Watchmen – Martial Feats of Comanche Horsemanship Review

“Martial Feats of Comanche Horsemanship” was pretty much what one expects from a second episode: answer some of the questions raised in the series premiere, raise several more, and keep the plot moving forward (which, in the realm of Watchmen, means taking a few trips to the past). It was a smart, competent hour of television, but it also felt different from the premiere. Perhaps it was the distinct lack of Oklahoma references (a tragedy in my mind, but I’ll allow it). Perhaps it was the show settling in for the long run and not wanting to push the story too far too soon. Or maybe it was the need to continue to dole out exposition, but not really knowing the best way to do it – which is a feature of early world-building in shows like this, and something we just have to take in stride.

But whatever it was, the arc of Angela discovering that Will is her grandfather took too long to play out and reached a conclusion easy to spot from miles away. Yes, the process to reach that ending provided us a better look at one of the more divisive elements of President Redford’s reparations plan (allowing descendants of the Black Wall Street Massacre a claim to federal funds would, I’m sure, be controversial in our world as well), which in turn helps us to better understand some of the racial tensions of this alternate reality, but I sure wish the arc had played out a bit quicker (or that the reveal had been a tad more interesting). So, Angela and Will are related. Great. Now how about we get a bit more into these “people in high places” who are helping keep Will one step ahead of the local Tulsa PD?*

*I have a suspicion as to who’s behind things, but in the interest of keeping this spoiler-free, I’ll keep it under my hat for the time being.

While the Angela/Will arc didn’t quite do it for me, I was more intrigued by the continued delve into the Angela/Judd relationship. The flashback to the White Night filled in a few blanks I noted in my review last week, namely that it was an orchestrated attack against 40 officers of different races*, including Angela’s partner – who was killed along with his wife. As a result, Angela and her husband adopted their orphaned children. Also injured in the attack? Good old Chief Judd Crawford (we saw the scars last week when he was changing shirts), who didn’t have a particularly close relationship with Angela until they bonded after the attacks. This piece of information raises more questions, particularly in light of the biggest reveal of the episode: Judd was a member of the Klan.

*We know three of the officers who were attacked: Angela, Judd, and Angela’s partner (who I am assuming was white, considering his children appear to be so, but I certainly could be wrong as we haven’t had a flashback including him yet). So, race doesn’t appear to be a motivating factor – at least from an outside observer. That being said, Judd was a member of the Klan, and appeared to receive relatively minor injuries (plus, he told Angela that she killed the one attacker that came for her . . . when we clearly saw that there was a second masked attacker in her house who shot her, but didn’t go for a kill shot – also something that needs to be further investigated), so I assume he wasn’t really “targeted.” It’s awfully convenient that Judd met Angela in the hospital, convinced her to retire from the force and become a masked vigilante, and that he kept her incredibly close to him in the following years. There likely is more to this story than we know at this point, and I hope we’ll get to explore the White Night deeper this season as Angela continues to unravel just who Judd was. But, needless to say, Judd’s take on “black Oklahoma” reads a bit more differently now, just as I suspected last week.

Will, somehow, knew Judd was involved in the Klan. We don’t know specifically how – was it those people higher up, or did he have personal run-in(s) with Judd that tipped him off? (Or was it because he was named for the villain in Oklahoma and Angela should have connected those dots?) No matter how he found out, the important thing is that Angela knows. And she now has the knowledge and the physical ability to delve further into who Judd really was and how that impacted his handling of the Tulsa police force (I suspect the tree is far more rotten than expected – and that Angela will find allies and enemies in unexpected places).

