Watchmen – She Was Killed By Space Junk Review

So remember how I said in my review of the premiere episode of Watchmen that I wasn’t going to delve too much into the past iterations of the source material? It only took three episodes for me to have to break that promise. After an episode as steeped in the history of masked heroes like Silk Spectre II, Ozymandias, Nite Owl, and Doctor Manhattan, I will have to get a bit into the weeds of what’s come before to discuss what’s happening in the here and now.

In “She Was Killed By Space Junk”*, we’re officially introduced (or, if you’ve read the graphic novel/seen the Watchmen film, re-introduced) to Laurie Blake (aka Laurie Juspeczyk, Laurie Jupiter, Silk Spectre II, and, in the world of the TV series, The Comedienne – a name she took after the events of the graphic novel when she teamed up with Nite Owl to continue fighting crime, and an homage to her father, Edward “The Comedian” Blake), portrayed by the excellent Jean Smart, who’s having quite the career resurgence between this, the second season of Fargo, and Legion.

*I love an episode title that can be read in multiple ways, and boy is this one. On the literal side of things, if one assumes that the car that came flying out of the sky (more on that a little later) was from Doctor Manhattan – and therefore from space – Laurie was indeed almost killed by space junk. On the metaphorical side of things, the Laurie from the graphic novels was killed (in part) by her association with Doctor Manhattan. This new and improved Laurie is caustic and nihilistic in a way that I think would shock those who once knew her – and would impress her father, who she now seems to take after. Her past associations and actions still affect her present in ways she both openly acknowledges (the owl in the cage, that massive Doctor Manhattan-sized dildo), and in ways she refuses to deal with (her feelings toward her father – clear from her using jokes as a mode of communication with Doctor Manhattan, her fervent hatred toward masked vigilantes both past and present). But that young woman from the comic is dead, and the one person from her past that she continues to cling to happens to be a mystical man living on Mars – even if she is unwilling to openly acknowledge just how fucked up that all is.

This darker, jaded version of Laurie is far more complicated (and, for my money, interesting) than the one we met 30 years ago. Working for the FBI following her arrest in 1990 for vigilantism (alongside her ex-boyfriend Daniel “Nite Owl” Dreiberg, who opted for prison rather than working for the government – which explains Keene Jr.’s comment to Laurie about letting her Owl out of his cage in exchange for her cooperation with his current agenda), we are now getting to see just what comes of a broken hero. While Doctor Manhattan can wile away his days on Mars taking phone calls from Earth, his former teammates are either dead, imprisoned, or working for the “enemy” and locking up those who wear masks. It’s an interesting choice, to make Laurie the one who went straight and took the job with the Feds.

But, as is so often the case on Damon Lindelof’s shows, there’s far more going on beneath the surface with Laurie than it appears at first glance. Yes, she’s a tough-talking Fed now. Yes, she’s taken clear steps to distance herself from her masked past. And yes, she’s still got a whole host of trauma to work through (layers upon layers of past trauma that I doubt the series has the time to dig into this season – save for the inevitable meeting between Laurie and Adrian Veidt, two characters who did not part on good terms). But Laurie still has the vulnerabilities that caused her to believe in the good of humanity all those years ago. While she presented herself to the masked gang of Tulsa as an immovable object who wasn’t going away quietly, I do believe she genuinely thought she was doing the right thing by shooting the Seventh Kalvary member who had the bomb. I do believe she wants to work with Angela and not against her (that scene between Smart and Regina King was incredible, and I look forward to many more such clashes before they ultimately opt to work together) – and that her revealing her knowledge of the (empty) secret compartment in Crawford’s closet was an olive branch of sorts. I think Laurie sees a kindred spirit in Angela – another woman who has been through her own hell and come out the other side. After all, in the joke she told Doctor Manhattan only the male heroes ended up in hell. The lone woman managed to take down God himself.

