Watchmen Episode #3 // Review
HBO’s Watchmen episode 3, “She Was Killed by Space Junk,” or more aptly titled “The One Where Laurie Shows Up And Steals The Show,” brings another of the original comic book masterpiece’s main characters into the show in a big way. So far, the bulk of the first two episodes has focused heavily on Regina King’s Sister Night, and the mystery revolving around the hanging of police chief Judd Crawford (Don Johnson). The latest chapter takes a sharp turn to shine a spotlight on Laurie Blake (Jean Smart), better known to Watchmen fans as Laurie Juspeczyk, the Silk Spectre. In the comics, she and the other heroes failed to save the world from Adrian Veidt’s master plan to unite everyone against a common threat (a fake alien invasion), and millions of people died. Rather than tell the world of the ruse, and endanger the fragile peace Veidt had established, Laurie and Dan, the costumed hero Nite Owl, decided to go into hiding, change their identities, and continue fighting crime. Now, 30 years later, Laurie is back to her original identity, albeit using her biological father’s last name, and she’s a member of the FBI, specializing in hunting down vigilantes.
Laurie Blake was always one of the more complicated characters in Moore and Gibbons’ Watchmen, but also one of the least serviced. From her contentious relationship with her attention-seeking mom. Her crumbling relationship with a godlike boyfriend, to her discovery of being the daughter of a man that infamously sexually assaulted her mom, she had a lot going on, and little-to-no closure to her story. It only makes sense that Damon Lindelof, showrunner of HBO’s Watchmen, would want to pick up where Moore left off, and gaze upon her with a modern lens. It is apparent that she is much the same character as before, still unhealthily attached to a man, and still an ass-kicker, but now she seems so much less willing to let people push her around. Gone is her lover Nite Owl, apparently in jail. Gone are her days as a costumed hero. Gone is her understanding for anyone who would put on a mask to fight crime, even the police that would do so under DOPA (the Defense of Police Act). This is clearly a woman who has been through some heavy life events and came out the other side hardened. There is a mystery surrounding her motivations and history. Which makes her one of the most intriguing characters of an already character-rich show.
Veidt, played by Jeremy Irons, also gets a little more revealed about his story this episode, but in true Lindelof fashion, every answer leads to more questions. Where Veidt is, what he wants, and his endless supply of clone servants, all remain a mystery. But the parameters of his exile (self-imposed, or otherwise) are uncovered in the most baffling way possible. Adrian grows more interesting each episode, but hopefully, some answers will be coming sooner than later, or his B story might become a little tedious.
Jean Smart, much like her character Laurie, owns this episode. Every scene she’s in, she commands the audience’s attention. This might be a little jarring for some viewers, as it’s episode 3, and this is the first time she’s appearing, but the other actors get their moments to shine, as well. Regina King and Tim Blake Nelson share amazing scenes with Smart that won’t be soon forgotten, and they don’t step aside to make her look good, either. Both King and Nelson bring their A-game, elevating scenes to powerful confrontations with their new castmate, and it makes for great television.
If you’ve been enjoying Watchmen, so far, this episode will only make you love it more. If you haven’t been enjoying it, then this might be the episode that hooks you. With a focus on Laurie Blake, a main character from the original comic book, this is possibly the most “Watchmen” chapter yet. No doubt, Laurie will blend back into the ensemble cast in upcoming episodes, but letting her make a grand entrance is a bit of an olive branch to the people who wanted a more direct sequel to the comic. Hopefully, it will win some of the more stubborn fans back, because a lack of viewers would be a terrible thing to happen to such a great show.
