Image via HBO
Those looking for answers to the myriad of questions posed in last week's Watchmen pilot got a little bit of satisfaction during tonight's ep—which also, inevitably, opened up a whole other can of worms. Once again directed by Nicole Kassell from a script written by series creator Damon Lindelof (co-written with Nick Cuse), episode 2 or “Martial Feats of Comanche Horsemanship,” pulls back its scope to focus more on Regina King's fiery protagonist Angela/Sister Night and the event that led to her donning a mask and costume in the first place. Let’s take a look at the most interesting aspects of this episode, the questions they answer and the new ones they pose, and their larger connections to the comic book.
“Martial Feats of Comanche Horsemanship” sharpens its focus on Angela as she digs for answers around the death of Judd, all the while further fleshing out her backstory. As Old Man Will Reeves asks Angela directly, “Who are you?” the audience gets a bit more shading around the duality of her public and private life. The deep relationship between her and Judd get its inflection point in a sequence befitting of the comic, as we learn that the Seventh Kavalry’s White Night attack took place on Christmas Eve of all days (Much like a number of flashbacks in the comic. Coincidence?) The resulting chaos left Angela and Judd as some of the only existing members of the police—her and husband Cal's "children" are really the orphaned kids of her slain partner. (And judging from the appearance of go-to character actor Jim Beaver as an ornery white man loitering on Angela and Cal's porch, there's some drama we havnen't seen the last of regarding the kids' biological family.) A majority of the force quit after realizing 7K had their names and addresses.
Even in our brief time with Angela, we’ve quickly learned that she’ll take the fight over flight every day of the week, which serves as the foundation between her and Judd's connection that was so well established in such a short amount of time. However, the reveal that Judd has full Klan regalia sitting behind a hidden door in his closet makes for a startling discovery for both Angela and the audience. But the revelations don’t stop there: Angela’s detective work ends up unearthing the revelation that she and Will are related. While a timely aerial abduction leaves us and Angela to wonder just what in the world is happening, her origins now have been upended alongside Judd’s.
"The Watchmaker's Son"
But these two aren’t the only characters in this week’s ep whose origins are on full display: despite not being seen, Doctor Manhattan’s presence hangs over the episode like the giant blue being he can often become. This week on Veidt(?) Watch: The Jeremy Irons interlude involves the full production of “The Watchmaker’s Son,” a shockingly violent and fatal, yet very true story of how the ordinary Jon Osterman became a walking nuclear weapon.
In a somewhat surprising twist, we realize that Mister Phillips is just one of a series of male clones that Not-Veidt (but c'mon, he's Veidt) has made—a move befitting of a man who even all these years later, continues to fancy himself a God among men. Veidt’s obsession with power naturally might lead him to spend time crafting a tale about the other most powerful being in the world, but the specific whys and wherefores as to he’s decided to tell this particular tale are still largely unknown. However, the more practical purpose of this is to give the audience a reminder of Manhattan’s origins ahead of his inevitable reappearance.
“This extraordinary being had crashed in through the window of the supermarket while the robbery was in progress and attacked the man responsible with such intensity and savagery that those not disabled immediately were only too willing to drop their guns and surrender.”
Sound familiar? Comic book readers will remember this quote at the end of the first chapter of Watchmen, as it comes from the printed excerpts of Hollis Mason’s autobiography, Under the Hood, detailing his adventures as a member of the Minutemen in the late 1930s and early 1940s that show up frequently in the comic. This directly serves as the source material for the first installment of the television show’s “show-within-the-show,” American Hero Story. That concept fits within the spirit of the comic as well, as readers will know that the Watchmen comic book contains excerpts of a pirate comic book called Tales of the Black Freighter. That story was used frequently as a device to comment on the larger thematic and plot elements happening in the main story. American Hero Story (which in itself is a playful Ryan Murphy send-up) looks to do the same for the TV version of Watchmen, using Hooded Justice, one of the original heroes in this universe, to comment on Angela. Additionally, the slow-mo and sped-up effect that occurs while Hooded Justice unleashes his fury might be a nod, for good or for ill, to the Watchmen film adaptation, particularly director Zack Snyder’s proclivity to use this technique in his action sequences.
Oh, by the way, Hooded Justice’s original name—per the initial character notes of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons—was Brother Night. That’s a deep cut that Lindelof and his crew have pulled in as a reference for Angela’s secret identity of Sister Night.
Odds, Ends and Other Notes
- The episode title “Martial Feats of Comanche Horsemanship” refers to an 1834 painting by George Catlin that’s seen in Judd’s home. It’s all about the craft a young rider displays in avoiding an attack by an opposing force by sliding down the side of his horse, effectively outmaneuvering a fatal blow.
- The flying news reporters looked to be using a version of Mothman’s wings. One of the original Minutemen, Mothman was: “A playboy adventurer who donned a splendidy bizarre Moth Suit to fight crime, lending him the ability to glide for short distance,” per Moore and Gibbons.
- Not surprising that Veidt has moved on to creating and growing human clones after genetically engineering a cat in the comic book.
- Veidt’s use of “The Ride of the Valkyries” in the play has a two-fold significance: It’s a reference in the first issue of the comic. From the “Under the Hood,” Hollis Mason states that “[it’s] the saddest thing I can think of . . . every time I heard I get depressed and start wondering about the lot of humanity and the unfairness of life and all those other things you think about a three in the morning when your digestion won’t let you sleep.” Secondly, it scores Doctor Manhattan’s and the Comedian’s invasion of Vietnam in Snyder’s film adaptation.
- Character actor James Wolk (aka Mad Men’s Bob Benson) shows up this week as Senator Joe Keene. That surname will especially resonate for comic readers as the Keene Act was established by Joe’s father, John David Keene, to outlaw any “costumed adventuring” of any kind. Someone to keep an eye on for sure.
- Angela’s investigation in the house also recalls Rorschach’s process of discovering Eddie Blake’s Comedian costume after his death. I also like the continued use of Nite Owl-like tech as police-based tools.
- Speaking of Rorschach, it looks like Tim Blake Nelson’s Looking Glass might be the closest analog to that character, as he rarely removes his mask, is a man of few words, and rather enjoys eating.
- I’ve referenced additional and supplemental materials a few times throughout this, which is one of the things that the comic does really nicely to flesh out the world. Lindelof and crew feel the same way, as a series of extra context was posted this week via the show’s new companion site. I’ll let you dig into them yourself if you’re curious, but there are few interesting bits worth mentioning: Rorschach’s letter at the end of the comic was largely ignored by the public, as it was published in the (essentially) alt-right publication The New Frontiersman; Laurie Juspecyck would join the FBI, eventually forgoing not only the Silk Specter moniker but her last name too, instead taking up the name Laurie Blake and the title “The Comedienne” in honor of her later father; and after the events of the comic, Dan Dreiberg (Nite Owl) is in federal custody, where he refuses to speak about the events that transpired in Antarctica. Something to keep an eye on moving forward.
- Also, if you’re jonesing for a fix of that sweet, sweet Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross score, the duo released their end credits theme online for you to listen to while we wait for an official release.