HBO’sWatchmenhas been shrouded in mystery and uncertainty ever since it was first revealed . A innovative continuation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon ’s classic graphic novel helmed by the guy who gave us one of the strange ( and best ) TV series of the last tenner inThe Leftovers ? signalize us up but also , we have questions . Like , do we really need more security guard ? Now that the first sequence has drop off , we can answer that last question with an emphatic “ Yes ! ”

Just one episode in , Watchmenis already in the run for one of the best new series of 2019 . However , while its tone is assure , the show itself is a perplexing affair that seems to raise more interrogation than it serve . Here are our 10 fully grown questions after the series premiere of HBO’sWatchmen .

Who Is Panda?

If there ’s one character in theWatchmenpremiere who we require to sleep with more about , it ’s Panda . From what we can recount , Panda is in burster of firearms for the Tulsa police force . panda bear has to grant an officer permission before they are able to un - holster their gun and he take his jobveryseriously . When we lastly see Panda in the physical body , he is indeed wearing a gargantuan cat bear masquerade party , which only serve to undermine his federal agency . He ’s like that cat in your office who tattles to hour if you take a long luncheon .

As nettlesome as Panda is , his mien opens up some interesting questions , such as why officer need permission to apply their firearm in the first plaza . Hopefully we ’ll pick up more about how police force enforcement works in this humankind … and why they let a guy cable in a panda masquerade party curb their accelerator .

What’s Going On With Ozymandias?

about all the screen clock time in theWatchmenpremiere is dedicated to new characters . However , we do get an extended glance at a reasonably important player from Moore ’s original account . At least , it seems like we do . While he ’s not referenced by name in the episode , pre - release material confirmedJeremy Ironsis play an aged Adrian Veidt , aka Ozymandias .

As you ’ll recall , Watchmenends with Veidt kill trillion of people in an feat to forestall atomic war . We learn so little about Veidt in this episode ( other than he likes to work on his typewriter in the nude ) that it ’s laborious to say whether the universe acknowledge about his action or not . We ’re certain to see more about the hero formerly know as Ozymandias in later episode but for now , he stay hide in mystery .

What Happened To Nite Owl?

While the Owlship ( or an airship model after it ) makes an unexpected and volatile appearance , the man who navigate it is altogether absent fromWatchmen’sfirst installment . We know that Daniel Dreiberg aka Nite Owl II go the events of the original Watchmen story , but there ’s no cite of what chance to him .   Acompanion sitehas been put up for HBO’sWatchmen , with auxiliary fabric that fills in the gap between 1985 and 2019 .

harmonize to the land site , Dreiberg was arrested in 1995 alongside Laurie Blake aka Silk Spectre for violating the superhero - outlawing Keene Act . We know Laurie show up in next episodes ( diddle by Jean Smart ) , so we should find out more soon about what pass off to her and Dan .

What’s American Hero Story?

It feels like Lindelof may be rend a “ Tales of the Black Freighter ” here , framing American Hero Story as a story within the story . However , it remains to be seen whether American Hero Story is a one - off reference or will operate on in the background over the course of the season .

Why Is There Squid Rain?

One of the most lurid ( and disgusting ) scenes in the premiere involves a suddendownpour of squidsfalling from the sky . Judging by the “ Anatomy of a Squid ” posting we see plastered around and the fact there are urban center trucks dedicated to squid clean - up , this is a veritable result in the show ’s cosmos .

The most probable account is the squid rain is an unexpected by-product of Adrian Veidt ’s giant squid schoolmaster plan from 1985 , but it ’s unclear how serious or far-flung it is . However , the squid rainfall could be designed on Veidt or some other power ’s part ; a constant reminder to Earth ’s inhabitants that Earth could be “ attacked ” by elephantine squid again .

What’s The Plan With The Watch Batteries?

