I'm pumped, big Lindelof and Watchmen fan but if we hadn't seen Dr Manhattan before or the owl ship (and to a certain extent, the Rorschach like masks), I'd have no idea it's Watchmen related. Wait and see, Gibbons was really pleased with the scripts, so there's that.

Least impressive trailer so far, but I'm still intrigued. I know Vader will try to act as if he knows all and that his take is the only one conceivable, but I'm still not a big fan of Rorschach's image and legacy being used as the image of an alt-right-esque propaganda group. Rorschach displays the negative attributes of absolutism (and conspiracy) in the graphic novel for sure, but making his followers in this religious zealots (?) is strange to say the least. Rorschach doesn't believe in the saving of humanity; he believes it's already doomed but that it's his part to play to cleanse the evil from it to the best of his ability. I can hardly see him allying himself with a political party or allegiance other than himself. His actions in the end represent his uncompromising nature, not a political allegiance or leaning.

Bacon wrote: ↑

September 13th, 2019, 4:21 pm

Least impressive trailer so far, but I'm still intrigued. I know Vader will try to act as if he knows all and that his take is the only one conceivable, but I'm still not a big fan of Rorschach's image and legacy being used as the image of an alt-right-esque propaganda group. Rorschach displays the negative attributes of absolutism (and conspiracy) in the graphic novel for sure, but making his followers in this religious zealots (?) is strange to say the least.

bud it's not even 'my' take! Rorschach is a satire of right wing authoritarian ideology, IE inflexible bullshit deontological mindsets writ large via ultra-violence. it's the definitive consensus on the character. How could you suggest Rorschach isn't the above lol

thinking otherwise is kinda like thinking tyler is the hero of fight club.

furthermore, I'm not at all surprised the people who worship Rorschach in-universe take his philosophies to extremes, just like Jordan Peterson's followers take his already toxic snake oil sludge and amplify it exponentially. it's not only a satire of the right, it's a satire of how the extreme right misinterprets and radicalizes its symbols and heroes. In this case, Rorschach.


-Vader

Bacon wrote: ↑

September 13th, 2019, 4:21 pm

Least impressive trailer so far, but I'm still intrigued. I know Vader will try to act as if he knows all and that his take is the only one conceivable, but I'm still not a big fan of Rorschach's image and legacy being used as the image of an alt-right-esque propaganda group. Rorschach displays the negative attributes of absolutism (and conspiracy) in the graphic novel for sure, but making his followers in this religious zealots (?) is strange to say the least. Rorschach doesn't believe in the saving of humanity; he believes it's already doomed but that it's his part to play to cleanse the evil from it to the best of his ability. I can hardly see him allying himself with a political party or allegiance other than himself. His actions in the end represent his uncompromising nature, not a political allegiance or leaning.

the guy was already rotten, who knew his radical fans would be even worse than him right??

and what a stupid idea to let vigilantes have crazy followers, that can't work

The stark difference here is that people are saying the religious zealot alt-right angle is in alignment with Rorschach's nihilistic and absolutist tendency from the graphic novel -- not that it diverges from it. Batman copies from TDK for example are not understanding what Batman stands for, making them a problem.

That angle might be what they're going for, but I've seen enough people online (Vader included) arguing that the cultists here match with Rorschach's view from the comics so I can't tell if that's what the show-makers are trying to do here (ie. making the followers obviously misunderstand their leader). Being a borderline neo-conservative blind to your personal absolutes of right and wrong is obviously an extremely problematic mindset, but I'm not sure that lends itself immediately to the religious and church imagery that the show seems to be throwing onto the Rorschach gang, considering Rorschach's indifference toward a god in the graphic novel.

Maybe it's just a Durden-esque Robert Paulson kind of thing where it's more sub-textually religious, but having them all chanting in a church makes me believe it's not.

From what I recall, Alan Moore has said that he intended Rorschach to be an example of the 'most unpleasant right-wing character'. While Moore said that Rorschach has a ferocious moral integrity, he also said that the latter's politics are completely mad.

Bacon wrote: ↑

September 13th, 2019, 5:34 pm

Being a borderline neo-conservative blind to your personal absolutes of right and wrong is obviously an extremely problematic mindset, but I'm not sure that lends itself immediately to the religious and church imagery that the show seems to be throwing onto the Rorschach gang, considering Rorschach's indifference toward a god in the graphic novel.

having a religious background yourself, I'd think you better than most would know where that mindset came from in the first place


-Vader

Considering The Leftovers is my favorite TV show ever and Watchmen is one of my favorite stories in general, I'm shocked how I'm not that excited by these trailers

Lindelof:

“I’m not being flippant when I say that the answer is one. Does that mean that there isn’t going to be anymore Watchmen? Not necessarily. Does that mean that I will be working on subsequent seasons of Watchmen? I don’t know is the answer to that question. We designed these nine episodes to be as self-contained as the original 12 issues. We wanted to feel like there was a sense of completeness, to resolve the essential mystery at hand. Obviously, there is a potential promise for the further exploration of the world but like the seasons of Leftovers that I did as opposed to Lost, which was designed to have cliffhanger finales and a promise of future storytelling. We want to see how it’s received by you guys. If the show comes out there and the conversation surrounding the show suggests you’re hungry for more, we’ll certainly take that into consideration. We want to deliver nine episodes that deliver a complete and total, amazing story.”

First reactions are very positive