As Angela has a violent trip down memory lane via ‘Nostalgia’ the plot thickens around the Seventh Cavalry and …. mind -control?
We’ve had the everpresent blue Doctor Manhattan lingering over every episode. Even more so with the presence of Agent Laurie. And in this episode, we got to see more of the weirdness of the Watchmen world, feat squid babies from the sky rather than cats and dogs.
Angela relives her grand-father Will’s tumultuous history from the comfort of a cell. Now a top suspect in the case surrounding the lynching of Crawford. It is finally revealed that Will was indeed the masked vigilante, Hooded Justice, that inspired the Minute-Men in 1939. We see how the racial injustice of the NYPD lead Will to a new role as he couldn’t help the problems of the world as a law-abiding citizen.
Watchmen can indeed be heralded by how well they bring up bad memories of history that the world has all too conveniently forgotten about. Like the Nazi rallies held at Madison Square Garden and the casual antisemitism against Jewish New Yorkers.
Politics is what drives this show and this episode’s knee-deep historical grounding is what gives it the impact that other super-hero shows do not have – relevance. It is key we know our own histories, we need to acknowledge our past and be aware of their impact on our presence. Watchmen have really nailed it.
