The penultimate episode of the HBO series Watchmen aired Sunday night, and in the too-short hour, the show deftly tied together the events of the superhero drama before the finale. We learned the origin of the love story between Angela Abar (played by Regina King) and Cal Abar (the gorgeous Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), but we also got to see how Doctor Manhattan became Cal to start with. And it was, suffice to say, a lot.
Set in a dystopian Tulsa, Oklahoma, Watchmen has been a series of confusing events, starting with the shocking murder of Tulsa police chief (and secret member of the white supremacist group Cyclops) Judd Crawford. As she looks into the death of her boss and close family friend, our protagonist Angela finds herself in the center of a sinister plot involving the man that she loves.
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With just one more episode left in this first chapter of our story, there are still so many questions left unanswered. Thankfully, we're not going in completely blind — ahead, five things that we know for sure (or can at least guess) before the season finale of Watchmen.
Is Doctor Manhattan Dead?
With only one episode in the series, it's a tough call. Resigned to his fate, Doctor Manhattan busies himself with making brunch (a mood) while Angela steps out to face the Seventh Kalvary. A seasoned professional, Angela is initially able to withstand the barrage of bullets from the terrorists
All of that to say, no, Doctor Manhattan is not dead — not yet, at least. He appears in the trailer for the the season finale, where we also see a smirking Senator Joe Keene Jr. (James Wolk) try to take on the blue hero's superpowers for himself.
Did Angela Cause Judd Crawford's Death?
Technically...yes. She totally did. But it wasn't her intention. You'll want to pay special attention here.
Doctor Manhattan's concept of time is very different from ours; he can be in the past, present, and future simultaneously. When he finally escapes his human shell as Cal Abar, he appears ten years in the past to speak to Angela's grandfather Will Reeves to inform him of Angela's existence. At the same time in the present (but really a whole decade in the future), Angela commands Doctor Manhattan to ask Will whether he knew that Crawford was a member of Cyclops. He didn't then, but he does now. Still harboring a grudge towards the white supremacist organization, the wheels in Will's head start turning, and he hatches the plan to capture Judd and kill him using the Cyclops hypnosis.
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Does Adrian Veidt Escape Europa?
Maybe? We learned that Adrian provided Doctor Manhattan with the device that would disguise him as Cal Abar and make him human so that he could be with Angela. In exchange for his services, Doctor Manhattan sent Adrian to the Europa, one of the four Galilean moons orbiting the planet Jupiter; on Europa, the blue superhero had created a utopia inhabited by animals and humans in the likeness of the first people who taught him about love.
Fast forward to now, and Adrian is imprisoned, marked a criminal after being tried in court by the clones and found guilty of attempting to escape from Europa. He’s brought a cake while in prison, and to his surprise, he finds a horseshoe buried within the frosting. Delighted, he begins to dig.
Where Is Looking Glass?
Probably disguised as one of the members of the Seventh Kalvary. After he snitches on Angela and causes her to be taken into CIA custody (which leads to her trippy Nostalgia-induced deep dive into her grandfather's memories), Senator Keene orders an attack on Looking Glass's home. When the police arrive at his house, they find the assassins slain in their signature Rorschach masks. One member, however, is unmasked.
What Does The Millennium Clock Do?
Honestly...no one knows yet. But an educated guess would be that Lady Trieu's Millennium Clock will have something to do with the past. The mysterious scientist and entrepreneur is obsessed with changing the past (hence the reason she used her mother's genes to basically raise her) and is working closely with Will Reeves. Knowing what we know about these two, as well as what we know about Doctor Manhattan's understanding of time, it's possible that they want to use his power to go back in time to affect the world.
With this show, you can't be certain of anything until it actually happens. All will be revealed on the season finale of Watchmen, airing next Sunday.