Martin Carr reviews the sixth episode of Watchmen…
It is fundamental that any fans of ground breaking television watch this show. Few programmes can consistently surprise, narratively challenge and promote debate so readily. It remains visually audacious, topically on point and unrelenting in its ability to make audiences re-evaluate, before ripping up the rule book in front of them.
Whether by reimagining visual palettes, wrong footing audiences or challenging our expectations elsewhere, Watchmen remains casually clever yet ferociously focused. ‘This Extraordinary Being’ continues the trend by giving us backstory through pharmaceutical methods, before mixing past and present with story elements which only enrich the experience.
Not only does the door swing wide on Zack Snyder’s incarnation but there are mainstream comic book references, episode specific film nods and a political jibe or two. However more than that ‘This Extraordinary Being’ belongs to Jovan Adepo, who puts limitless pathos and emotional conflict into everything. Between Louis Gossett Jr, Regina King and Jovan Adepo episode six is eloquently outspoken, subtlety understated yet brazen in its opinions. Not only tearing the doors off of racial issues but also embracing duplicity through identity, gender and personal relationships.
Part film noir, part fifties fever dream with splashes of colour it uses in camera techniques, a jazz sourced soundtrack and one perfect montage sequence to seamlessly communicate passages of time. With ninety eight percent in black and white it possesses an essentially old fashioned element, whilst transitions between past and present add drama rather than offering any easy resolution.
Stepping into an established character Adepo gains audience trust early, melds his interpretation into Gossett Jr’s incarnation and fills out his boots further, whilst allowing room for King to make her mark. There is a complexity to this man once things conclude which deserves another viewing, as does every single episode in the run to date.
That the showrunners have been allowed to indulge every inventive whim without any sense of network oversight is commendable. Outside of the streaming services HBO stands alongside AMC as one of the few who are brave enough to allow programme makers the freedom required. Worthy of a second season, challenging in ways which will make certain audiences uncomfortable yet consistently unapologetic Watchmen is landmark television. A series which rewards those who are prepared to think and want something more than mediocre entertainment.
Martin Carr
