As if things couldn’t get any more interesting, Watchmen finds a way to get even more interesting! Remember, this is more of a reaction piece than a review, and it does contain spoilers, but there will be some analysis as well.
Little Fear of Lightning
Character secret-identity recap:
Sister Night (Detective) = Angela Abar
Looking Glass (Detective) = Wade Tillman
Silk Spectre II = Agent Laurie Blake
Ozymandias = Adrian Veidt (Declared Deceased)
An old-style radio tuner, eh? I like how they do these openings. Well played, Watchmen.
Hm… and Hoboken in 1985? Interesting. Are these Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses? Skinny there looks like Petey. And they’re calling this a “whore’s den”? Must be Jehovah’s Witnesses, then.
Watchtower - Jehovah’s Witnesses. Called it. And that is a young Wade. Sorry for saying that you look like Petey.
Oh, hey - Knot Tops (or a related gang). Hey, is that a young Pirate Jenny? She’s being awfully nice - I think that she’s Pirate Jenny. But don’t lie, young Wade - you are afraid of her, or at least of the situation. This is a new experience for you. I was your age once, and I know how I would have felt.
And… clothes stolen. Don’t be so hard on yourself, Wade. She would have tricked me, too. Don’t let religion destroy you like that - humans are jerks.
Woah, was that the psychic event? Hot diggity damn - all those dead people. You’re not Pirate Jenny, clothes-stealer. How far is Hoboken from NYC, even? (Note: 4.5 miles.) OH GOD THEY’RE ZOOMING OUT - I’M SHUTTING MY EYES UNTIL AFTER THE MUSIC HAS FULLY CHANGED. (Note: a friend later told me that there was indeed a giant squid in the zoom out - I made the right move.)
Oh, dang - Wade is a focus group interpreter/analyst as a civilian. That makes so much sense with his skills. Any NYC is still abandoned (or mostly abandoned), to boot. Makes sense - I probably wouldn’t want to go back, either.
Oh, shit - no one thought to look for the church? Damn. Granted, I didn’t think to look for it, either. Let’s see what the photo has for us:
50 Star Flag, cut like a pendant. Not much help there.
A crucifix.
Probably Roman Catholic (or one of the other Catholic Churches), Lutheran, or Anglican.
Probably not other Protestants, Reformed Faith, Presbyterian, Reformed Baptists, Mormons, or Jehovah’s Witnesses
“PRAISE WAITETH FOR THEE, O GOD IN ZION”. It took me a moment to work out the wording on that arch in the background. That phrase is from Psalm 65:1. That specific wording is used in King James Version, Jewish Publication Society of America (which we can discount, being that 7K is the Klan), American Standard Version, English Revised Version, and Webster Bible Translation. Unfortunately, the bible usage (near as I can tell) seems to be congregation-specific - I can’t find any definite information on which denomination predominantly uses which version of the Christian Bible.
The building appears to be made out of wood, and the windows are of a particular shape. That should help narrow things down a bit.
Well. There’s some detective work. Hopefully some of this pans out.
GOD DAMMIT, RED SCARE! THAT IS EVIDENCE!
Why is that desk cactus in better focus than Looking Glass? I mean, it’s a cute cactus, but still.
How big was the psychic blast zone, anyway? Must be at least a radius of 4.5 miles, as young Wade was in it.
The mask is made out of Reflectatine. Being that it is a made-up material, some form of unobtainium, perhaps that’s how he can see out of it? And it guarantees protection from psychic blasts. I am forming a hypothesis as to the lack of wireless communication technology, which I will write out at the end of this post.
“Well, don’t take it personally. I’m FBI. We bug shit.” I chuckled.
Cynthia Tillman. Well, we know his ex-wife’s name.
And his hat is lined with Reflectatine. Wade Tillman has PTSD.
Everything that Agent Blake said about people from the blast zone waking up screaming, and Looking Glass saying that he sleeps fine.
Looking Glass was wearing his mask at home in Episode 2, just like he is now, but he wasn’t when he was in his bunker in Episode 4.
His hat is lined in Reflectatine, and we’ve almost never seen him without headgear on. In fact, during the funeral scene, I bet his uniform cover had Reflectatine lining.
He’s eating baked beans from a can with his mask on, à la Rorschach.
Here we see why American Hero Story is rated TV X - LSV instead of TV MA - LSV (if my hypothesis from Episode 2 is correct). Hooded Justice and Captain Metropolis are clearly having sex. Like, not even implied, but even clearly. I thought that it was going to be porn before I realized what it was, honestly.
WOAH, ALARM! To the bunker? EDI simulation? Extradimensional Invasion, I bet. And more Reflectatine. Yep, PTSD.
Yep, company is called “Extradimensional Security”.
Sleeping on the couch in the bunker? Do you miss Cynthia?
Smiley-O’s… is that a reference to The Comedian?
Damn, look at all those clones. Yeah, my hypothesis is getting more firm.
Cynthia Bennett. Got it.
Oh, no! Don’t be a furnace, please. GOD DAMMIT, YOU MONSTER! THAT WAS A LIVING PUPPER! WHY ARE YOU SCIENTISTS ALL MONSTERS IN THIS UNIVERSE?
