# A Watchmen HBO TV Series... \[Open spoilers\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 21, 2017, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-watchmen-hbo-tv-series-open-spoilers/789546 "2017-06-21T16:21:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2019, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-watchmen-hbo-tv-series-open-spoilers/789546/201 "2019-11-18T15:59:33Z")
Remember the weird screeching in the ears thing that Wade was experiencing (what he was trying to prevent with the reflective lined hats and his mask)? That was part of the psychic trauma. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2019, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-watchmen-hbo-tv-series-open-spoilers/789546/202 "2019-11-18T16:35:37Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Someone mentioned last night that the survivors of the squid landing on NYC suffered “psychic” trauma. Are they referring to PTSD from being at the site of an event that killed three million or is this something more? (I assume this was covered in the books.) I seem to recall that the squid landing was accompanied by a technological attack that actually killed people. Something about there being a sonic component is in my memory, but there was definitely something that killed people from a distance that wasn’t done by explosives or bombs. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2019, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-watchmen-hbo-tv-series-open-spoilers/789546/203 "2019-11-18T17:15:18Z")
I assume the fact that Wade was in a house of mirrors during the attack is related to his Looking Glass mirrored mask. And by the way, isn’t it sweaty to be wearing that mask all the time? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2019, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-watchmen-hbo-tv-series-open-spoilers/789546/204 "2019-11-18T17:26:48Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I seem to recall that the squid landing was accompanied by a technological attack that actually killed people. Something about there being a sonic component is in my memory, but there was definitely something that killed people from a distance that wasn’t done by explosives or bombs. Psychic shockwave? ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2019, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-watchmen-hbo-tv-series-open-spoilers/789546/205 "2019-11-18T18:05:10Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Psychic shockwave? Psychic blast was the phrase IIRC. Essentially shockwave. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2019, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-watchmen-hbo-tv-series-open-spoilers/789546/206 "2019-11-18T18:52:11Z")
Another great episode and one with the most direct connections to the source material. Also so much world building. I can’t believe how lucky we are that a show this weird and challenging actually got green lit. I like it. What was the 80s song that played in the beginning at the Hoboken Carnival? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2019, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-watchmen-hbo-tv-series-open-spoilers/789546/207 "2019-11-18T19:49:45Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > Another great episode and one with the most direct connections to the source material. Also so much world building. > > I can’t believe how lucky we are that a show this weird and challenging actually got green lit. I like it. This is a great observation. > [@](#): > > What was the 80s song that played in the beginning at the Hoboken Carnival? There was a song by Howard Jones (“Things Can Only Get Better”) and then “Careless Whisper” by Wham!/George Michael, which was reprised several times in different versions. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2019, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-watchmen-hbo-tv-series-open-spoilers/789546/208 "2019-11-18T19:53:53Z")
Howard Jones, “Things Can Only Get Better” – [Howard Jones - Things Can Only Get Better - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OO9LloDSJo) “Careless Whisper” – [George Michael - Careless Whisper (Official Video) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izGwDsrQ1eQ) ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2019, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-watchmen-hbo-tv-series-open-spoilers/789546/209 "2019-11-18T20:57:49Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Someone mentioned last night that the survivors of the squid landing on NYC suffered “psychic” trauma. Are they referring to PTSD from being at the site of an event that killed three million or is this something more? (I assume this was covered in the books.) I think it’s a bit of both. People near the event experienced some sort of real Call of Cthulhu-esq madness inducing “psychic trauma” in addition to the sort of traditional PTSD one might expect of bearing witness to a city-scale catastrophe. “Squid pro quo” …LOL ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2019, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-watchmen-hbo-tv-series-open-spoilers/789546/210 "2019-11-18T20:59:34Z")
I enjoyed a lot about this episode, but I have to say I’m starting to get a bit of a “Lost”/“We solved a mystery by revealing more mysteries! Isn’t that cool?” vibe. Both the Veidt and Looking Glass storylines were interesting, but both seemed to raise several much larger questions than the ones they solved, particularly the Veidt one for me. I’m not saying the series won’t be worth it in the end (as “Lost” wasn’t), but I am starting to get skeptical of an Alan Moore quality resolution. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2019, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-watchmen-hbo-tv-series-open-spoilers/789546/211 "2019-11-18T23:50:33Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > I can’t believe how lucky we are that a show this weird and challenging actually got green lit. I like it. Actually, while watching yesterday’s episode, it reminded me of The Leftovers, partly in terms of weirdness. Perhaps not surprising given that Damon Lindelof is responsible for both. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-watchmen-hbo-tv-series-open-spoilers/789546/212 "2019-11-19T01:28:14Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > Friends of Nemo, lol! > … > > Veidt creating a “Save me” message for… Dr Manhattan (looked like the next word started with a D?) meaning maybe someone else put him on the moon? I didnt get that. One of the moons of Jupiter, note. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-watchmen-hbo-tv-series-open-spoilers/789546/213 "2019-11-19T12:14:15Z")
