The drama version of "Watchmen" has been broadcast for five episodes so far, and more than half of the content has still not ushered in a climax scene. As far as the mode requirements in the entertainment field are concerned, this is undoubtedly a substandard level.
A total of nine episodes in length, more than three episodes did not give a breaking point, which is really puzzling.
So strictly speaking, the first sentence of the opening paragraph, I have stated it three times.
But it has come so far, who cares if there is a burst point?
HBO is doing something big in adaptation history in an incredible way
Watchmen is unlike any other superhero story in this world!
This work is the first literary work in the world to win the "Hugo Award" in the form of comics, which is equivalent to the "Nobel Prize in the field of science fiction art".
"Watchmen" won a place in the list of "100 Best English Novels from 1923 to Present" selected by Time Magazine.
"Watchmen" surpassed "Batman: The Dark Knight" in the "DC 25 classic must-reads" list.
This world-view anti-hero theme is also known as the greatest page in the history of popular fiction.
The difficulty of continuing to write the story for the work of "Watchmen", which is a super artistic achievement, can be imagined.
If it was just to be on the safe side, when HBO was preparing for the TV series version of "Watchmen", it should actually choose a remake.
Or according to the foreshadowing left by Luo Xia's memoirs at that time, organize a reversal action drama. With the east wind of the word of mouth of "Watchmen", it is possible to make a fortune.
But HBO's works dedicated to the audience have chosen the most difficult path, creating a follow-up story that almost completely reconstructs the worldview of "Watchmen".
And the way the story is told is even more slow-paced and obscure than the movie version that audiences have complained about before.
Different from most entertainment-based superhero films, "Watchmen" is indeed a work that needs to be savored.
The reason why the original work can be held on the altar is that in addition to the grand world view and profound ideas, the vivid portrayal of many important characters is also the highlight of the work.
I've heard too many lies, and finally I'll be you
Among all the characters in the story, except for Dr. Manhattan who glows blue, the one who can impress readers the most must be Rorschach with a mask.
This mortal hero who thoroughly implements justice is also almost the most popular character in the story.
Going back to the drama version, most viewers will think that he is very similar to Rorschach when they see the new character "Looking Glass" in the first episode.
For the first time, the Looking Glass is in the interrogation room, while interrogating the prisoner, the surrounding pictures are reflected on his mask, no matter the shape or the aura, it is like a Rorschach resurrection.
However, after this bright spot, the looking glass in the next three episodes completely took a back seat, almost becoming a small transparency in the play, and its presence was not even as good as the red fear of swearing and complaining all the time.
However, just when everyone thought he was no more than that, it only took HBO 30 minutes to bring him back to the main role.
Back in 1985, Wade preached the Doomsday Clock in order to awaken the people's sense of crisis.
As a result, she was spoofed by the little sister. She deceived Wade's feelings and trust, and stole his clothes and left him naked in the carnival maze.
As a believer, Wade is already full of self-blame for his lack of determination.
And being deceived in his feelings makes it difficult for him to trust others in his whole life, and he is lost in the maze of life.
There was not much time left for Wade to blame and annoy himself. The big octopus created by Pharaoh suddenly appeared in the sky over New York, and Wade was also affected.
When he woke up from the coma, the streets were littered with corpses.
So, on this night, Wade suffered a crit in his life.
The self-denial caused by being deceived by the teenage girl, and the denial of the world caused by the New York Octopus incident, double damage that affected Wade's life thereafter.
Although very similar indeed, unlike Rorschach's deep-rooted desire for justice formed by living at the bottom, Wade has a hard time making a conscious choice between self and external things.
Perhaps in order not to let himself be deceived, Wade painstakingly delved into the knowledge of psychology, on the one hand as a means of self-protection, it can also be used to make a living or to seek justice.
But because of Wade's own problems, in fact, his stunt will be disturbed from time to time, and he will even lose the most basic judgment when encountering personal emotional problems and the extinction of the octopus.
Living with his wife for seven years, Wade never even let her take off his clothes. In terms of personal feelings, Wade's psychological knowledge is completely invalid.
Worried that the octopus incident would happen again, Wade purchased the alarm device, which originally only required a maximum of six weeks to test the alarm act, and he did more than 500 times.
