Watchmen – the TV series

Regina King in 2018
Regina King in 2018

Warning. This review contains spoilers about the 1st season of the TV show “Watchmen”!

On December 15 the 1st season of the show “Watchmen” ended.

The comic series “Watchmen” written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons was published between 1986 and 1987 in the USA. His deconstruction of the classic superhero image had a remarkable influence that went even beyond the world of comics, winning a Hugo award. In 2009 it was adapted into a movie that caused considerable controversy. The TV show created by Damon Lindelof is a sequel to the comic series set over thirty years later and tells of events that are increasingly linked to the comics over the course of the episodes. The consequence is that to understand the various references you need to have read the comics or, if you’re satisfied with a general understanding, you must have at least seen the movie.

The main plot of the TV show takes place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in an alternative 2019 where a group of white supremacists known as Seventh Kavalry who uses masks inspired to Rorschach are the main threat three years after an attack against the city’s police officers. The consequence is a new law that requires police officers to keep their profession secret, even wearing masks during work. However, the show contains many flashbacks about the lives of the various protagonists.

“Watchmen” first season cast consists of:

  • Regina King (photo ©Gage Skidmore) as Angela Abar / Sister Night
  • Don Johnson as Judd Crawford
  • Tim Blake Nelson as Wade Tillman / Looking Glass
  • Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, as Calvin “Cal” Abar
  • Andrew Howard as Red Scare
  • Jacob Ming-Trent as Panda
  • Tom Mison as Mr. Phillips
  • Sara Vickers, as Ms. Crookshanks
  • Dylan Schombing as Christopher “Topher” Abar
  • Louis Gossett Jr. as William “Will” Reeves
  • Jeremy Irons (photo ©Gage Skidmore) as Adrian Veidt
  • Jean Smart as Laurie Blake
  • Hong Chau, as Lady Trieu

The difficult situation in Tulsa explodes again due to new activities by the Seventh Kavalry. Police officers Angela Abar, known as Sister Night, and Wade Tillman, known as Looking Glass, investigate but the chief of Tulsa Police Judd Crawford, the only one who doesn’t hide his name or face, gets hanged. That murder starts a series of discoveries with many twists.

Initially the impression was that of watching a TV show inspired by comics but without real links to the original story despite the abundance of flashbacks. This is an alternate history and the events connected to the vigilantes that determine the divergence in that world’s history is shown during the episodes. However, the show begins with a real event, the one known as Tulsa race riot, a terrible story of racism, and for this reason an interesting choice for people unfamiliar with that very dark moment in American history.

After a first episode that is essentially a prologue, the plots start taking shape and at the same time the flashbacks get connected to the comics with the story of the vigilante known as Hooded Justice and the origin of the Minutemen, with that of Adrian Veidt after the comic book events up to Dr. Manhattan.

The intertwining of past and present is deep and in the episodes the alternation of scenes set in different moments of history gives us glimpses of the sense of simultaneity that’s the normal experience for Dr. Manhattan. In this great plot intertwining the themes of the show are developed, starting from the racial problems always at the center of the main plot. The masks are an important element at various levels because their use to protect Tulsa’s police officers is only the most superficial.

In the last episodes the connection with the comics is direct with Adrian Veidt and Dr. Manhattan who become protagonists. Damon Lindelof talked about the show as a remix of the comics’ themes rather than a sequel but near the end of the season he too seems to throw the mask along with his characters. At this point the deconstruction of classical image also includes religious elements.

Jeremy Irons in 2015
Jeremy Irons in 2015

The season finale reveals agendas and secrets, especially Lady Trieu’s, but the greatest results come for who hadn’t participated in machinations, starting with Angela. Among the many symbolisms to be analyzed there’s also that of eggs, not as obvious as the masks but present from the beginning to the end.

The final scene leaves us with an opening of a possible new story in a season that otherwise has its own conclusion. Damon Lindelof left open the possibility of a second season, not necessarily created by him. I don’t know if it’s yet another mask linked to “Watchmen”, for the moment I want to watch this season again as in 9 episodes it has more substance and quality than many seasons of 20+ episodes and to go back to comics.

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