This week, we see more into Master’s crazy world, Angela learns that Will is her grandfather, Judd had more than skeletons in his closet, and Hooded Justice. My name is Kent, and I ask 5 weekly questions and then people answer them. Any comments in BOLD are written by me. I hope you enjoy and if you or someone you know may want to do this blog, contact me, leave a comment, etc.
1. Angela found the Kavalry outfit in Judd’s closet. Do you think that was planted there or was he a member?
Jim: It seems awfully convenient, but we all knew he had some kind of skeleton in his closet. Didn’t realize it was literally and figuratively in his closet. I don’t think it was planted because there was nothing else in the super-secret hidey-hole in his closet…. so someone would have needed to replace something equally as shady that needed to be hidden there with that, or build a hidden hideaway simply to plant it unbeknownst to Judd. (When a show this creative offers something, as you put it so “literally and figuratively”, my skepticism alarm goes off. I had to take the alarm off the wall and remove the batteries. It was a big to-do.)
Chris: I want to say it was planted, but for that to happen, someone would need knowledge of the hidden area in the closet, or would have had to put it there themselves. (Yup, I concur.)
Johnny: I have a feeling he had forced pass affiliation with the Kavalry. Like a gang, once he was apart of it, it was not easy to leave quietly. I do believe Will could have killed him though.
Perhaps using a similar mind influence tech like “Looking Glass” used for interrogation on the Nixon Town civilian. (I could see a past affiliation that wasn’t exactly what he wanted to do. That could breed some interesting content.)
Kent: I think that we all have the feeling of it feeling too convenient and practically slapping you in the face. There was something horrible in his actual closet. So fudge it, time to make a really bold guess here. I think Jane Crawford and Senator Joe Keane planted it. I think that they have something going on on the side and knowing that it would be found, it takes all heat off of her and the Senator. They are secretly involved with the Kavalry. BOOM! I’m also sure that I am incorrect, but it’s slightly possible.
2. Sorry, but I want to go back to the squids for a moment. It sounds like the squids are only raining on Tulsa, Jakarta, Vancouver, and Leningrad. Is there a significance in these particular cities?
Jim: …. not that I am aware of…. I lent out my copy of the book to reference, but I can’t recall any mention of Vancouver or Jakarta…. other than scientists/artists/psychics may have been kidnapped from there to make the squid…. Leningrad was mentioned when talking about the Russian threat…. I don’t know if there is any significance. (Damnit Jim, you need to have the reference material to answer my inane questions!)
Chris: I don’t think so. Those cities are not mentioned in the series (at least I don’t think they are. It’s been a bit since I read it.) (It’s not like Jakarta is talked about too frequently.)
Johnny: Not to my knowledge. It may have been in this HBO Watchmen universe where Adrian Veidt used Dr. Manhattan’s powers manipulatively to bring squids down. Perhaps it’s still happening without it ever knowing how to stop. (Hmmm, that would make some modicum sense, at the very least. Really, how does one stop the raining of squid?)
Kent: What if it is all code? What if the first letters to the 4 cities were the initials of 2 important people? Obviously, I first thought of Jason Voorhees, Tommy Jarvis, TJ Hooker, Justin Timberlake, J Tolkien, John Travolta, John Turturro, James Talyor, LV (The other dude that sang with Coolio on Gangsta’s Paradise), Thomas Jane, Lark Voorhees (Lisa on Saved By The Bell), but I think I know the answer. VL stands for Vladimir Lenin while TJ stands for Thomas Jefferson. The next question is how these two individuals affected the Watchmen world.
3. When we had the flashback with Hooded Justice, the robbers threatened to kill the girl if the guy didn’t give them the safe or open it or whatever. Was he willing to let the girl get killed to protect the safe? Is there something super important in the safe aside from money?
