Watchmen - Episode 8: A God Walks into Abar
WATCHMEN - HBO + SKY
The penultimate episode of Damon Lindelof's "remixed" sequel to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’s Watchmen series is a rivetting and strong set of events that pull the viewer closer into the much anticipated but daunting series finale that drops next week.
The road of Watchmen finding its groove has been a rocky one. Its slow start, an elongated and bloated opening, to what is flourishing into a glowing and profound voice on injustice, delivered it its very own manically unique way in no uncertain terms in the likes of what would make Alan Moore proud. The dust is starting to settle but behind it is a sandstorm of mysticism that, even with an hour of television left to produce something special, is showing no signs of what cards will finally be dealt.
However, episode eight 'A God Walks into Abar', directed by Nicole Kassell, is one that delivers on every promise the series has been leading to at this point. The mystery is enlightened with an examination of the long-gone Dr Manhattan, a fabulous performance behind the character. It remains as subtle and as unprovoked as ever, with as much secrecy shown as possible to keep the episode enigmatic with its intentions.
What is revealed, however, will alleviate much stress on audiences. With a considerable amount of depth and weight concerning individual arcs and tractories present, it would be undeniably better to be experienced in the raw entity intended rather than a detailed explanation provided to them. Regina King, the continuous stand out throughout this series, is given a little more here concerning material to work with to not necessarily develop her own character but to stand as a supporting player to the arc of the overall episode.
Undoubtedly, one significant insight is the depth given to Jeremy Irons’s Adrian Veidt, of whom finally has a standout episode that almost comes full circle with quite the underwhelming climax only to reveal itself to have an ace up its sleeve.
Performances aside, the most productive element here is the flawless edit by Henk Van Eeghen. The episode twists and turns with time constantly and furiously flowing through cohesiveness: beginning in 1985, making its way to 2009 and eventually the present alternate history the series is set in. It's not just the fact that the series has to retain a sense of emotional and immersive continuity in each sequence but in this instance cuts back forth within seconds in a sequence, using the same technique demonstrated in Hooded Justice's flashback found in episode five 'This Extraordinary Being'.
All in all, the clock is ticking down at the most precise and vulnerable stage of Watchmen’s life cycle. Only an hour remains of this often hard-hitting but enormously stressful series that has promised much in the wake of spills and thrills with mixed results, but the profound intelligence behind each impacting conversation on prejudice and oppression has filled this series with an enormous amount of legacy. One can only hope it sticks that landing.
Watchmen is released Sunday and Monday nights exclusively on HBO and SKY ONE.
