[Review] Watchmen Season 1 Episode 1: It's Summer and We're Running Out of Ice
The original Watchmen comic has always been regarded as a classic. This time, the Watchmen series continues the story of the comic, and many are curious whether it can maintain the comic's standard or if it will fall short of this classic.
After watching the first episode of Watchmen, It's Summer and We're Running Out of Ice, I was immediately impressed by the courage of the series creator Damon Lindelof. The story of the original comic took place in the Cold War era of the 1980s, with a grand scope, and its ending marked the end of the Cold War. The series' story takes place in 2019, more than thirty years after the comic's story, and its theme also follows the changes of the times, focusing on one of the most controversial issues in modern America – racial issues. The series begins with a real historical event from 1921, the Tulsa race riot. This violent scene targeting black people immediately sets the theme for the series and also makes one curious about the relationship between the black boy in the scene and the subsequent story. Will he be related to one of the protagonists? This opening also clarifies the difference between the series and the original comic, narrowing the focus to domestic American issues while still being closely related to the real American society, just like the original.
One of the characteristics of the original comic is its rewriting of American history, with the US winning the Vietnam War and Nixon not being overthrown due to Watergate. This series starts with a real event from 1921, earlier than the starting point of the original comic, and then jumps 98 years to 2019. What kind of country has the US become after experiencing the events of the original comic? Here, the series uses another violent scene to let the audience understand the similarities and differences between this fictional world and the real world: a private car is stopped by the police on the highway, the man in the car is asked to show his ID, and the situation ultimately ends in bloody violence. In real-world events or many films and series, we see black drivers being stopped by white police officers and then shot by them; but this series takes a slightly different approach: in the show, a white driver is stopped by masked black police officers. The black police suspect the white driver is a member of the white supremacist terrorist organization "The Seventh Kavalry," so they return to their car to request the use of firearms but ultimately don't have enough time and are killed. In other words, racism still exists. Although white supremacists are no longer the ones oppressing others, they still use violence against black people.
In the original comic, masked heroes were outlawed, and if they were unwilling to work for the government, they were forced to retire. In this series, masks have a different meaning: the police in the show all wear masks to conceal their identities and protect themselves and their families, and they also have another profession as a cover, as a number of police were collectively murdered, and their enemies are heavily armed white supremacist terrorist organizations. The aforementioned incident also proves that their lives are indeed facing serious threats. Moreover, although these police officers can hide their identities, their power to use force is also heavily regulated. They don't even carry firearms on a daily basis to ensure they don't abuse their power. The above settings are very different from the real situations in the US, providing a very interesting setting for the series to explore social and racial issues from another angle, letting us see how these issues develop under a power structure that is completely different from reality.
As mentioned above, the theme and scope of this series are very different from the original comic, so it can completely be regarded as a standalone series. However, the first episode also includes many elements from the original comic to connect the two works. Among them, the biggest connections so far are likely the Doctor Manhattan scenes, the suddenly falling alien squid, the flying ship Archie driven by Chief Judd Crawford, and some eastereggs, including eggs arranged in a smiley face and the bloodstain on the badge at the end of this episode. In addition, there have been rumors that the character played by Jeremy Irons is Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias from the original comic. He doesn't have much screen time in the first episode, but the related scenes hint that he has many plans for the future, making one look forward to how he will integrate into this story.
In addition to the plot, the first episode of this series is also technically very outstanding. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, the composers for David Fincher's previous works The Social Network and Gone Girl, scored this series. The music in the opening scene excellently creates a chaotic feeling, and the series later effectively uses the "tick tock" sound effect characteristic of this show, as well as classical music and musical theater music, to create tension in line with the plot development. At the end of this episode, the camera slowly moves upward, allowing us to see Judd Crawford's death. Don Johnson is one of the main actors in this series, and his death in the first episode is believed to have surprised many viewers, leaving a big suspense for the series: who killed him? Will this trigger a war? What is the relationship between the old man next to him and the black child in the opening scene?
As the first episode of a series, "It's Summer and We're Running Out of Ice" establishes the world setting of this series, allowing viewers to clearly understand the setting and characters, and leaves many suspense points for future episodes, which is indeed very excellent. Moreover, as a sequel to a classic comic, this episode makes viewers understand the differences between the two and how this series will adapt to the changes of the times to make the plot more closely aligned with real-world social issues. I believe readers of the original comic will not be disappointed.
Photo and Source: HBO