Jim: I felt like it was more the symbolism of not giving in to criminals, and the mantra of the Watchmen being “sacrifices for the greater good”. I don’t believe there was anything else in the safe, and he was just calling their bluff. (Sigh…fuckin symbolism. Thanks, Charles Dickens! I do like the sacrifices for the greater good stuff though. Reminds me of Opie in SOA.)
Chris: I don’t think so. My best guess is that he thought they were bluffing, or he didn’t necessarily care if the girl died. (Bluffing makes more sense, but I prefer to think that the guy simply didn’t care. That’s the story in my head.)
Johnny: I don’t feel there was a hidden significance there with the safe and woman. But that being said; in the world of comics, anything’s possible. (There probably wasn’t, but I want there to be. I have learned to try to will things into existence.)
Kent: First of all, it was a pleasure to see Cheyenne Jackson in something outside of AHS that I was actually interested in. I’m sure that I shouldn’t be super focused on this particular scene, but I have a nagging feeling about that damn safe. I get that it was a flashback or retelling, so some of the things simply aren’t that important. Still, if you have 3 armed dudes threatening to kill someone, usually you don’t chance it. Obviously, that is a boring story. But he could have gone to open the safe and then Hooded Justice could have come in, right? It doesn’t change the story much aside from making the owner seem like he may give a damn. I dwell on meaningless stuff.
4. Master has clones or something of that nature, correct me on the appropriate term. Aside from duplicates of Philips and Crookshanks, does he have other people that he has copies of? For the readers of the source material, can you tell us about the original Philips and Crookshanks? Also, why are the Philips clones eager or accepting of being the next Philips if they know the outcome? Why were the ones playing instruments masked? I have so many questions about this scene alone. Fantastic.
Jim: I again don’t specifically recall either of the two in any significance. When it comes to the clones wanting to be Phillips, I think they all know they are disposable, so they just want the top job, head butler and actor.. even though they will die, because they all know they will die eventually. As far as the masks, I just think it’s a way to differentiate all the clones further, given their roles all seem to have different names. The scene was amazing, and I can’t wait to find out what the dead ones will be used for, but I’m sure it is Ozymandias’ super plot which ties the story together eventually. (I’m super excited to see what is done with the dead ones. This single scene offered more questions in my head than the rest of the episode, I think.)
Chris: I don’t believe they hold any significance to the book. I think the mask-wearing was for us, the audience, just so they could do a reveal. As far as the male clones wanting to be Phillips, maybe they want to play an important role that will be occurring in the future, or maybe they want to die. (The mask-wearing for the audience makes a lot of sense. Maybe they know that there is something big in the future and they could be THE lucky Philips. That would be neat.)
Johnny: I’ve seen the Zack Snyder 2009 Watchmen film countless times. The one thing I do know about “Master” (or “Ozy” as I like to call him) is that he’s been given the title to be the world’s smartest man. Seeing what he was so close to accomplishing in the original Watchmen story; I definitely have felt from my perspective the scenes with him and the clones are just showing how dettached he is to them. Even to the point where he’s trying to fill up his day with plays of John Osterman’s origins turning into Dr. Manhattan. Ozy is surely fascinated with Dr. Manhattan from a sense of discovery POV, but with that said, I think there may also be some real traits of obsession. (I feel like I need to rewatch the film again. It’s been a few years which is like 20 Johnny years. The memory isn’t strong within this guy. Also, I keep seeing the Ozy references and I feel like I have this constant Ozzy/Black Sabbath playlist going in my head while doing this blog. I hope that I’m not the only one.)
Kent: This was my favorite scene in the episode, no doubt. It was fascinating to watch it unfold. So it appears that Philips and Crookshanks aren’t from the source material, which is fine. We can all take this journey together. The logical side of my mind says that they volunteer to be the new Philips because their life sucks and they want to end it. That’s no fun though. I feel that there is definitely some brainwashing going on so that they think of it as an honor. Like, some people view being sacrificed as some great honor in other stories that we have heard. I just watched Midsommar and I thought about Watchmen during one particular scene. The masks were just awesome and made me want to watch Eyes Wide Shut again.
