Over the last few weeks I've been watching HBO's Watchmen (2019), one of the shows I was most curious about when signing up for Max. I was a fan of Zack Snyder's movie, also called Watchmen (2009), even though it's a big dumb mess at times, and expected the show to follow it. I was wrong on that account but it doesn't matter much and we'll touch on that later. This takes place in the present day (then 2019), about 30 years after the events of the original story (set 1985). It's primarily based in Tulsa, OK, which does get explained.
The show, a mini-series really (one season only, nine episodes), is distinctly Watchmen and again places a focus on its alternative version of American history (from about 1940 on) and the emergence of costumed heroes. In this timeline the U.S. wins the Vietnam War, for one, and makes the country the 51st state. This results directly from the intervention of Dr. Manhattan, a formerly-human scientist who gains god-like powers in an accident (seen in the Watchmen movie). In the show we see costumed vigilantes are still outlawed and actively hunted by law enforcement arms of the Federal government. Counterintuitively, in Tulsa, the police all wear masks and keep their jobs secret from everyone, even friends and children. There's a historical event (the 'White Night') that precedes this and is used as a justification, but it's pretty jarring to see well-intentioned wanna-be heroes taken out by the FBI while cops, many of whom take on character personas themselves, legally hide their identities. There's a lot of interesting bits there and I can see, logically, how the they got there. And this show came before the recent troubling trend of officers, who are involved in police shootings, being called out (with names, addresses, etc.) on social media in what looks like a desire for 'justice' by the mob.
I won't get into a ton of details. The structure is almost needlessly convoluted, as many dramas are these days, entirely to prevent you from figuring out what's happening until as late as possible. I'm liking it, for the most part (though eye-roll at all the white supremacy stuff), because I appreciate the unique history and, like the preceding story, this one does a good job integrating past and present to form a compelling narrative. But that's not the only piece I like.
What I can't help appreciating is the commitment to the weird. There's a lot here, for sure, but one example sticks out and really makes it clear this is a follow-up to the graphic novel (published 1986-87), not Snyder's movie. Spoilers below for Watchmen (2009) only, there's nothing revealing for HBO's Watchmen (2019).
Okay, the Watchmen movie, in brief. The opening credits (above) is one of the best movie set-ups I've ever seen and The Times They Are A-Changin' will always make me think of it. As for the plot, in the 1980s one of the former costumed vigilantes, the Comedian, is murdered. Rorschach, one of his old Watchmen teammates, decides to investigate. An unforgiving absolutist, Rorschach hasn't given up his mask or his mission to punish evil-doers even if it's now illegal. He talks to the rest of the surviving team, including Dr. Manhattan, who's wholly focused on some sort of fusion energy project. Later Dr. Manhattan, in a live TV interview, is confronted by his ex-girlfriend who's terminal with cancer. Manhattan is blamed for this and teleports away in the middle of the commotion, all the way to Mars. Since his entrance into world events, like the Vietnam War, Manhattan had, to this point, operated as a nuclear deterrent. After his departure the Soviet Union and its allies ramp up activities and a new world war between nuclear powers appears likely. Rorschach's investigation, now aided by two other former Watchmen (Nite Owl and Silk Spectre), points to another one of their teammates. This man, Ozymandias, the smartest man on the planet and one of its richest businessman, has indeed orchestrated everything and proceeds with the final stage of his plan. He causes massive explosions, using Dr. Manhattan's power reactors, which kills millions of people. He believes in the face of great loss world powers will set aside their disputes to unite against a common enemy. After this happens Manhattan returns to Earth and confronts Ozymandias, though eventually is swayed by his logic. The other surviving Watchmen acquiesce, except Rorschach. Ozymandias 'saves' humanity from itself and prevents nuclear war by himself killing millions, for which someone else, the omnipotent Dr. Manhattan, will be blamed.
This ending is significantly different than the graphic novel on which HBO's Watchmen is based. Snyder crafted a path much less strange and, to be honest, I can see why he did it. Instead of using Dr. Manhattan as a global foil, Ozymandias instead dropped an enormous squid-like creature on New York. The squid, upon impact, sent out powerful psychic waves and fried peoples brains. This is how millions are killed in the original, written version of the story. Blame in this case was falsely applied to an alien invasion and the result was the same, as humanity puts aside its political differences in the face of a greater threat. A far, far weirder threat. In HBO's Watchmen we see this event, which (like I said before) makes it clear this doesn't follow the movie, and how it's still affecting the world 30+ years later. If you're curious how this remains an effective method of world peace, there are 'squid-falls' in the current day, of the show. An early detection alarm sounds, kinda like a tornado siren, and small squids rain from the sky. They aren't harmful, and dissolve into water within minutes, but it's clear Ozymandias' plan continues apace.
That's all I'm going to say about Watchmen, the show. I'm happy I learned how the graphic novel actually ends, because I've never read it, and that HBO went all-in in a way Snyder wouldn't. It's very, very weird, in a completely fascinating way.
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