Top 10 Best Moments from Watchmen Season 1

Who watches the Watchmen? We do, and we’re absolutely hooked. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 Moments from Watchmen Season 1. For this list, we’ll be looking at some of the best, most memorable, beautiful, shocking and compelling moments from the first season of HBO’s 2019 series, “Watchmen”.

"Martial Feats of Comanche Horsemanship”
“Watchmen” is chock full of mysteries… but there are few characters that raise more questions than Adrian Veidt, aka Ozymandias. In fact, it’s not until episode three that this aging gentleman is actually confirmed to be Veidt. For all his air of mystique, Veidt delivers some of the show’s most memorable moments. In the first episode, he reveals that he’s written a play. In the following episode, we learn (as his servants perform it) that said play is a retelling of Doctor Manhattan’s origin story - and that Ozymandias has decided to forego special effects and just burn his leading man alive. The director watches with rapt attention but also complete emotional detachment from his victim. And then we learn why.

"If You Don't Like My Story, Write Your Own"
When you’re three episodes into a new series and you’ve already teased a half dozen pressing questions, the last thing that anybody wants is a cold open exclusively populated by new characters. That is… unless it’s a cold open THIS good. The newly-introduced Lady Trieu shows up at a small farmhouse and makes the couple living there a very attractive offer. Trieu is so calmly assertive that you’re instantly compelled by this larger-than-life character. As the situation escalates from odd to downright absurd, the viewer is left to keep up with whatever the heck is happening. It’s a whirlwind intro for Trieu, but also a perfect sample of her character in a nutshell. And that’s how you craft must-watch TV.

"She Was Killed by Space Junk"
Since Doctor Manhattan’s disappearance over 30 years prior to the start of the series, special phone booths have been set up so that people seeking to be heard by the living god can send him messages. Unlike most people, however, Laurie isn’t asking anything of the big blue guy - she just wants to tell her ex-lover a joke. And what a joke it is! Rather than a single moment, the elaborate joke spans the course of the entire episode, slowly unraveling in tandem to the plot. A complex metaphor exploring the notions of agency, purpose, and the nature of “doing good”, it’s the sort of joke that fans will likely be discussing for quite some time.

"See How They Fly"
“Nothing ever ends.” It’s a saying that “Watchmen” fans know all too well to be true. Be that as it may, few viewers could have predicted that Doctor Manhattan - a living god and comic book icon - would seemingly be destroyed in the very first season of the show. Sure, “Watchmen” distinguished itself as daring television right out of the gate, but this creative choice significantly ups the ante in terms of its boldness. Thankfully, Manhattan’s apparent demise was heartfelt, dramatic and tragically beautiful - an end worthy of a legend. And in the wake of his tragic fate, a seed (or rather an egg) has been planted that reminds us that legends never really die.

"Little Fear of Lightning"
Like so many characters in this series, Wade Tilman is a bit of an enigma - at least at first. Doctor Manhattan is the only known super-powered being in the Watchmen universe, but Tilman’s keen deductive analysis certainly feels superhuman. In episode five, we take a look behind the looking glass to Wade’s youth. We learn that Wade was a Jehovah’s Witness spreading the teachings of his faith in Hoboken, New Jersey on the night of November 2nd, 1985. The young man we meet is naive, vulnerable and conflicted. And then… his world comes crashing down. This moment helps us to understand Wade’s trauma, while giving us an unprecedented firsthand account of what it was like to survive Veidt’s plot.

"An Almost Religious Awe"
Angela’s grandfather makes a big impression in episode one, but it takes a bit longer to get to know June Abar. After learning about the couple’s shared history in episode six, we finally catch up with June in 1987 - shortly after Angela is orphaned. It’s a beautiful moment of connection between a grandmother and a lonely young girl. June and Angela form an immediate connection and Angela’s life seems poised to change for the better. Just as they’re making plans for the future however, Hall and Oates’ “Everytime You Go Away” begins to play. It’s cruel, beautifully crafted, and emblematic of the tragedy that inevitably seems to befall Angela at every turn.

"This Extraordinary Being"
Will Reeves’ life has been fraught with pain and frustration. From orphan, to police officer, to a masked vigilante, he’s continuously sought to effect positive change - only to be marginalized or dismissed because of his race. During his time with the Minutemen, Will discovered that the white supremacist group “Cyclops” had been using hypnotism to incite black-on-black violence, with his concerns suppressed by his superheroic peers. Decades later, Will uses that very same technology to force Judd to end his own life. Will might be the one controlling Judd, but the instrument with which he does it is a tool of Judd’s own racist legacy.

"It's Summer and We're Running Out of Ice"
“Watchmen” has consistently been an exercise in subverting expectations. Even after we learned that the show would be set in the present and largely focus on new characters, the very first episode nonetheless managed to throw us yet another curveball by going back to a time before the Minutemen - the 1921 Tulsa race riot. While “Watchmen” is a work of fiction, this extremely grim but evocative moment is an all too real (and regrettably overlooked) chapter from America’s history. For anyone who was confused by the choice to set “Watchmen” in modern day Tulsa, this shocking opening perfectly sets the scene. On the show, Tulsa acts as a microcosm within which to explore America’s history of brutal racism.

"A God Walks into Abar"
Even after discovering Klu Klux Klan robes in his closet, Angela can’t help but care for her recently-deceased boss, Judd Crawford. As the first episode makes clear, she and the chief of the Tulsa PD shared a special bond - a deep friendship and mutual respect that blurred the lines between co-workers, friends and family. It’s because of this relationship that Angela’s conversation with Doctor Manhattan in episode eight is so devastating. She tries to take advantage of Manhattan’s ability to simultaneously experience the past, present, and future to finally get answers from her grandfather. Instead, she discovers that she’s the one responsible for planting the seed that will eventually result in Judd’s death.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions

Adrian Escapes
"See How They Fly"

The Pod
"It's Summer and We're Running Out of Ice"

American Hero Story Fight Scene
"Martial Feats of Comanche Horsemanship"

Seventh Kavalry vs. Doctor Manhattan
"A God Walks into Abar"

Will Becomes Hooded Justice
"This Extraordinary Being"

"An Almost Religious Awe"
In episode seven, the brilliant Lady Trieu drops what should have been a bombshell. Angela, however, doesn’t bat an eye. After hearing Lady Trieu out, she leaves and heads home to deliver the biggest reveal of the season— Doctor Manhattan is none other than her husband, Cal Abar. And she’s known the whole time! Showrunner and creator Damon Lindelof is well-versed in the art of twists, evidenced by his previous shows, “Lost” and “The Leftovers”. Even measured against his past work, however, this is a twist for the ages. Adding to both the narrative and emotional impact of the moment is the fact that Cal has no idea, and that Angela must hammer it home - literally.