Watchmen Review: It’s Summer And We’re Running Out Of Ice (Season 1 Episode 1)
Though the world of Watchmen is much, much different to our own, it overwhelmingly comments on subjects we know all too well. Watchmen Season 1 Episode 1, “It’s Summer And We’re Running Out Of Ice,” finds its peace in the quiet times with family, treasuring time together while they still can.
But the ticking clock of the outside world continues on, and it’s only growing more dangerous.
photo: Mark Hill/HBO
The premiere takes on the daunting task of being tied to a widely hailed graphic novel classic, while trailblazing its own path. It’s a world that is indeed tied to Watchmen, with freak squid downpours likely caused by Ozymandias some years prior (now played by Jeremy Irons), news footage of Dr. Manhattan on Mars, and a television series event on the Minutemen coming soon.
But where the episode finds its most powerful task is through challenging white supremacy. The show isn’t hiding its stance, and it’s saying so strongly. The group on the show, dubbing themselves The Seventh Calvary, have co-opted fan favorite Rorschach as their identifier, effectively making him like Pepe the frog and the OK hand sign as a symbol of racism.
The episode, though, isn’t about them, not really. It’s about those who face racism every day, and look to combat it while they still can. The opening, of a young Will escaping the mass murder in Tulsa, is an effective step into showing that despite the decades since it occurred, perhaps not much has changed. Instead of hoods, there are Rorschach masks.
The introduction of Regina King’s Angela is done much like the introduction to the cop who comes across the Calvary member, where their authority and their blackness come separately. We don’t see the cop’s face until he is already deep into the traffic stop; and we don’t see Angela as Sister Night until after we see her as a civilian. It’s a play on power, where the show is taking its time to establish what it’s trying to say.
Photo: Ven Redin/HBO
And what the show is ambitiously trying to say is that there is a shift happening, a rise in equality starting to form. Perhaps that is what caused the Seventh Calvary, or perhaps they always existed as an attempt to stamp out progress. But Watchmen is invested in that progress, and using itself as both a show and a platform to allow that progress.
The threat the cops face is established as one they have faced before, but that their resurfacing comes at a unique time. During Ozymandias’ scene, there is mention of an anniversary, which just so happens to coincide with this resurfacing. Are the Seventh Calvary carrying out something that has to do with the great rift that happens during the Watchmen graphic novel?
Perhaps, though, there are larger threats still to be found. Will, now far older, hangs Chief Crawford at the end of the episode, after he’s been hanging out in front of Angela’s cover front bakery. Is he tied to her in some way? He knows she’s Sister Night, based on the phone call. She treats him like an inquisitive stranger when she first sees him earlier on the episode, so it will be intriguing to see how that plays out.
A lot of the major work on the episode comes down to worldbuilding, however, and the worldbuilding is a masterful display.
photo: Colin Hutton/HBO
The cop world is now filled with body cam consents and needing permission to withdraw a weapon from the vehicle, where the threat of violence and after-hours payback is so high that their faces are covered. It’s this sort of attention to detail that shows the world we’re seeing is a razor wire walk, where that threat of violence could be merely a second away.
Watchmen knows to ground its more out there concepts, like the great squid downpour and the powers some of those masked heroes possess. Tim Blake Nelson’s Looking Glass character appears to see right through people and their lies, but it’s never spelled out. It’s things like that where the show excels, letting the viewer fill in the blanks and do the work, rather than expository dialogue hurting the scene.
The characters are wonderfully defined and endearing from the very start. It’s easy to get a read on Angela, who is engrossed in this world of taking down the baddies while still holding immense care for her family and friendship with Crawford. The episode does great work to bond them together so that his untimely demise comes as both a shock and as a gut punch for Angela.
The cast is endlessly talented. Regina King brings an immaculate professionalism to Angela that could easily become a ticking time bomb if pushed. Don Johnson has a boyish charm all these years later still, making every scene of his a joy. Tim Blake Nelson is a little too measured, though that’s by design. Jeremy Irons brings majesty and regal to Ozymandias, and it will be fascinating to see how he fits in.
photo: Mark Hill/HBO
The production is an excellent achievement, Nicole Kassell’s razor sharp direction and Damon Lindelof’s careful, measured writing leading us into a world that certainly has its own share of problems, but markedly similar to our own despite that. There’s still a playfulness despite the heaviness of the subject matter, brought out mostly through Don Johnson’s Chief Crawford.
Watchmen Season 1 Episode 1, “It’s Summer And We’re Running Out Of Ice,” tries to bite off a lot, and does so effortlessly. It’s of a tone and atmosphere of great importance, and has a lot to say about systemic racism and what kind of world allows white supremacy to rise.
This first episode may prove a lot of set-up for some, as the majority of what’s here is set-up and setting a tone. But for those looking for something deeper and satisfying, Watchmen looks to buck the trend of comic book entertainment by going for something that needs to be said, and saying so with a massive stage.
Some stray thoughts on the episode:
- It’s fascinating to see how the squid downpour is like a common annoyance, and how there are specific squid cleaning trucks that clean them up from the streets.
- The police vehicle that Chief Crawford takes down the plane with is very similar to Nite Owl’s Owlship, which is a fun callback.
- President Robert Redford has been in office since 1992, making him the longest serving President. I would be okay with this.
What did you think of this episode of Watchmen? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Critic Rating:
User Rating:
Watchmen airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.
Follow us on Twitter and on 
Instagram!
Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!
Kevin Lever
Kevin Lever has been following television closely for most of his life, but in starting to cover it, he has grown a further appreciation. He strives to give the blockbusters their due, and give the lesser known shows a spotlight to find more fans.