Wade's worries about the octopus incident have reached the level of nervousness. After the alarm went wrong, he irritably called customer service and asked for a new device the next day even if it cost twice the price. Sad reminder of the trauma left by his experience.
Including his mask is also a material called reflective substance, which is used to protect himself from being hurt by the super explosion of the Octopus event.
After the incident that year, even those who survived would have their gray matter damaged, and psychological shadows would accompany them throughout their lives. When not acting as a speculum, Wade would also wear a baseball cap with reflective substances added inside. He was really terrified of this.
Unable to sleep peacefully, every night Wade curled up in the safe house he built and slept in his clothes, worried that the disaster would come again.
Huge pressure and kindness of nature made Wade organize a trauma society to help people with post-traumatic sequelae get out of the haze.
However, for Wade, who is still in deep distress, the help he can give others is naturally very limited. Everything related to the octopus incident will reduce Wade's judgment.
As a result, the biggest reversal of the play was on Wade. At the mutual aid meeting, Wade was tricked and led to the lair of the Knights, and was forced to complete a deal with them.
The Knights took out the materials that recorded the truth of the year, and asked Wade to make a choice after watching it. If they supported their behavior, they would help clean up the Night Sister.
The truth that Wade learned at the headquarters of the Knights shattered all the cognitions of the first half of his life.
Interestingly, although Wade was tormented by experiencing the disaster in New York that year, he believed that fear can help mankind achieve unity, as the Pharaoh predicted, which he shares with most smart people.
However, after learning the truth, Wade, who was the party involved in the incident, had a completely different judgment.
After all, unlike Ye Owl and Silk Ling who were in Antarctica at the time, Wade witnessed the loss of millions of lives in New York.
As a result, Wade began to change from utilitarianism to the justice that Rorschach pursued back then. Of course, all of this is actually just a help for Wade to return to his true self.
It can be seen from his tit-for-tat with Silk Ling many times in order to help the nun keep secret, Wade also insists on his bottom line and justice like Rorschach.
Although the original looking glass was not what Rorschach looked like, he was gradually embarking on this path, using his own way to accomplish the justice he understood.
The more complex the clues, the more difficult the ending is
By the end of the episode, Wade seems to have shaken off his inner fears and chooses to discard the octopus alarm device, but ends up taking it back from the trash.
Are you wondering whether Wade really accepts and overcomes the magic barrier in his heart.
In fact, from the details, he is no longer afraid.
When he got out of the car, Wade left his reflective baseball cap in the car, and after a moment of hesitation, he dropped the alarm device.
Why did he take it back? My personal guess is that after the Knights learned the truth, he really needed this equipment in case he needed it from time to time.
After finishing what the Knights requested, the last scene in this episode is that four members of the Knights came to Wade's house with guns. I don't know the purpose of their trip.
The next episode begins, with the nun as an introduction, the truth of the Tulsa incident is about to surface.
After Old Man Will's motives are clarified, his and Zhao Yu's plan this time should be revealed in episode 7 at the latest.
At the same time, Wade's encounter will clarify the true intentions of the Knights, and the major forces will have a clear position at that time.
And the pharaoh, another central character, also confirmed that he was indeed trapped in outer space.
A very interesting picture is that Wade stepped on the corpses at the beginning, which was the crazy act of the pharaoh who claimed to be the salvation of the world.
And this time, in space, the pharaoh also used countless corpses to put out the words for help.
With the passage of time, people who once thought that they could save the world are finally overwhelmed by themselves, which is sad and deplorable.
The distress signal is released, and the Pharaoh will most likely return to Earth.
And the position he represents, after experiencing this situation, whether it will be as extreme as it was in the past, it is unknown.
In the last two episodes, the story between Pharaoh and Zhao Yu needs to be answered, Dr. Manhattan will definitely appear again, and the grievances of the second generation of watchmen must also be settled.
Assuming that the series is not unfinished, the five-episode foreshadowing must begin to wrap up next week, but there are too many mysteries to be solved.
If the single-episode market is not added, "Watchmen" must start to explode in rhythm next week, so that there is enough time to complete the story.
And whether HBO can create a new benchmark for comic film and television works, let us see you in December.
The finale after four episodes will come to the end of 2019. I will continue to write for another New Year's Eve. You should pay attention and watch it together~
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