Watchmen Review: See How They Fly (Season 1 Episode 9)

Adrian Veidt finds a front seat to history for the second time on Watchmen Season 1 Episode 9, “See How They Fly,” as his original plan from the graphic novel comes to fruition.

The episode is a brilliant, almost unfathomable work of tying together so many components from not only previous episodes but from its original source material, providing pitch perfect payoff to little character quirks, small hints, and the bigger, much more looming questions. It’s pitch perfect in the sense that there is purpose to its madness, allowing for a deep sense of closure.

The graphic novel of Watchmen ends on a slightly positive but cynical note, and this episode picks it back up. Framing a lot of the episode around Adrian and his return allows for both endings to feel driven by him, to a certain extent (though Trieu is the main instigator), as we’re following his reinsertion into the plot after mostly being absent on Europa.

Adrian treating the Game Warden as nothing more than a nuisance rather than a worthy adversary is a fun moment. Adrian’s time with the many Mr. Phillips and Ms. Crookshanks is meant to humble him and to show the power of life, and while it does settle Adrian somewhat, their disposable manner is still used to his advantage, a sign that he’s not ready to accept others as anything more than expendable.

But the way Adrian sets off to undo what Trieu is doing shows that perhaps there is progress there; or perhaps it’s simply that he does not want another narcissist to have unlimited power when he knows what powerful people with that sensibility are capable of, having been one himself. He even says as much, fairly blatantly.

He only calls her daughter once it’s advantageous to himself, rather than coming around. It’s what makes Adrian Veidt so fascinating: trying to figure out what he cares about, beyond himself. He does have some level of care to particular clones of Phillips and Crookshanks, as shown in his departure from Europa, but how far that goes, if it’s a permanent interest beyond the here and now, is left a mystery.

One thing is not in question, though: the fantastic performance from Jeremy Irons. There’s a weariness to the role, yet he’s never lacking of boyishness and gravitas, things that cannot be taken from him despite his imprisonment and the trials he must endure. Irons makes Adrian larger-than-life, where he goes into any room thinking he’s the smartest one, and usually he’s right.

He’s met his match with Lady Trieu, however, a worthy adversary after all these years.

The Seventh Kalvary’s plan is essentially the same as Trieu’s, but far less sophisticated and thought out. There is satisfaction that the white supremacists feel they have all the answers and end up completely one-upped by a person of color for their lack of vision and foresight. Senator Keene’s big plan, and less-than-big Manhattan speedo, aren’t a match for proper planning.

The destruction of Doctor Manhattan is at first treated like a noble effort when done in the name of those mistreated by poverty and elitism; but for the Kalvary and Trieu, they want that power for their own whim, despite what they say. Trieu may do what she’s been talking about, giving the disenfranchised what they want. But what would come next, when the immensity of that power is realized?

The major flaw in Trieu’s plan is underestimating Adrian: she spends so much time aligning everything else, that the one person who can blow it all up, her own father, is treated as a last laugh rather than a worthy adversary. Gloating and showing what she’s achieved without his help appears to be half her aim, and so for Adrian to crush her plan with a squid storm is that last laugh, only she does not get to have it.

The squid storm being turned into a weapon of frozen death helps tie it all back together from Watchmen Season 1 Episode 1, “It’s Summer And We’re Running Out Of Ice,” that initial squidfall such a surreal moment at the time and now feels so quaint. The damage frozen squid cause comes as fairly severe, destroying both the power transfer device and smashing apart the many cars in the vicinity.

One thing the episode conveys well is the loss of life, and lack of caring for life, that these characters can have. Trieu wipes out the Kalvary gang with little fanfare, and Keene turning to bloody soup comes with humor from our supposed incoming new god. Even once the squid start falling, the cops being in the way is almost an afterthought, as long as Trieu is stopped. Plus, there’s Doctor Manhattan.

Jon/Cal’s final moment being shared with Angela is touching and heartfelt, reliving their love in a single moment both poetic and tragic. This moment is always meant to happen, but the pain is still too great for Angela. Doctor Manhattan’s death comes as inevitable, but that doesn’t mean it won’t hurt any less, despite his warning to Angela during Watchmen Season 1 Episode 8, “A God Walks Into Abar.”

Angela’s part of the episode is mostly as witness and to suffer heartbreak, but it does come with hope. The moment she shares with Will in the theatre, coming back around to the very first time Will sits in that theatre as a child, helps connect the two after keeping them apart for so long. They may be connected by blood, but now they’re also connected by tragedy and the masks they hide behind.

That Angela chooses to accept Will into her family’s life, even if temporarily, shows that she is willing to move on to acceptance, and may be letting go of that old life to live on in a new one. But Angela also eats that egg, the one potentially containing Manhattan’s powers, leaving open whether or not she’s fully moved on and wishes to live a quiet life.

The intriguing part about turning Adrian in for the 1985 squid event is that Doctor Manhattan refuses to punish Adrian; now, during the present timeline, Laurie and Wade are turning him in for the same reasons, but aren’t afraid of the consequences this will bring. It’s a mirror, a looking glass if you will, of the past and the present, and how things that should have happened years ago are happening now.

Some smaller moments also help grow some characters: Wade gets to see the source of his fear at Adrian’s base, after witnessing his PTSD during Watchmen Season 1 Episode 5, “Little Fear of Lightning;” from the same episode, the “Save Me” written out by Adrian turns out to include the word “Daughter;” Nite Owl’s ship, nicknamed “Archie,” makes an appearance at Adrian’s base; and of course, the egg.

The final moment of Watchmen Season 1 Episode 9, “See How They Fly,” is with Angela’s foot sinking toward that threshold of water. It’s up to us to decide if her foot passes through or remains on top. A second season would likely answer that question, and may take the fun out of the moment.

The question remains: do we need more Watchmen? As a singular season, the show finds a lot of power through dropping us into the deep end and once we figured out how to swim, shows us all of the miraculous things underneath the surface. To continue from there would leave questions needing answers, unless it hops off into a different story entirely.

Watchmen Season 1 Episode 9, “See How They Fly,” ends with closeness and family, and manages to talk profoundly about race and love in a complex, layered way. Despite the masks and the god, this story hits close to home in today’s world. If there is to be more, a measured hand and a similar way of slowly peeling back the curtain would go a long way.

The show is particularly special with Regina King at the helm. Angela Abar is a rich and powerful character to dig deep into, revealing a rawness that King handles beautifully. King, Damon Lindelof, and the writing team have brought forward a character that is almost never at the forefront of a story like this, allowing her to shine and prove that there is a need for more smart, powerful stories about people of color.

 

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Watchmen airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.

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