Watchmen: Season 1: Episode 2 Breakdown & Ending Explained

Welcome to the Heavy Spoilers show, I’m your host Deffinition and you’re now locked into the channel where we’ve been Watching The Watchmen to breakdown everything that you need to know about the new season on HBO.

Throughout this video we’ll be recapping the second entry in the series thus far and discussing where the show could be heading in the future.

There will be Heavy Spoilers here, so if you haven’t had a chance to watch episode two and don’t want to know what happens then I highly suggest that you turn off now.

With that out the way I just wanna give a huge thank you for clicking this video, now let’s get into our breakdown of Watchmen: Episode 2!

Watchmen: Season 1: Episode 1 Recap

Ok so episode 1 saw a city under seige with the rise of The Seventh Cavalry. A group of White Supremacists that were looking to bring chaos in the streets in the name of Rorschach. Whilst the masked vigilante was never like that in the comic books, they have twisted his message and it’s up to the police to bring an end to this threat.

We joined Sister Night and the police department as they slowly worked to take down the rogue organisation and just when it seemed like the police were beginning to make headway in the war, the Police Captain was mysteriously murdered by an unknown assassin that sent a powerful message to Night.

Episode 2 Breakdown

Similar to the prior entry, Episode 2 has an introduction that is very much steeped in real world history and we open on a German kommandant dictating a leaflet that will be sent out to African American Soldiers to try and convince them to surrender to the German army in the promise of a better life.

History dictates to us that Germany actually used to forcibly sterilize Black Citizens living in Germany and this blatant lie told by the German forces in the opening reminds us just how tactical that they were as an army. They attempted to dissuade many of the soldiers by reminding them of White America’s very much anti-black mindset at the time. We follow the black father from the beginning of the prior episode who grabs one of these notes as they are being airdropped.

Though he turns down the German’s offer he takes the pamphlet home and returns to Oklahoma where his son, who we left in the opener of the last episode, discovers them. We did theorise last time that this would be revealed to be the elderly man in the wheelchair that knew of Angela’s alter-ego and Episode 2 confirms this, all whilst filling in who he really is and how he knows so much.

Will

Flash forward to the present and with Judds body still swinging from a tree, Angela takes the man to her quote unquote, bakery, to let off some steam, make him a cup of coffee and get to the bottom of what happened. We learn that the character is called Will and that he is a 105 year old psychic who killed Judd. Last episode he asked Angela if she thought that he could lift 200 pounds and we learn this episode that this is because he was the one who killed the captain and strung him up. He says that he did this with his mind which he can manipulate things with and because Judd had skeletons in his closet. He says there’s a big conspiracy in the area but if he divulges everything then it will make her head explode. Angela and I’m guessing all of the audience don’t believe this as he comes out with some inconsistencies and she leaves, returning to site of the Captain’s body which has now turned into a crime scene.

Easter Eggs

Along the way, we pass a newsstand that is very similar to the one in the original comic book at which the young boy read the tales of The Black Freighter whilst the newsvendor spouted things off. There’s also a copy of The New Frontiersman and mention of The Nova Express which many will remember from the original graphic novel as some of the many publications in it. It states that Global Squdfalls baffle scientists and this is in reference to the giant alien from the end of the graphic novel as well as the weather conditions that we noticed in the last episode.

At the crime scene, Angela meets with Looking Glass who seems to have an indepth knowledge of everything that happened to the Captain during his final few minutes. I’m telling you this guy is the inside mole. He seems very suspect towards Angela and she says that he’s cold which he rebuffs with ‘well why am I crying under here?’ We can clearly see that he’s not and yeah, I’m getting out my tin foil hat cos I’m sure that this guy is up to something. When Angela mentions her kids, he also questions it and as we know she is a foster mother so this is a little close to the bone for me at least and shows that he knows a great deal about the character even though he isn’t letting on.

The White Night

We are reminded of why Angela hasn’t got any kids as well in a flashback that shows first hand the elements that were paid lipservice to last episode. We go to Christmas Eve, with attention drawn directly to the clock and see Angela and Cal as they are accosted by members of The Cavalry that break in and begin shooting at the characters. It’s an awesome action scene that really showcases just how much this show has the standoffs nailed and watching the violence play out to the song ‘Santa Baby’ reminded me of the opening of the Watchmen movie in which our boy Ozy fought the Comedia to ‘Unforgettable.’

Angela looks like she’s about to die but awakens in hospital to find Judd sitting beside her. He informs her that 40 police officers houses were hit in the Cavalry attack. We learn that Angela’s kids are actually the children of her partner and his wife who were killed during the attack and that she adopted them after the White Night.

