Unlike DC Comics' Doomsday Clock, HBO's Watchmen was pretty much a perfect sequel to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon's iconic comic book series. Most of the characters from that original story didn't get the happiest of endings, though, and Dr. Manhattan actually ended up dying. Before that happened, he passed his powers on to his wife, Angela Abar.
Eating an egg Angela believes contains his abilities, the show ends with a shot of her foot hovering above a pool, and we never get to actually see whether she's gained those abilities and can walk on water.
During an interview with ComicBook.com, Watchmen showrunner Damon Lindelof talked more about the episode's final few minutes, and shed a little more light on the conclusion of Angela's story.
"I don't want to confirm or deny that she did in fact get Dr. Manhattan's abilities other than to say that she definitely opted in for them by eating the egg," he explains. "But I think that, again, to kind of come back to the idea of not just comic book myth, but also very specifically Watchmen, that we get these origin stories. We want to know why these people put on the mask."
"Some of the most memorable parts of the original text are what we call the Old Testament where explaining how Rorschach became Rorschach or how Doctor Manhattan became Doctor Manhattan. We wanted to do the same thing for Angela. If this entire season is basically a conduit leading up to a choice that she is going to make to become divine, to potentially have omnipotence, we wanted to show her kind of go through a journey and primarily a journey of understanding herself."
So, she was definitely willing to inherit Dr. Manhattan's powers, but whether she actually did or not is a question it seems Lindelof is unwilling to answer. The showrunner has confirmed on multiple occasions that he has no interest in a second season, and that he would like someone else to tell another standalone tale in this world (fans are very much on board with a series exploring Nite-Owl's fate).
What do you guys think?