Last night's episode of
Watchmen was a complete game-changer, as we learned that Angela's husband Cal is actually Dr. Manhattan in disguise. Needless to say, this was a big shocker, and it's going to be very interesting to see how next week's penultimate chapter deals with this (we've seen the episode, and rest assured that there are many more shocks to come).
The Hollywood Reporter caught up with showrunner Damon Lindelof to discuss this week's episode and after explaining that Dr. Manhattan's return had to be linked to new lead character Angela Abar, he shed some light on how the immensely powerful character factors into her story and the thinking behind having Manhattan take on a human form.
"[How] could Dr. Manhattan, a man with the power of God, be in service of Angela's story as opposed to the other way around? Based on his past (and all the tropes of Greco/Roman mythology), the answer was intuitive… love. We knew this relationship could only work if Manhattan took the form of a human, and so, the idea of Cal was born. It came early. Almost from the jump."
We also learn that the Senator Keene's plan is to capture, destroy, and become the new Dr. Manhattan.
"In our Watchmen, there are more clear cut bad guys who represent an ideology that is almost impossible to defeat," he explains.
"Bad guys always want the same thing: power. There's something fundamentally ridiculous about the idea of "white power" in its redundancy as if everyone in America was born onto the same playing field."
"Sadly, almost every one of our institutions demonstrates that inequity, so the idea that a white, male senator actually wanted MORE power was equal parts absurd and irresistible. As is the case with most White Supremacists, Keene doesn't see taking Manhattan's power as appropriation as much as taking something he already feels entitled to."
Lindelof wouldn't reveal much about what's to come in the final two episodes, but he did confirm that we won't get to see another fan-favourite Watchmen character this year: Nite-Owl.
"I regret to inform you, and you have my word on this, there will be no Dan in this season."