5. We have now confirmed that Will is Angela’s grandfather. Do you have any idea who rescued Will at the end? Will we learn more about Angela’s parents?
Jim: It’s possible he was a government agent like The Comedian and Dr. Manhattan were (since my working theory is he is the surviving hooded justice), so he may have the extra protection that would come with a skylift. I hope we find out more about her parents, but she may not know, if she didn’t know he was grandpa… (I could see an orphan backstory with Angela. With all the crazy race relations going on, it seems quite plausible.)
Chris: I’m guessing someone in the government, but I have no idea. I like Jim’s theory about him being hooded justice though…. (Yeah, I’m fine with giving Jim props once a year. This is it. Drink it in, Jim.)
Kent: I’m hoping it was Panda, but that’s just because I want to see more Panda. Government people sound great and if it ties in with The Comedian, all the better. It seems like the story of Angela’s parents will be an opening scene to one of the next 3 episodes. I’m guessing that they had a bad time and died in a brutal fashion. Or they have been on the run. Anything that is interesting will suffice, and this show has been quite interesting.
Final Thoughts – Is there a significance behind Will saying “I’m the one who strung up your chief of police”? He said it numerous times in this episode, so it seemed to be important.
Jim: The current theory I am running with is he is the Hooded Justice. I can’t think of the significance of him saying it repeatedly, but I can’t think of why he’d lie about it either. I think all of the foreshadowing between the hanging, the Tulsa incident he was at, the Hooded Justice episode (who wears a noose around his neck), and young Will’s love of the black Marshall movie, seems to point to Will being the surviving hooded justice… who is trying to hunt down those related to those who hurt his family? I can’t figure out exactly how he’d have done it, without help from his friends though. (I am hoping that Will has some legit mental powers. That’s really the hope for me. And maybe he can pass it to down to Angela to make her even more of a badass.)
Chris: I am loving this show because, like most of the questions this week, I don’t see an obvious answer. He continues insisting he strung up the chief, while at the same time he is wheelchair-bound. He did escape the cuffs and went shopping though. (Yeah, I am hoping for an explanation about how he escaped. Will is such a compelling character. There are plenty of them, but he is one of the 2 or 3 most interesting for me.)
Johnny: I felt he may have been saying such as a ruse to counter that the Kavalry was behind it. I’m still holding out that Looking Glass played by Tim Blake Nelson is a member of the Kavalry. There’s definitely a lot more than meets the eye there in mho. (I love Looking Glass. He’s my early favorite character. While I don’t want him in the Kavalry, I guess I am fine with it as long as the story makes sense. The story always has to make sense and then I can usually get behind it.)
Kent: After reading Jim’s theory, that’s all I can think of. It ties together so well, like a noose. The lamest theory, and I hope that it isn’t as simple as this, but he could have simply said it enough times as a way to taunt her. This was his way of leading her to find out their relation. So it could be as simple and obvious as that. That doesn’t seem like the path that this show wants to take. It’s like, there’s nothing wrong with a taco with just a shell, meat, and cheese. Most people like various other things on it as well. This show likes to give you 92 different options. Now I want tacos. Really, really spicy tacos and some chocolate milk. (I’m having tacos tonight!)
I have a few other minor tidbits. One, the word is spelled Kavalry. I am hoping that we eventually all get the spelling of that down. I really wish they didn’t use this particular spelling.
Jim sent me this link and it really does a good job summarizing what is going through my mind. It’s a fun and fast read.
https://www.thewrap.com/watchmen-damon-lindelof-alan-moore-graphic-novel-hbo/
He also gave me this link which does help explain some things. I feel that we can all use as much info as possible early on. I don’t need spoilers, but background info and history helps.
https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/11/01/watchmen-hbo-explained-questions-peteypedia-rorschach