

Excellent music (Trent Rezner doing the original music)

The opening scene of (the real) Tulsa "Black Wall-Street" massacre was shocking. That this was in the 21st century..... Not the 19th.

Louis Gosset (jnr anymore?). Thought he was dead.

The Bad
Didn't find much outright bad actually

And The Meh
Thought all the nods to the readers especially was a bit on the nose: From the smiley face with the eggs in the class to the blood on the badge at the end. But, first episode. It's entitled to a few winks to the camera I suppose

Don Johnson couldn't have been more dead if he had two weeks to retirement

So yeah, it got me interested. Yeah, I assume Veidt's servants are robots or some form of artificial humans. Also noticed that the credits say "Co-created by Dave Gibbons". No mention of Alan Moore but this is to be expected.

I agree with all this, nice summary...
I would stress even more how on point the soundtrack is... its spot on...

gmisk · 27-10-2019 6:02pm

I read the comic a long long time ago.
So is this a prequel to the comic?

Different definitely but have to say I loved it, it looked fantastic clearly they have ploughed a lot of time and effort into the show. The music is brilliant, will definitely watch the rest.

jface187 · 27-10-2019 6:20pm

It's a sequel I guess. They avoid saying that in all the promo for the show and going for a "remix". I guess this is just this writer take on what would happen in that world many years down the line.

Slydice · 28-10-2019 5:00pm

2: Continuing the intro and universe building but kinda keeping it vague.

From a sci-fi / hero-universe fan point of view, it's kinda cool to see new ideas being explored.

For the general audience, I'm guessing this hazyness is gonna get pretty old pretty fast if they don't give them some pay-off.

ERG89 · 28-10-2019 9:14pm

Thought this week was a drop in quality from last week. Plot wise I didn't see the episode going in the direction it took considering the way last weeks show ended & the ending means we'll probably have to wait longer to get answers. I just didn't find myself that invested & the Ozymandias stuff for me is boring more than interesting.

Sleepy · 29-10-2019 4:30pm

Loved some of the nods to the comicbook this week - the newspaper seller in particular.

It's quite slow-moving but I don't mind that so much, prefer a slow boil to a hard and heavy opener that leaves the rest of the season without a plot.

[Deleted User] · 30-10-2019 2:25am

Can't see myself sticking with this. Same writer as lost too. Yuck

ollkiller · 30-10-2019 10:40am

partyjungle wrote: »

Can't see myself sticking with this. Same writer as lost too. Yuck

He did The Leftovers too. Of which season 2 and season 3 are fantastic. The episode International Assassin is up there with the best i've ever seen. Most people wrote it off after the first season. Their loss.

As regards Watchmen. Music is to die for. Can only see the whole thing getting better as we go along.

fitz · 30-10-2019 10:33pm

ollkiller wrote: »

He did The Leftovers too. Of which season 2 and season 3 are fantastic. The episode International Assassin is up there with the best i've ever seen. Most people wrote it off after the first season. Their loss.

As regards Watchmen. Music is to die for. Can only see the whole thing getting better as we go along.

The Leftovers is one of the best pieces of storytelling I've ever seen. And the performances are incredible. That karaoke scene...

On Watchmen...I like how is not giving you all the context, and is making you pay attention to what's said and what's presented on screen.
I know that won't suit everyone's attention spans, but I'm loving it so far. Didn't feel episode two dropped in quality at all. Just felt like it was settling in.

Zero-Cool · 30-10-2019 10:40pm

Watched the 1st episode last night, i had no idea Regina King was in it, never mind a lead role. She's one of my favourite actresses so I'm all in for that fact alone. Agree with above, The Leftovers was incredible and i find it highly interesting how they are just going with this whole new story based on a familiar universe. I usually don't watch 'next on...' but i watched this one as i had no idea where it was going. Looking forward to the rest of the season.

fritzelly · 03-11-2019 9:03pm

After watching two episodes I have no idea what is going on (bar some white supremacy rubbish) - is this actually anything to do with the Watchmen?

RobbingBandit · 04-11-2019 9:50am

Rorschach took the law into his own hands doling out vigilanty justice doing what the police wouldn't do, the seventh kavalry took up his cause but seemingly they don't have the heart of gold moral compass rorschach had. The police being in the way had to be taken out which has led to the tit for tat masked war it looks like episode 3 gives some important character development but this type of vigilanty justice is very Marshall Law esque take no prisoners.

Sudden Valley · 04-11-2019 10:05am

Having watched the first two episodes I'm enjoying it but it doesnt seem that related to the original graphic novel. A bit like the V for Vendetta movie they have changed the setting to challenge a more modern issue. The new vigilantes all seem pretty uninteresting comparing to the originals which is a major problem.

brevity · 04-11-2019 10:40pm

I like this show. Just the right amount of strange humour.

Jean Smart is great in this episode.

kerplun k · 05-11-2019 10:53am

This show is pure class. I’m loving the tonal shift from the seriousness of Tulsa to the silliness of the world Jeremy Irons inhabits.

I think I’m falling in love with his female servant Ms Crookshank. Sara Vickers was just awesome in this episode.

They finally revealed the identity of Jeremy Irons character, but something seems off. Even tho it was obvious from the start they seemed to intentionally hold off revelling it.... Hmm, I’m not buying it.

Looking forward to seeing how this all unfolds.

jface187 · 05-11-2019 2:25pm

I thought this was the best episode so far. I really didn't miss Sister Knight. I don't care about her or her flying space grandad. Think this is a much better direction for the show (I know the focus will go back to Sister Knight).

Slydice · 05-11-2019 11:41pm

3: Top episode! The work they're putting into these is fantastic!

Skerries · 06-11-2019 8:53am

Is Veidt actually losing his mind and it is all in his head?

Walter Bishop · 06-11-2019 5:58pm

Skerries wrote: »

Is Veidt actually losing his mind and it is all in his head?

This show is superb, best on TV this year for me (so far).

As for

Veidt, the main theory at the moment seems to be that he's being kept prisoner on Mars or similar by Dr. Manhattan

brevity · 06-11-2019 6:16pm

https://twitter.com/ScottWamplerBMD/status/1192109401961910273?s=20

https://twitter.com/watchmen/status/1191188886086705152?s=20

brevity · 06-11-2019 8:04pm

The podcast is a bit back slappy but both come across well I thought. For all the crap he gets Lindeloff seems to have his heart in the right place and has surrounded himself with some good people

Slydice · 06-11-2019 9:29pm

Walter Bishop wrote: »

This show is superb, best on TV this year for me (so far).

As for
Veidt, the main theory at the moment seems to be that he's being kept prisoner on Mars or similar by Dr. Manhattan

There's a preview after 3 that

confirms he's been kept prisioner somewhere

. It was hinted at in 3 anyway. My guess is that

it looks to be a mind-prison.

pixelburp · 09-11-2019 9:01pm

Episode 2, and anyone else think the Hooded Justice show-in-a-show was a deliberate pastiche of Zack Synder, he of the Watchmen movie? All the slow motion fighting, gratuitous violence and overwrought voiceover felt a lot like a nod towards his style...

Watchmen- HBO-(***Spoilers***)

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Watchmen- HBO-(Spoilers)