WATCHMEN: Breaking Down All The Dr. Manhattan Reveals In Tonight's Jaw-Dropping New Episode

WATCHMEN: Breaking Down All The Dr. Manhattan Reveals In Tonight's Jaw-Dropping New Episode

Tonight's penultimate episode of Watchmen turned the HBO series into a full-blown sequel to the classic Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons comic book series, and we're now delving into all those major reveals...

By JoshWilding - Dec 08, 2019 07:12 PM EST
Filed Under: Watchmen
Episode 8 of Watchmen just wrapped up on HBO and it's fair to say that it might be one of the finest hours of television we've seen this year. After last week's shocking cliffhanger which saw us learn that Cal has been Dr. Manhattan all along, the show addressed all the questions we've been asking since.

The show has now fully established itself as a sequel to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' critically acclaimed graphic novel despite initial claims to the contrary, and Dr. Manhattan's return is a game-changer. Now, we're delving into everything we learned about Jon in this episode, including where he disappeared to for twenty years, how he became Cal, where he sent Ozymandias, and much more. 

So, to check out this breakdown of tonight's episode of Watchmen, hit the "View List" button! 

Dr. Manhattan Walks Into A Bar...

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The episode kicks off by revealing how Angela first met Dr. Manhattan. He returns to Earth, picks up a blue mask off the ground, puts it on, and walks into a bar where she's having a drink.

He immediately sets his sights on Angela but has a hard time winning her over as she hates Dr. Manhattan and isn't interested in being picked up by some guy cosplaying as him. He wins her over as the episode progresses and it doesn't take long for us to learn where he's been for 20 years...
 

Europa

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Dr. Manhattan isn't, and has never been, on Mars. 

Instead, he went to Europa (one of Jupiter's moons) and decided to have a go at creating life. Effortlessly using his powers to do so, we learn that he teleported the mansion he grew up in as child there and the "Adam" and "Eve" he came up with were replicas of the couple who took his family in. 

They're also the man and woman who we've seen Ozymandias interacting with since the first episode!
 

How Jon Became "Cal"

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Jon and Angela have come to the conclusion that they can't be together while he's, well, blue and that means he needs a new body and an identity which will allow him travel to America from Vietnam in that guise. They head to the morgue and pick someone who had no family and, as you might have guessed, that person is Cal. 

Jon removes the symbol from his forehead and it's revealed that his voice has changed because his vocal cords loosened during his transformation. He's a new man but his powers remain. 
 

Things Become Strained

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Jon may have found a way to hide who he really is but he still experiences time very differently and that proves to be problematic for his relationship with Angela. He needs a solution and that leads to him visiting Ozymandias in his arctic base in 2009. He's grown frustrated with humanity and somewhat unhinged as he clearly wanted credit for "saving" the world. 

He's the one sending those squids around the world to maintain world peace and as their conversation continues, we learn that Jon wants a way to inhibit his powers so he can live a normal life.

Remember when Ozymandias attempted to blow Dr. Manhattan up? Well, that was just Plan B and he's always had a device capable of removing his powers and it's been hidden from Jon thanks to Tachyon particles. We learn that the only way those will come back is he's put in a life-threatening situation and that's how Cal managed to save Angela from the 7th Cavalry.
 

Ozymandias Leaves Earth

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Jon tells Ozymandias about Europa and reveals that he grew dissatisfied with his creations because all they wanted to do was please and adore him. That just wasn't satisfying, so he left them behind.

Well, it just so happens that Ozymandias is someone who craves adoration and he sends him there (which finally explains where the villain is and why he's so desperate to escape and return to Earth). 
 

Jon Loses His Memory

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Angela places the device into Jon's head but the downside is that he's going to forget who he is. 

However, she comes up with a cover story that he was in a car accident which caused him to forget his past and both Jon and Angela accept that this is the only way they can really stay together. 

However, we then move back to the present day and Dr. Manhattan's return to the world...
 

Dr. Manhattan Returns

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Dr. Manhattan is back but the device has played havoc with his mind and he's confused. He's also retained Cal's appearance despite being blue again and sends his and Angela's children to safety. 

Before the 7th Cavalry can arrive, we learn that Jon once visited Angela's grandfather but the unique nature of his powers means that when she asks him in the present how the one-time Hooded Justice knew about Judd Crawford and his racist paraphernalia, it's because of her posing that question to him today, prompting Jon to ask her grandfather then

It's a time paradox and she's the one who set off this entire chain of events. 
 

The 7th Cavalry Wins

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As the 7th Cavalry attacks, Dr. Manhattan unleashes the full extent of his powers, blowing heads up left and right. However, just as it appears as if he and Angela have won the day, their device teleports him away and the stage is now set for Senator Joe Keene to try and steal Jon's powers. 

