It was good but I expected a bit more I guess. I thought this would be my fav of the season but I'd put last week's and the HJ episode ahead of this
1x08
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It was no "Photograph is in my hand" chapter that's 4 sure, I just reread that this week and god it's so good
Weirdly, even though I wasn't a big fan of the movie, I kinda missed Billy Crudup's voice in this. In hindsight he had a pretty good voice for Manhattan which I didn't feel as much with Yahya
I also wish I would've FELT the romantic connection between Angela/Jon more. The ending didn't feel as impacting as it should've because we basically just established their relationship
Liked the Adrian/Jon scene a lot. It was nice seeing Irons get to play a non-manic version of Adrian
Agreed that it really doesn't feel like the FINALE should be next week. I feel like there's sooo much story left to tell, it would make sense if this was supposed to be multiple seasons but I don't see how they wrap it up in that time. I really hope they've got some good tricks up their sleeve, but right now I can't see it not being a disappointment
I think the most disappointing thing for me atm is I really don't feel like most of the characters have been fleshed out enough at this point. In the novel you had AT LEAST Rorschach, Manhattan, Dreiberg, Laurie, and Adrian as very fleshed out characters. In this you have...just Angela? MAYBE Trieu? Other than that all the most interesting characters seem to be the carryovers from the novel (I guess you could count HJ in the show's favor though since there wasn't much to him before). Looking Glass has/had potential but I feel like I don't know him outside of his origin
first impression: p disappointed! I was really looking forward to this and was hoping they'd stick the landing but it fell kinda flat for me. Kinda felt like Lost all over again, just on a smaller scale. Really liked the build-up and all the intrigue throughout the series but after seeing behind the curtain it was just...not what I was building up in my head I guess
I have no idea where the Veidt arrest comes from...like why? Kinda felt thrown in just to have a twist cuz I'm not sure how that was built up to at all or what that accomplishes narratively. It's not like transparency was a huge theme throughout this series. They didn't even give Laurie a good reason for it, SURELY they could do better than "Ehhh, I had a change of heart!" Silly
And then Angela becoming Manhattan at the end?? Why? What does THAT accomplish narratively? I thought the line about Trieu being dangerous because she 'wanted' to be a god meant that Angela would become one 'accidentally', because even though she didn't crave the power she'd still be responsible with it. But then...he gives her a choice? And she takes it? How is that much different from Trieu? Like okay, she didn't exactly have to pursue it as hard, but still. EHHH!
the more I think about it the less I like the finale tbh :(
there are a bunch of smaller things I could nitpick on but the main two things that bothered me:
- how good vs evil the ending became which felt very standard comic book-ish. That's not Watchmen! It didn't have to be a 'rerun' of the comic's ending, but what made that so brilliant is how CONFLICTED you felt at the end and how the conventional villain actually COULD be considered a hero depending on your moral philosophy. In this you just had the 7th Kavalry as very conventional mustache-twirling villains and Trieu as a slightly more interesting villain, but clearly not someone the show set you up to side with whatsoever
- how faultless the show set up Angela. Again, something that was so great about the novel was how morally grey every single character was (to varying degrees on the spectrum). Rorschach was the protagonist but was by no means a hero. Whereas in this, just like the villains being pretty conventionally comic book-y, Angela was also a pretty conventional hero. And worse yet they set her up to be a better version of Manhattan, which...doesn't really make any sense. Jon's problem was never with him as a person, it was that as soon as he became a god he stopped caring for the 'small things' as much, because his worldview got enlarged so much. It was a matter of perspective, not his morals. So there's really no reason to believe Angela wouldn't follow down the same path but the show really doesn't hint at that at all
I wasn't looking for an exact 'rerun' of the book, but those are both pretty WIDE margins that the show could've stayed within and been much more interesting for it. FHEH
with 2 things to note:
- while maybe not completely necessary, you'll definitely get more out of it if you read the novel first because it ties in much more heavily as the show goes on, so I'd recommend it! But I'd highly recommend reading it even if it didn't tie in cuz it's so good!