A gang of armed Rorschachs arrive at Wade’s house just before the credits roll. I wonder if that means curtains for him or something else. I’m ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-watchmen-hbo-tv-series-open-spoilers/789546/214 "2019-11-19T16:32:53Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I didnt get that. The Friends of Nemo thing? People in Alcoholics Anonymous use "Friends with Bill’ (Bill is the first name of a co-founder of AA) to ask whether someone is in the group without blurting out “are you in AA too”? So the Extradimensional Attacks Anonymous use Friends of Nemo - as in Captain Nemo who is known for fighting giant squids in the Jules Verne novels. ---
**Author:** ![Taber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@Taber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taber)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-watchmen-hbo-tv-series-open-spoilers/789546/215 "2019-11-19T20:10:37Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > A gang of armed Rorschachs arrive at Wade’s house just before the credits roll. I wonder if that means curtains for him or something else. I’m In normal TV, a “this character is about to die at the end of an episode” just means it’s a cliffhanger, and that character is fine. I trust this show enough for it not to be just a cheesy cliffhanger, so I don’t think he’s just going to fight them off. Going through all the trouble of capturing Wade and showing him the video does not seem like the easiest way to get Angela out of the way for three days. I think they are grabbing him and taking him to Keene for another mission. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-watchmen-hbo-tv-series-open-spoilers/789546/216 "2019-11-19T23:19:41Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > A gang of armed Rorschachs arrive at Wade’s house just before the credits roll. I wonder if that means curtains for him or something else. I guess you could read different meanings into a group of Rorschachs. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-watchmen-hbo-tv-series-open-spoilers/789546/217 "2019-11-20T00:21:12Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I guess you could read different meanings into a group of Rorschachs. Very droll. That was quite a number of dead clones available to Veidt to construct his message. It seems strange to me that he would have sent hundreds of clones to their deaths across the barrier without a tether or anything. That wouldn’t seem to be a rational component of his efforts. Unless he launched them through exactly for that reason. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-watchmen-hbo-tv-series-open-spoilers/789546/218 "2019-11-20T07:05:24Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Unless he launched them through exactly for that reason. …I suspect this to be the case. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-watchmen-hbo-tv-series-open-spoilers/789546/219 "2019-11-20T07:37:21Z")
> [@duality72](#): > > I enjoyed a lot about this episode, but I have to say I’m starting to get a bit of a “Lost”/“We solved a mystery by revealing more mysteries! Isn’t that cool?” vibe. Both the Veidt and Looking Glass storylines were interesting, but both seemed to raise several much larger questions than the ones they solved, particularly the Veidt one for me. I’m not saying the series won’t be worth it in the end (as “Lost” wasn’t), but I am starting to get skeptical of an Alan Moore quality resolution. …this really isn’t following the Lost formula, but more the formula that Lindelof moved to later on with the Leftovers. Lindelof brings together great writing rooms and some of the behind the scenes stuff on the leftovers (don’t read if you haven’t seen the series because they are all have major spoilers) on how they managed to come up with an ending that simultaneously answered every question that the series posed yet also didn’t answer a single question the series posed, and did that in a way that was not only satisfying, but critically acclaimed, was inspiring. Lindelof [took the criticisms of Lost to heart](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eutiAsL9VrU). (No spoilers on the link) I wouldn’t be thinking about an “Alan Moore” quality resolution. If we get a resolution half as good as the Leftovers finale (which, along with B5’s Sleeping in Light, was probably one of my favourite series finales of all time) that would be good enough for me. ---
**Author:** ![ebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@ebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ebb)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2019, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-watchmen-hbo-tv-series-open-spoilers/789546/220 "2019-11-21T04:11:04Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > Friends of Nemo, lol! > > Veidt creating a “Save me” message for… Dr Manhattan (looked like the next word started with a D?) meaning maybe someone else put him on the moon? > > Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk Veidt seemed to be making the message so that it would be seen by the satellite. And what does God, or Dr. Manhattan, need with a satellite? Also, it’s kind of funny to imagine him spelling out all of the extra characters it would take to write “SAVE ME DOCTOR MANHATTAN”. My guess is “Dan”. I think we’re going to see Nite Owl again. Especially given the potential interplay with Agent Blake. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-watchmen-hbo-tv-series-open-spoilers/789546.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-watchmen-hbo-tv-series-open-spoilers/789546.md?page=12)