Speaking of gods, we finally got confirmation that the mysterious man in the country manor is, in fact, Adrian Veidt aka Ozymandias (and we even got to see him put on his old school costume at the end of the episode – which was pretty hilarious). As for just what is going on with Veidt, well, your guess is as good as mine at this point. He’s clearly conducting experiments on his clones (this latest one appeared to be trying to construct a space suit), and repeatedly putting on a play telling Doctor Manhattan’s origin story (perhaps Laurie isn’t the only former Watchmen obsessing over her past association with the Blue God of Mars). But this week we learned he’s being kept in check (or at least is being vaguely threatened by) a mysterious game warden (who appeared to be wearing a mask of his own) as part of his terms of captivity. Was Veidt arrested and is this his personal prison? Is he in some sort of mental institution (with his obsessive tendencies . . . and his history of rash, violent actions)? We know he has been declared dead, so just who exactly is holding him and what do they want with him? One thing is for sure: Jeremy Irons is having a hell of a time chewing the scenery (in the best way) with this part.

With the focus turned toward the past exploits of the Watchmen, and how those events have changed at least two of the people who lived through them, “She Was Killed By Space Junk” expanded the world of Watchmen by delving into the past. I’m really loving the world-building Lindelof and Co. are doing here – and the character work makes even the strangest elements of this story work. There’s so much going on, but it’s all incredibly interesting. I had my reservations before the series kicked off, but now I’m completely hooked and along for the ride.

Final Thoughts:

— So, that car. It looked an awful lot like Angela’s car from last week (the one that was removed with a giant magnet). And I will admit that I assumed Laurie was behind all of that (since I knew she was working for the government prior to the reveal this week), but now I’m starting to think it might have been a different Watchmen – the one who got named checked an awful lot this week, but who we have only seen in a brief piece of news footage – Doctor Manhattan. If that was her car, and Doctor Manhattan is linked to Will’s story, well, that’s going to open a whole host of questions. If it was Angela’s car and something else is going on (perhaps another gang of vigilantes exists and they’re behind it all?) – which I think it far more likely – well, that’s still interesting. We know there are plenty of folks still operating outside the law. And if it was just a random car tossed down by Doctor Manhattan to send a message to Laurie? Well, I suppose that’s rather sweet in a twisted way.

— HBO has helpfully put together a whole website of files on what’s happened between the end of the graphic novel and present day in this universe (or, rather, Laurie’s young FBI partner Petey has put it all together). So, dive in if you should so wish.

— Speaking of Petey, there’s a lot to unpack there in terms of Laurie’s very ill-advised decision to sleep with him (and have him wear his mask). The episode’s co-writer Lila Byock explained a lot about Laurie’s mental state, her hang-ups on the past, and her own journey to becoming more like her father than she likely ever imagined she would 30 years ago in an interview with Vulture. It’s a great read, and a great look into the psyche of a character that is going to be very important to the series moving forward.

— This week was light on Angela after giving us two episodes from her point of view, but we still learned some important things about her – first and foremost that she isn’t easily intimidated. The other? She doesn’t trust Laurie and/or the FBI when it comes poking around her investigation. We also learned that the police didn’t order a tox screen of Crawford, which wasn’t all that surprising since all his detectives knew he was an addict and likely didn’t want that coming to light and damaging the Tulsa PD standing in the public.

— So, what happened to the Klan robes? Did Angela take them? Did Jane, Crawford’s wife, take them? I think the good money is on Angela, but considering Frances Fisher is playing Jane, I wouldn’t be shocked if she’s far more involved in whatever was going on with Crawford than we’ve seen so far.

— We also learned a bit more about the White Night. Out of the cops who were targeted, only a few survived – making Angela’s survival all the more mysterious, considering there was a Seventh Kalvary member standing over her with a gun. We also learned that their families were also killed – which makes Cal’s survival also insanely improbable. Was Crawford somehow involved in deciding who was attacked (and spared them)? Still lots of questions here.