Watchmen – See How They Fly Review

My favorite type of ending is one that refuses to tie everything up in a little bow. It’s Buffy looking out over the crater of Sunnydale, offering a small smile, while refusing to answer any of the myriad of questions being thrown her way. It’s not knowing just what fate will befall Paige Jennings as her parents watch her, alone on a train platform, willing to stand and face her actions in the only country she has ever known. It’s watching Fleabag walk away from us after having her heart broken, all the while knowing that after being her closest confidantes for two seasons, it’s time for her to go it alone in the world. So, that final moment of Watchmen, with Angela tentatively putting her foot down onto the surface of the pool to see if she actually understood what Jon was trying to tell her, was right up my alley.

Do I think Angela actually inherited Doctor Manhattan’s powers? Yes, I think she did. (Damon Lindelof, in a post-finale interview with Rolling Stone’s Alan Sepinwall, posited she likely did as well – although he wisely wouldn’t commit to it one way or another. He pointed out, correctly, that the story is set-up for it to be true, and it’s far more fun to have a Super Sister Night out there than Angela soaking wet from falling into the pool.) Do I think she would be a more worthy vessel for these powers than Doctor Manhattan or Lady Trieu (I think we can all agree she’d be better than Joe Keene, Jr., white supremacist)? I honestly don’t know. Doctor Manhattan often believed he was doing the right thing, even when the history of the story proved things might have been better without his intervention. Lady Trieu claimed to have altruistic motives, but Adrian Veidt wasn’t wrong in his assessment of her potential motivations. I could easily see her destroying more than just 3 million people because she thinks she knows better than everyone else (she is the smartest woman in the world – in her own estimation).

While that “cliffhanger” (which is only a cliffhanger if you desperately want all the mystery of the show spelled out for you) is the main one of the final hour – perhaps ever – of the series, there’s a second, just as interesting, slightly smaller question revolving around Adrian Veidt that the series also doesn’t want to spell out for us: What happens when the FBI gets him in custody? Does his confession get him a public trial that also implicates President Redford? And how does that spiral even further? We know this is an America that is divided over some of Redford’s actions in office; does this mean that the country falls into chaos? Does the Seventh Kalvary become stronger? Is the world in danger once again (as Veidt predicted it would be if his actions were ever discovered), and does it really need Super Sister Night? Lots of questions, very few answers, and that’s perfectly fine with me. The story of Watchmen will continue, if not necessarily on our screens, beyond the specific slice of time we witnessed on the series. And that’s how it should be.

The rest of the episode, outside of its ending, was pretty sensational, but in this current TV landscape where sticking the landing is considered the be all and end all, Watchmen absolutely got itself a perfect ten. Of course the Seventh Kalvary weren’t the criminal masterminds we all assumed them to be. Rather, they were a group of racists who were so desperate to see their vision of America that they didn’t bother to do all the science necessary to ensure their major ploy for success wouldn’t actually dissolve their poster boy into a liquidy goo (a fitting end, if ever there was one, for Senator Joe Keene, Jr.). They also couldn’t fathom that anyone else would have had the same plan – possibly because they assumed that they were the only ones smart enough (as the master race and all that hogwash) to come up with it. Low and behold, the racists were bested by multiple people of color. Imagine that. Another fitting plot point.

Losing Jon was heartbreaking – something that those of us who had only seen the cold, calculating version of the character likely wouldn’t have thought possible before this series. But that is a testament to the combined talents of Regina King and  Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, taking these characters to the place where a simple line – that Jon is experiencing all moments in his relationship with Angela at the same time – can wreck not just the characters but also the audience. Finding the humanity in a god is not an easy proposition, but Watchmen managed to do it. Was Doctor Manhattan ineffective as an all powerful being? Yes, I think we can say he was. But when he was given a chance to experience love, real love, he found a humanity that he lacked for so long. And that was a beautiful thing to see.

And his gift to Angela – that she gain the power to take up his mantle? That’s a hell of a thing. And that speaks to his love and trust in her. When the final line of the series is “He could have done more,” and then we see that, perhaps, Doctor Manhattan has? Considering he knew his death was coming, he knew that two groups were out to get him, and that he was setting things up for the “good” guys to win and his hand-picked successor will get his powers (if she wants them – he did give her a choice), well, maybe he also realized he could have done more. Perhaps his time as a human taught him more than his past life ever did. Perhaps god managed to learn from man.

This new god-like being Angela will become will know how Doctor Manhattan handled things. She will understand modern humanity in a way that Jon never could. And, perhaps most importantly, she’ll have the knowledge of three generations of masked vigilantes to pull from in making her choices. Knowledge is power in the world of Watchmen, but it is also incredibly dangerous when it is not tempered with the foibles of humanity. When a character believes they are the best, the strongest, the only one who can know a thing, pain and suffering often follows. I certainly have hope that Angela will be human enough to take the lessons she’s learned – especially that wearing a mask is ultimately hiding and not letting the wounds of the past heal – and wield her power for good. But I suspect it won’t be easy.

So, after nine episodes, what is the legacy of this version of Watchmen? From my perspective, it’s nothing but good things. A story that began as something indelibly linked to the time in which it was written was taken to our present day and made relevant. The malleable nature of the story’s central themes – identity, hope, pain, how good vs. evil is too binary to really get at the heart of either element – were realized through a new story that never preached to us, but still managed to entertain and teach. Superheroes are cool. They’re fun. They’re aspirational. But there’s a darkness that comes along with a person willing to wear a mask to present themselves to the outside world. Whether that darkness is trauma, anger, or a festering wound is up for debate (perhaps it’s all three), but there’s something worth hiding under that mask. Who watches the Watchmen? We do, and we hopefully watch all those who wear masks with a little bit more scrutiny now as a result.

Final Thoughts:

— I suspect the major debate to stem from the finale will be whether or not Lady Trieu would have done good things with Doctor Manhattan’s powers. Personally, I suspect she would have had good intentions but would have ultimately stumbled. While she isn’t as sadistic and self-centered as her father, her own belief in her superiority wouldn’t have magically disappeared with the powers of a god – it likely would have corrupted her.

— The final installment of Peteypedia is up and it hints at the identity of Lube Man. Who seems to be exactly who we all assumed he was.

— One of the highlights of the episode for me was seeing Laurie and Adrian reunited. The duo did not get along in the original comic series, and I suspect Laurie took great joy in finally getting the better of Ozymandias. I would watch a second season that dealt solely with the Adrian Veidt trial, and followed Laurie and Mirror Guy as a buddy cop duo. Yet another indicator of the embarrassment of riches we got with Watchmen: An entire chunk of the finale was just Jeremy Irons, Jean Smart, and Tim Blake Nelson hanging out. What a show.

— Another worthy actor shout-out: Hong Chau absolutely killed it this week as Lady Trieu. Even when it was clear she was the ultimate villain of the story, she kept the character light and entertaining. Unlike Joe Keene, Jr., who was our stereotypical megalomaniac bad guy, Lady Trieu never pontificated, she just acted. And always had a delightful quip to add to the balance.

— If you enjoyed the general sensibility of the series, which is peak Damon Lindelof, might I recommend The Leftovers (my pick for the best show of the decade)? Not many superheroes, but it hits almost all of the same emotional notes.