For many, HBO’s Watchmen is one of the most intriguing dramas on television right now, as the series takes the original graphic novel to some surprising new heights. The series’ plot – and the way it connects to its source material – has already birthed quite a lot of fan theories and possibilities in the week since it debuted, and it looks like this week’s episode is continuing the momentum. The episode appeared to answer some of the pilot’s biggest questions — only to raise many more in the process. Spoilers for this week’s episode of Watchmen, “Martial Feats of Comanche Horsemanship”, below! Only look if you want to know!
Videos by ComicBook.com
The episode picked up right where last week’s shocking ending left off, as Angela Abar (Regina King) found the corpse of Judd Crawford (Don Johnson) hung from a tree. Sitting in front of him was Will Reeves (Louis Gossett Jr.), an elderly man in a wheelchair who had been pestering Angela in the time prior. Angela apprehended Will, who continued to claim that he was the man who had killed Judd because he had “skeletons in his closet”. He also claimed that he was secretly Dr. Manhattan, the blue-skinned superhero who the public believed had made his way to Mars after the original events of Watchmen. Will also repeatedly told Angela that he had friends “in high places” who would come to rescue him.
Angela secretly took a sample of Will’s DNA, and went to test it at the center for “Redfordations”, where African Americans could figure out if their ancestors were victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. The DNA later came back as a 100% match for someone present at the event – seemingly confirming that he was the little boy that audiences followed during the Tulsa sequence in the pilot. The test also revealed that Angela was Will’s granddaughter. She arrests Will and prepares to take him into custody, only for a spaceship with a giant magnet attached to pick up the car Will is in and take him away.
There’s no indication of exactly who took Will – and whether or not this was the “friend” he was talking about or some sort of adversary – but that surely won’t stop fans from speculating in one way or another. The vibe of the scene – and the technology of the spaceship itself – seem to suggest a link to Nite-Owl, especially since a similar Owlship played a role in Episode 1. Of course, if you believe Will’s argument that he’s secretly Dr. Manhattan, the possibility of that could get complicated a little, as Nite-Owl essentially retired and shunned himself away after Manhattan’s arrival on Earth made him feel inadequate. There’s also the chance that Will could be an entirely different character from Watchmen lore, which would possibly better explain Nite-Owl or one of the Minutemen coming to help. Even then, there’s also the very good chance that the spaceship has ties to somebody outside of Nite-Owl, especially considering the massive array of characters that audiences have yet to officially meet.
What do you think is up with the spaceship on Watchmen? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
Watchmen airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.