Watchmenwastes no time in go down up at least one of its major antagonists - a far - correct terrorist group known as the Seventh Kavalry . The members of the Seventh Kavalry have take over the unfit parts ofRorschach ’s beliefs(as laid out in his noted diary ) and wear off mask posture after the deceased vigilance man ’s .

The Seventh Kavalry seem to hate cop just as much as they do non - whites and the premiere make up it clear they are plotting something expectant . However , all we really know so far is that they ’re obsessed with pick up previous watch bombardment . What ’s that about ? It ’s too early to say for sure , but it ’s not like Watchmen has ever shy away from extensive watch imagination in preceding incarnations .

Who’s The Man In The Wheelchair?

In keeping with the structure of the original comics , HBO’sWatchmenbegins with a murder whodunit . Regina King ’s Angela Abar discovers Don Johnson ’s Chief Judd Crawford hanging from Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree . While this is shocking enough , the real twist is who ’s sitting under the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree : the wheelchair - bound old human being ( Louis Gossett Jr. ) Angela briefly spoke to before in the instalment . Who is he ?

The note he ’s holding is a major clue , as it ’s the same one we saw the new boy holding in the episodes opening scene set in 1921 . It ’s potential the boy and military personnel are one and the same , but that would put him well over 100 years old . Whoever this man is , we have a intuitive feeling this execution mystery is only going to get strange from here .

Will We See More Of Judd?

down off amain characterplayed by the legendary Don Johnson is a bold move for a serial publication premiere . However , much like with The Comedian ’s death in the original comics ’ open Sir Frederick Handley Page , we have a opinion Tulsa Police Chief Judd Crawford will be hanging around this story for some clock time to come .

There ’s always a luck Johnson ’s blind time will be confine to a single episode , but the show has place him up in such a fashion as to betray his importance to the chronicle showrunner Damon Lindelof is tell apart . Judd and Angela distinctly have account , so at the very least there will plausibly be some flashback to help fill up in disruption in their relationship . Besides , Johnson is too good an player to only come along in one instalment !

Why Is Watchmen Set In Tulsa, Oklahoma?

No one could have foretell Damon Lindelof was going to secernate a superhero level prepare in Oklahoma . Then again , perchance we should have expected this . Lindelof ’s premature serial , The Leftovers , was primarily coiffe in modest towns in New York and Texas . Lindelof be given to favor tackling big ideas at the micro horizontal surface , which is how you get a serial about gazillion of people all of a sudden disappearing that concentrate most of its account around a few families .

However , the fact that Watchmen open up with an extended look back at the 1921 Tulsa wash riot is significant , as that one event seems to be informing everything Lindelof is trying to do with Watchmen . At any rate , it ’s refreshing to see a major TV serial publication set itself in an American city that is n’t New York or Los Angeles for a change .

What’s Damon Lindelof"s Plan For Watchmen?

It was always a certain wager that Lindelof ’s vision of a modernistic day continuation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons ’ landmark graphic novel would be a complex affair . However , those hop for a continued deconstruction of the superhero musical style may be surprised to find the newWatchmenseems much more interested in the intersection of race and power in America .

That ’s surely an crucial outcome to undertake and one that feel particularly prescient in 2019 . But what is it about the Watchmen world in fussy that makes Lindelof require to recount this story ? The answer is sure to become clearer as the season fail on but pass judgment by Lindelof ’s retiring works , it may not be an response that ties thing together neatly .

NEXT : HBO ’s Watchmen Cast & Character Guide

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Watchmen first episode questions feature

Watchmen Panda

Jeremy Irons as Adrian Veidt Ozymandias in Watchmen

Nite Owl in Watchmen comics Patrick Wilson

Hooded Justice in Watchmen

Squid in Watchmen

HBO Watchmen Rorschach Cult

Lou Gossett Jr in Watchmen HBO

Don Johnson as Judd in Watchmen

Tulsa Race Massacre 1921 Watchmen HBO

A police officer in Watchmen in HBO.

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