Due to the attacks, the remaining police force members have resigned and the two remain defiant, joined together and forming a strong bond through it. Now this is where you start to get the idea that Judd may have been in on the attacks and that this could be what Will was referring to as the conspiracy earlier in the episode.

Taking Down The Seventh Cavalry

After the death of their chief, the police decide that now is the perfect time for a counter attack and they raid the motor home from the first episode in order to do a roundup that will weed out the Cavalry members. It’s over the top, bloody and full of awesome moments and that really hints at the conflict that we are slowly building towards between the two sides. We know that the police have the power to beat these guys into a bloody pulp but they aren’t playing by the rules and thus even with the extra authority, Angela and co are pretty much defenseless against the guerilla tactics that they are able to use.

With that over, Angela heads to The Greenwood Centre which is a memorial area for those that died during the real world attack in the opening of episode one. It’s an area that allows for you to test if you deserve reparations through submitting DNA and due to the President Robert Redford being in power, these are known as ‘Redforations.’ They haven’t gone down well with public and we very much get the subtext that these things are slowly dividing the community and one of the areas of conflict. Angela uses Will’s DNA which she took from his coffee cup in the intro to see if he was really at the scene.

Hooded Justice

Back home, Angela runs into what I believe is her adopted kid’s grandfather who wishes to visit them though Angela stops this. We also get a minor look at the show within a show that is the ‘American Hero Story.’ Similar to the original graphic novel that had a comic within a comic this follows Rolf Muller who faked his own death and is revealed to be Hooded Justice, a vigilante from the graphic novel that was part of The Minutemen. Though it is believed in the book that he was murdered Rolf Muller we actually learn that they are one in the same. This clears up a big conspiracy theory that Watchmen fans have had for decades now and I’m glad that through the show we are getting some answers in regards to the source material.

Back in the Watchmen world, Angela travels to Judd’s wake under the guise of grieving for the character. Here she meets Senator Joe Keene who I believe may be the son of Senator John Keene from the graphic novel. He was the Senator that passed the law known as The Keene act that outlawed vigilantes and made the Watchmen go into hiding. Angela feigns passing out in order to be taken upstairs and wakes up in Judd’s room where, after his wife leaves, allows her to put on X-ray goggles in order to investigate his personal life.

Judd Was In The Cavalry?

Now here we get another big twist in Judd’s life with the reveal that he was indeed a member of The Cavalry and it’s one of the most mind blowing twists in Watchmen history showcasing that she really can’t trust anyone. The twists don’t stop there though and I’ll get into another big one in just a bit.

Cut to Ozymandias’ castle and we discover that his servants are actually clones and not androids like I thought last time. Together they are putting toegether the production of The Watchmaker’s son which will portray the origin story of Doctor Manhattan. Those who’ve seen the film adaptation will remember this as one of the seminal moments and it’s great watching Ozy over the moon with a stage school level production of it. He ends up killing the clone cos hey he can always make a new one and yeah hilarious moment with a bit of blue dick in it as well. We finally got it!

Back at the bakery, Angela finds Will cooking eggs after somehow escaping and she begins accusing him of setting up Judd though deep down we know this isn’t true. It’s revealed through the DNA sample that Will is, in fact, Angela’s grandfather and there is also another relative of the two out there somewhere. We don’t get confirmation on who this is but I don’t believe that they have been introduced yet.

Angela doesn’t want to hear this and arrests him, putting him in a car before he is miraculously rescued by a craft that flies overhead and escorts the car away with a magnet, confirming that he does indeed have friends in high places. Mirroring the start of the episode, Will drops a flier out of the air which Angela catches, it says ‘Watch Over This Boy’ which leaves her questioning exactly what has happened.

Watchmen Episode 2 Ending Explained

Now the ending of the episode may leave you scratching your head but personally I believe that this is the original Nite Owl Archie ship and it has been commandeered by Ozy since the retirement of Dan who is now setting up the pieces to create a race war in Tulsa to end the conflict similar to how he did in the original graphic novel.

Going forward I believe that he is setting up the pieces and needs Will out of the picture due to this ability to inform Angela of exactly what is happening and in the next episode, we will follow Ozy’s plan as it begins to unfurl. It looks like the Seventh Cavalry’s attacks are beginning to increase and thus the government is attempting to contact Doctor Manhattan in order to come back to Earth and intervene in the conflict.

Either way there are lots of things that could potentially happen and no doubt there will a wealth of theories over where the show is heading. It definitely has me gripped and I massively preferred this entry over the prior one with this episode having me gripped throughout.