- it's very Lindelof-ian for better or worse so expect a great journey full of intrigue but don't get your hopes up too high for things to wrap up super satisfactorily. But it's very possible the ending will sit better with you, WHO KNOWS!
yeah i think its biggest problem is that every episode seems to fundamentally change and expand on the story in such a way that the finale has way too much to do to bring it to anything satisfying. but those individual episodes are good!
I enjoyed the finale, but thought the last scene with the egg was so dumb. I don’t think Angela ever had a desire to be Dr. Manhattan. I was kind of hoping you’d just hear a splash at the end.
"So, uh, what are we saying here? If we save LA from a nuclear bomb, then you and I can get together for dinner and a movie?"
I highly recommend the show, though I agree with Boc I think knowing the basics of the original story is really important. They flashback a little bit but I think the assumption is you know the story. I read the comic and watched the movie before I started.
Spoiler
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I do agree with the other posts about how every episode seemed to extend the plot and it kind of came to a quick finish. I will say I think they did a really good job tying up the loose ends. I enjoyed the ending better than the leftovers it felt more like the ribbon on the present.
I agree Veidt’s story line was the weakest. Kind of felt like Dany in GOT. Just waiting for him to get into the main plot. I did enjoy the Lady Trieu twist and really I felt I should have picked up on that one. I liked how most of the reveals were surprising to me but I think were bread crumbled enough the sleuths could have figured it out.
I feel like the background on the cyclones was kind of weak. They did something back in the 80s and then jumped and tried it again in the present day. They never really felt like a real threat. I did like the scene where Angela realized she was the one who planted the seed into her grandfathers head to kill Judd. On that note I thought the Dr Manhattan scenes were really well done. The whole time travel being in multiple timelines right now is pretty confusing but I think they did a pretty solid job making it make sense but not too complicated. Would have liked maybe some interaction between him and Laurie.
I agree with Boc it was more good v evil than Watchmen. It seemed greyish early with the interrogation stuff but that slowly failed. I also liked how the first couple episodes were like, how is this even Watchmen. It’s got Adrian and Roarshach masks but it slowly developed into a true watchmen story. I also liked the Easter Eggs like the news stands, I’m sure there were a lot more I missed.
Bummer this is it but I think it’s probably the right call. Glad they aren’t going for the cash grab and watering it down more.
"So, uh, what are we saying here? If we save LA from a nuclear bomb, then you and I can get together for dinner and a movie?"
Only watched the first ep when it aired and enjoyed it but I wanted to finally finish the graphic novel before continuing. Finished that last night and just finished rewatching episode 1 now
Enjoyable start. Reallyyy glad I read the comic and am watching this nice and fresh off of that. There were small things I didn’t catch the first time (like Hollis Mason’s book) and I’m sure there’ll be plenty more going forward. Excited to continue
Bunny Colvin! And that graffiti of the embracing couple from the comic. Fun
Guessing Angela was pregnant when she got shot
Angela/Sheriff final moments are p touching
The comic did fun transitions and juxtaposition super well. The movie widely failed at that. So far this has been better at it for sure, I’ve noticed a few good examples already
Jim Beaver! Always great
Speaking of always great, I like this score by Reznor/Ross
Very interested who these kids they’re raising are
Fun idea that the government has to maintain the squid lie and have it pour down every so often. Or just Manhattan is?
I’m really curious about what went down with Rorshach’s journal. If it was published then that spoils the whole ruse. But it had to have been published right?? Since the 7th Cavalry are directly quoting it
Fun stuff with Hooded Justice and denying the Strongman theory
For whatever reason when I watched the first episode back then I thought Crawford could’ve secretly been a 7th Cavalry guy. So it’s interesting that he’s a KKK guy. Same thing it seems! Maybe I was still associating him with his Django role
Clones, how fun
Oh shit. Didn’t see the grandfather twist coming. I wonder which one this guy was, the little kid in the beginning or the baby in the beginning. Not sure if I’m supposed to assume he’s the little kid or not since he has the piece of paper but that could’ve easily been passed on