Nostalgia? Pops, you’ve been taking Nostalgia? To help you get your memory back (Episode 2)? Unless those were vitamins, and you just left Nostalgia in the car (Lady Trieu said that it was “too cute by half”, after all, in Episode 4). Does that mean that Bian has also been taking Nostalgia in that IV? Psychosis possibility, as well? This is going to come back and bite someone.
Extradimensional Anxiety and you. “Friend of Nemo’s” - must be a reference to the character Captain Nemo, created by Jules Verne; Nemo was also a character in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which, like Watchmen, was created by Alan Moore. Wheels within wheels. Also, “Friend of Bill W.”, being Alcoholics Anonymous.
Smiley-O’s had no sugar? Oh, no wonder why the kids hated it. We’re addicted to sugar as a society.
Pale Horse came out in ‘92. Steven Spielberg. I wonder if that’s this universe’s replacement for Schindler’s List.
And you don’t have any friends, Wade? Not even Angela? I’m sorry, man. PTSD.
Sugar. It's in everything! Is it good for us? Well, the sugar industry thinks so.
And tobacco is a controlled substance, eh? That makes sense with Robert Redford as President of the United States instead of Ronald Reagan. Too bad that caffeine and sugar aren’t considered controlled substances as well - those are terrible for us. Absolutely terrible.
Oh, and she’s 7K. I’m sorry, Wade. You sure can pick them.
How is Officer Sutton doing, anyway? I could use some closure on that angle, personally.
Why does nobody ever wear gloves? You are leaving prints on evidence!
Damn. The church is in the abandoned mall. I was way off.
HOT SHIT! Doctor Manhattan? Wait, 7K did that? Is that what the Intrinsic Field Generator supposed to do?
Blanks. Damn, they had you good.
Wow, Senator Keene - you’re also 7K? Damn. And are you lying about Judd? Well, you are going to kill Looking Glass.
CX-924 teleportation window at the Institute for Transdimensional Studies at Herald Square?
Wade, don’t do it - he’s going to kill you no matter what you do.
November 1st, 1985. God fucking damn, Adrian Veidt - planning who will become President of the United States of America. And are you standing in front of a giant eye? And did you plan for Rorschach?
And so, Veidt, where are you? Were those near-threatened American Buffalo that you were shooting at before the Game Warden shot at you?
Oh, that’s definitely Jupiter. And with such an icy body and red ground, we can deduce that he’s on Europa - Io is too volcanic, the other two Galilean moons lack the silicate deposits, and the other 75 moons make up only 0.003% of the Jovian Satellite Mass. So… Europa.
And I think that we can see Io in the distance - that’s neat.
Oh, the anniversaries! Veidt has been here for four years! He said that last episode! Of course! It’s all coming together.
Oh, the corpses of Ms. Crookshanks and Mr. Philips. Are you spelling out “Save Me!” or “Save Me Doctor Manhattan”? That looks more like a D, and the reflection in that satellite (which looks like the Europa Clipper, which is planned to launch in 2025) doesn’t show further than that either.
Oh, you got pulled through the trees. Game Warden! What are you? What is this? Your god has left you? Is your god Doctor Manhattan? He is kind of a god, in the way that Superman is a god.
Oh, that was a neat transition, with the Mercy.
Red Scare is correct - Doctor Manhattan cannot time travel. He experiences his past, present, and future as one, but only from his perspective. Sorry, Panda, but Doctor Manhattan is not Hooded Justice.
Oh, upturned mask and leaning in? He’s turning her in. Damn. He’s been given a bad hand, and he’s playing it the best he could at the moment, but there was an even better move. He could have told her first and then turned her in with her playing along.
All those pills at once? That can’t be good.
You left the hat in the car, and you almost threw away the new alarm. You’re borderline there. But it doesn’t matter, Looking Glass - 7K is here to kill you.
Fuck, this episode was an excellent character piece on Wade Tillman. This is Angela Abar’s show, but having just one episode focus on another episode really ties it together. I love how it just gave us all this. I’m very curious about how all of this new information is going to play out.
Hypothesis on Technology
There is a plethora of electric cars about, but a lack of wireless technology. Two-way radios and pagers exist, but there are no cell phones or cordless phones. Satellites also exist, as they can see Doctor Manhattan on Mars and the Europa Clipper has arrived in Jovian orbit at least a decade earlier than in our timeline, which indicates that the various space programs must be well funded. We see plenty of aircraft, ranging from airplanes to jet-turbine hovercraft to some sort of anti-grav futuretech (or however Archie and the Police Version fly). And lastly, there is superior biotech and hologram technology, complete with anti-psychic reflective material.
I have a hypothesis that there is a restriction on wireless technology to limit the amount of radiation being generated above the natural ambient radiation that we already experience to reduce the amount of interference in these other technologies, possibly also out of an ethical concern about the psychic damage it could do in a world where psychic damage is possible. Space technology has also increased because if Doctor Manhattan can get places, then we can get there too - humans are like that. Plus, since there is probably a moral ban on wifi, and Adrian Veidt already perfected cloning in the 70s or 80s, it makes sense for cloning to be common now.
That’s my take, anyway.
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