Watchmen is a superhero drama series created by Damon Lindelöf, it continues the narrative of Alan Moore’s acclaimed graphic novel, rather than trying to remake it. Watchmen tells the story of Angela Abar (Regina King), a costumed detective of the Tulsa police department, who tries to stop the evil plans of far-right terrorist organisation the Seven Cavalry. Whilst doing this there is a wider mystery at play, that involves some of the original characters from the graphic novel.
First off, I just want to say that yes, this show is political, but unlike a lot of other entertainment shows and films it doesn’t ram it philosophy down your throat, the writing is far too subtle for that.
I think this show was criminally under watched when it was on, as someone who is a huge fan of the graphic novel, I have often wondered what life would be like in a post-squid world and this show scratched that itch for me. It was fun seeing Silk Specter (Jean Smart) and Ozymandias (Jeremy Irons) again, I liked what the show did with there characters and thought that all of the Ozymandias scenes when he was off world were really intriguing.
What the show did with Doctor Manhattan (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) was good, I liked the romance angle between him and Angela, my only issue with his character was that we didn’t really get a good look at his powers, but that is probably because it was confined to a TV show budget. My other little gripe is, because the show brought back all these classic characters the new characters they introduced really needed to standout and in the case of Angela this was a detriment. Though Angela had some interesting scenes a lot of the time I was begging the show to return to Ozymandias or show me more of other characters as I found her to be a bit dull.
However, the best character on the show was one of the new characters, Looking Glass (Tim Blake Nelson). Looking Glass or Wade, is a fascinating character to watch on screen, as he has been emotionally and psychologically scarred by the events of squid night and watching him deal with that over the course of the season and then seeing him learn it was all one big plot is one of the best things I have seen on television recently.
Overall, this is a masterpiece of a show, it successfully follows up the great graphic novel in a way that feels new and fresh, adding something to the world overall. I am glad it is not coming back for season two as it works better as a one of thing. Must See TV!
Pros.
Looking Glass.
How it deals with returning characters.
The world it sets up.
Fascinating character work.
Cons.
Angela isn’t the best lead character and is often out shadowed by others.
4.5/5
Reviewed by Luke
Another Millennial Reviewer 