Feb 10, 2023
Perhaps the best that television had to offer in 2019, Damon Lindelof's Watchmen is an example of high-risk, high-reward storytelling. As an avid fan of the Alan Moore work for which the show is based on I was quite apprehensive about this project. Not only would it be based on the seminal work of the same name, but it would be a sequel to that same almost religious offering of the 1980s. It all seemed too ambitious, even with the deft hand of Lindelof at the helm. What resulted was a show unlike any before it continuing Moore's work combining sci-fi, alternative history and the deconstruction of the superhero myth while also adding an important layer of commentary on race in America. It's all a lot to process, but Lindelof and company don't shy away from any of it. What ensues are episodes so jam-packed with worldbuilding and timeline synchronization that just about every line of dialogue is critical. With so many storylines and themes to explore Watchmen wastes no time getting to work. In its first high-risk move the series opens during the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, casting a grim backdrop for the show as a whole. The series takes place (mostly) in Tulsa present day and this is where Alan Moore's alternate history mixes with the show's plot to really become something entirely original. The world that Lindelof and his team create is truly breathtaking. It's the sort of sci-fi that works better because of the perceived similarities between our worlds instead of the marked differences. Even in the realm of greats like Adrian Veidt or Dr. Manhattan Watchmen's world and our own don't feel radically different. These people can thank Dr. Manhattan for medical breakthroughs or breakthroughs in teleportation, but with the same voice blame Adrian Veidt for their squid sirens and for the fear that keeps people away from that teleportation technology. The strange semi-technophobia experienced by the world of Watchmen can be understood through the squid attack from Moore's original work. Lindelof theorizes that in a world wherein a giant squid seemingly teleported itself into the heart of Manhattan killing three million people would be hesitant to trust technology as willingly as we have. As a result certain aspects of technology have seen themselves advance tremendously where others have been visibly stunted. One clear example is how there exist no cell phones in this world. Instead the characters all carry around beepers in a timeline that is also devoid of the internet. The lack of an internet starts to make sense when you examine some of the heavy themes Watchmen attempts to tackle, one of them being anonymity. In a world where everyone goes around wearing a mask how would we tell good from bad? What might someone be attempting to hide behind that anonymity? Perhaps more concerning, what chaos would ensue because we were incapable of understanding intent and motivation? Watchmen brings this question out of the superhero realm and into our lives when the police are asked to wear masks to protect their identities as well. What culminates is an exploration on the function of a mask and, more importantly, what it does to the person behind it. Another weighty theme Lindelof tackles is trauma, especially in regard to progeny. Watchmen argues that your heritage can't be ignored. After all if your grandparent's hopes and fears imprinted on your parents and your parent's hopes and fears imprinted on you then some part of you shares thoughts and feelings of a bygone era. In this way trauma can be thought of almost like a gene being passed on, unknowingly, through generations. But rather than toss up our hands at the futility Watchmen wants us to instead recognize this fact so that we may better understand ourselves. The rich tapestry of themes and motifs would be nothing without the outstanding cast. Regina King and Jeremy Irons come to mind immediately, but Jean Smart and Tim Blake Nelson both deserve their dues as well. King plays the badass detective Angela Abar, or Sister Night, whom the story centers around. Originally from Vietnam, the 51st state in this timeline, Angela finds herself in Tulsa where her family was initially from during the Vietnam antebellum. Jeremy Irons plays the great Adrian Veidt with such delightful vanity and superiority. Veidt's scenes are often so surreal and it's clear that Irons revels for the mysterious circumstances in which his character finds himself. Jean Smart plays the jaded FBI agent Laurie Blake, or Silk Spectre II for those who read Moore's original work. Blake has put the leotard away in exchange for a badge and she's long since lost patience with people who hide behind masks. An investigation into the murder of a police chief brings Blake to Tulsa and toe to toe with Sister Night; their chemistry like venom. Tim Blake Nelson plays, perhaps, the most intriguing character in Wayde Tillman, or Looking Glass. As a detective alongside Sister Night, Looking Glass acts as the Rorschach character in this iteration. Much like Alan Moore's Rorschach, Looking Glass is quiet, observant and a true lawful neutral while carrying some heavy personal burdens inside of his clearly tortured soul. With bold thematic direction, bountiful worldbuilding, and a stellar cast Watchmen really is the full package. It asks some serious questions of our society while never once letting up on the high-octane thrill that we've come to associate with a superhero feature as it maintains a richness of storytelling usually reserved for a written medium.
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