This element of the story is, at this moment, the part I find the most intriguing. Superhero tales are more interesting when the hero discovers that she can’t trust who she thought she could, and she is forced to forge new relationships and build bridges with people and organizations that she might not have thought to reach out to. Sure, it’s a trope, but it’s one that ultimately allows the character to grow and change over the course of the story. Knowing Damon Lindelof, this trope won’t play out the way we expect – and with Regina King taking on the leading role in the tale, I’m not worried at all about the ultimate destination of this arc.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention that action in the English country manor house. Jeremy Irons is an excellent actor clearly having a ball playing a strangely eccentric character still named “Lord of a Country Manor” (even though we all know who he really is . . . something that is reinforced with the play he presents this week). The story Lord presents in his play is the origin story of Dr. Manhattan, who got name dropped quite a bit in the Angela/Will side of the episode as well. A brilliant scientist who, through a failed experiment, became a naked blue hero (although that distinction is up for debate throughout the graphic novel source material) with actual superpowers (a hallmark of the heroes in the history of Watchmen is that all of them lacked actual powers beyond money, strength, and/or fighting skills that any person could obtain), who now lives on Mars, Dr. Manhattan hasn’t factored much into the television series much at this point (and likely won’t moving forward due to budget constraints). But it’s interesting to see that his origin tale is so fascinating to Lord. Perhaps because he knew him? Or was a rival of his? Oh – and it’s also pretty weird that Lord seems to utilize a fleet of cloned servants who lack any sense of free will.

Final Thoughts:

— I’m not quite sure what to make of the American Hero Story show within the show. On one hand, the title almost has to be a nod to the Ryan Murphy-created American Horror Story and American Crime Story anthology shows over on FX (one of which has devolved into utter dreck while the other has churned out two stellar installments that snagged a bundle of Emmys), a theory only reinforced by the casting of Cheyenne Jackson (Broadway star and recent addition to Murphy’s stable of actors) as Hooded Justice, the hero covered in the episode we saw. On the other, American Hero Story is providing some interesting background into the world of Watchmen. Hooded Justice was the first masked hero to appear in the US, and he was famous for never revealing his identity to anyone – so much so that when the body of a strongman was found murdered on the beach (which we saw in the piece), no one was ever able to be sure it was actually Hooded Justice. Honestly, the whole character is incredibly interesting, and worth a quick read.

— Some more questions about the White Night flashback: How did Cal, Angela’s husband, survive the attack – especially when it’s clear the Seventh Kalvary killed spouses as well? How much does Jane Crawford know about Judd’s actions both that night and since? She’s a hell of a good actress if she shares Judd’s Klan affiliation and beliefs (after all, we know Judd was a good actor back in the day – perhaps Jane was as well). Did any other officers survive the attacks, or were Judd and Angela the only ones? And, finally, are the other masked members of the PD survivors of the attack? And if not, how are the masked members selected?

— We got a chance to meet Senator Joe Keene this week at Judd’s wake. Played by James Wolk (of “Not great, Bob!” fame on Mad Men), the character pretty much gives you the creeps from his initial moment on screen. From listening to background conversations and looking at newspapers in the show, we know that Keene is the darling of the Nixonites (which includes the Seventh Kalvary and the Klan, presumably) and they are pushing him to make a run against Redford in the next election. While we don’t learn much about him on this initial appearance, he did know exactly who Angela was and call her out on it rather publicly. Which is pretty terrifying, considering the company he keeps. If Keene knows Angela is Sister Night, she’s in danger. Although, considering Judd knew the identities of all officers and vigilantes, everyone is in danger.

— The World War I flyer that Will’s father received seemed a bit odd in the grand scheme of the episode (but of course, not in the grand scheme of the series). Now that Angela is in possession of it, I assume it will continue to factor into the story as it continues, perhaps as a justification for Will’s killing of Judd (yes, I don’t believe he got him in that tree or killed him himself, but I absolutely believe he was involved) or as some other element in the growing racial tensions of Tulsa.

— Continuing the tradition of the episode title referencing a work of art, the title is a reference to the painting shown in the closing shot (George Catlin’s “Comanche Feats of Martial Horsemanship”). Considering who owned the painting (Judd), and what we learned about his thoughts toward American minority groups, it’s an especially interesting painting and an interesting title for the episode.