However, it seems he knows something Angela doesn't so it may not be quite as simple as that!
 

An After-Credits Scene You Can't Miss

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Make sure you stick around during the credits because we do indeed get to see what Ozymandias is up to a year after his trial. He's stuck in a jail cell for refusing to stop trying to escape from those who "worship" him and makes it clear that he wants to return home and needs to because his people need him (there's that desired to be needed again). 

As he starts tucking into the cake marking another year that's passed there, we see Ozymandias discover a horseshoe and he uses that to start digging at the ground in a bid for freedom! 
 
What an amazing episode, eh? What did you guys think of these Dr. Manhattan reveals? As always, be sure to head to the comments section below to let us know your thoughts on that. 
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Kman
Kman - 12/8/2019, 7:12 PM
That was something special... I wonder if they ever show us his normal, non-Cal form
Humperdink
Humperdink - 12/8/2019, 8:46 PM
@Kman -

No show this year has had the balls that this one put on display every episode.
No pun intended of course. 😬
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 12/8/2019, 10:32 PM
@Humperdink - Umm The Boys?
regularmovieguy
regularmovieguy - 12/8/2019, 7:26 PM
Another fantastic episode. Unreal.
kolatrl
kolatrl - 12/8/2019, 7:30 PM
Great episode that set the stage for next weeks sure to be grand finale. I wonder if we’ll see the show return or if this will stay as a one off.
regularmovieguy
regularmovieguy - 12/8/2019, 7:31 PM
@kolatrl

The preview for next week said “season finale” rather than “series finale.”

Probably not 100% yet but would love to see it continue.
tmp3
tmp3 - 12/8/2019, 7:43 PM
It’s 2012. I sit in my room, tearing through the pages of a comic book. On the cover there’s a smiley face with a smear of blood. Years later I will learn that this is a seminal piece of literature that changed superhero fiction, playing with form & structure in ways that were only unique for the medium. I am amazed by what I see. I read and re-read these pages until they’re seared into my brain. I’m 13 years old.

It’s March, 2009. I'm arguing with my mother. She won't buy me a movie ticket to see Watchmen, the new superhero movie I’d been eagerly anticipating. Around this time I watch re-runs of Iron Man and The Dark Knight with an almost religious awe. In four years I finally watch this movie, and am filled with disappointment. I'm 10 years old.

It’s June, 2017. I'm 18. They say they’re making a Watchmen television show from one from the hack who made Lost. They say his last show was fantastic, but I’ve given DC too much leeway already. I wonder if it is because I'm getting older. It's true. I'm aging more noticeably every day... while these Watchmen adaptations are standing still. Empty, hollow. A clock without a craftsman.

It’s December, 2019. I’ve just witnessed an hour of TV that might rank among the very best I’ve ever seen. A poignant, beautiful episode that both understands and re-examines the myth of Dr. Manhattan.

Its 2009. My mother pull my arm to get me away from the kiosk where they sell movie tickets.
It's 2013. In the climax of the Watchmen movie playing on TV, they don’t even attempt to replicate the squid.
It’s 2018. I’m reading through the pages of Chapter IV again.
It’s 2019. I’m at my dorm. I'm sitting on my computer. The browser is open now. I go to ComicBookMovie.com. A headline reads "WATCHMEN: Breaking Down All The Dr. Manhattan Reveals In Tonight's Jaw-Dropping New Episode". I click. I read. I realize they might have done the impossible.
Comicbookart
Comicbookart - 12/8/2019, 8:04 PM
@tmp3 - This show is so good that I want to go back in time and tell WB to let Lindelof adapt Watchmen proper.

kamikaizer
kamikaizer - 12/8/2019, 8:56 PM
@tmp3 - They should make an awards system on this website like how they do it on reddit. This comment is perfect.
SethBullock
SethBullock - 12/9/2019, 2:47 AM
@tmp3 - The Leftovers, Lindelof previous HBO show, is really good, if you (or anyone else) is enjoying this, you should give it a try (but watch the whole thing, not just the pilot or a couple of episodes, it's like Lost 2.0 on steroids but without the burden of "we have to explain everything or people will be disappointed", because from the beginning Lindelof made it clear they wouldn't explain sh*t so the audiences could experience the same feeling of not knowing what happened and what's going on that the characters have, and that also allowed them to go real crazy without needing to explain everything later).
tmp3
tmp3 - 12/9/2019, 3:34 AM
@SethBullock - haha, The Leftovers might be my favorite series of all time. I only called him a hack because that’s what I thought back in 2017, before seeing it for the first time
soberchimera
soberchimera - 12/9/2019, 5:20 AM
@tmp3 - Thank you for calling it a 'comic book' and not a 'graphic novel', which is a hackneyed term people created to make comics seem more legitimate when they've always been legitimate.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 12/8/2019, 8:01 PM
Dope episode. Very very very good stuff. Wonder if we will see Doc’s true form; not looking like Cal.

Also, I’m getting a feeling this show may be a one off. Or at the very least, we get one more season.
tmp3
tmp3 - 12/8/2019, 8:06 PM
@BlackBeltJones - Lindelof said it's ultimately up to him whether or not there's a second season; it's a viewership hit, they said it's the biggest cable debut show this year with 7.1m average viewers, and it's sweeping award nominations left & right, so HBO definitely would like another season but I think it's cool that it's ultimately up to Lindelof whether to continue or not.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 12/8/2019, 8:16 PM
@tmp3 - something about the show feels very one off-ish. The story feels like there’s this ultimate conclusion that is coming soon. Like the characters and the story dictate what’s naturally supposed to happen and how things should wrap up.

I read he doesn’t have any ideas for s2 yet. Maybe he knows this a thing that doesn’t require 5 plus seasons or anything like that.

If it did only do 1 or 2 seasons, it’s def earned him the right to go to HBO and say “wanna green light this original idea I have?”
tmp3
tmp3 - 12/8/2019, 8:23 PM
@BlackBeltJones - Yeah, for sure, HBO green-lit his show The Leftovers and that's still his masterpiece. I think everything will be resolved next week, and if there's a season 2 it'll start from a new point; kind of like how season 2 of the leftovers has a whole new location and set of characters introduced (including Regina King and Jovan Adepo as mother and son, who played grand-dad and grand-daughter here, lol)
soberchimera
soberchimera - 12/9/2019, 5:22 AM
@BlackBeltJones - Would be a shame if they didn't introduce Dan Dreiberg/Nite-Owl II in the season finale and I have a strong feeling The Comedian is Lady Trau's father which would make her and Laurie half-sisters, that would be cool to explore in the next season. Plus, WHO IS LUBE MAN?!?!?
Comicbookart
Comicbookart - 12/8/2019, 8:03 PM
This show is already a masterpiece.

The last episode can literally be Lindelof sitting on the toilet reading an issue of the original graphic novel and this show would still be incredible.
tmp3
tmp3 - 12/8/2019, 8:08 PM
@Comicbookart - This show just keeps getting better and better. I'm in love.
Visualiza
Visualiza - 12/8/2019, 8:05 PM
This is the 17th greatest show I've ever seen. Lindelof is doing an incredible job.
Victorg1983
Victorg1983 - 12/20/2019, 11:18 AM
@Visualiza - ok i will take the bait , lets see your 16 ahead of this one ?
GhostDog
GhostDog - 12/8/2019, 8:18 PM
The direction deserves an applause too. This episode was so well directed.
tmp3
tmp3 - 12/8/2019, 8:23 PM
@BlackBeltJones - Nicole Kessel is such a good director. She did some amazing episodes of Leftovers and she did the pilot for this show too
Comicbookart
Comicbookart - 12/8/2019, 8:20 PM
Some of the special effects are stunning too for a tv show. The entire sequence on Europa is stunning.
tmp3
tmp3 - 12/8/2019, 8:29 PM
@Comicbookart - That sequence was so beautiful
Comicbookart
Comicbookart - 12/8/2019, 8:41 PM
That's it, @tmp3 said it before and I also agree.

I want Damon Lindelof to either direct a Superman movie or be showrunner for a Superman show. I can't think of anyone who is more perfect as of now to reboot Superman.

I was originally calling for Villeneuve. But Lindelof has shown in this series that he understands what heroes and heroism is all about.

Lemons
Lemons - 12/8/2019, 8:42 PM
That was an incredible episode with an incredible performance by Regina King and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Goddamn it was so good.
NinnesMBC
NinnesMBC - 12/8/2019, 8:44 PM
bayouboyz
bayouboyz - 12/8/2019, 8:56 PM
The Watchmen movie had such a big impact on me when it was first released. I read the graphic novel before the movie came out, and I was still impressed with the movie. In fact, I became obsessed with it to a degree. I recently watched it again on its 10th anniversary release. During the rewatch, it’s flaws where much more apparent to me, but I still feel the movie was great. It was truly a flawed masterpiece in its direct adaptation of the source material. Even Damon has respect for the film. I feel there was some subtle nods to the film in this episode (spartan helmet, 2009 setting).

One scene that still stood out to me when rewatching the film was the whole Dr. Manhattan origin sequence. That was and still is one of my favorite moments ever in a film. It was just so perfectly put together, and Billy Crudup’s delivery was amazing.

With all that said, this episode was essentially an one hour version of that scene and it was perfect. This series has really grown on me from the iiffy pilot episode with only vague connections to the world of Watchman to the full sequel it has become.
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