Dan and Jeremy are back to breakdown Watchmen’s third episode “She Was Killed by Space Junk” (along with the occasional Julian-interjection)

This week we’re re-introduced to a classic character from the original comics: Laurie Blake, formerly Laurel Jane Juspeczyk, AKA Laurie Jupiter, AKA Silk Spectre II, AKA The Comedienne. Now working for the federal government, the former masked adventurer is tasked with hunting down new vigilantes in violation of the Keene Act.. I’m sure she’s aware of the irony, she just doesn’t seem to care. Much like her father’s view of the world and Laurie’s perception of her own life, this episode is one long, complicated, joke; told in three installments this serves as the perfect backdrop for her character and provides some much needed context for the current state of play.

The episode challenges the audience to look at characters differently; by using a former vigilante to hold a mirror up to the established protagonists the show adds even more tension and, while certainly answering some questions, once again the episode leaves us with more… But y’know, in a good way.

ToB Breakdowns are back! Dan and Jeremy got together to delve into the latest HBO phenomenon. Based on Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ prototypical dark comics, Watchmen simultaneously evokes familiar themes from the source material, while managing to fearlessly tackle deep modern issues as well.

Set amidst an alternate version of present day Oklahoma, HBO’s Watchmen introduces us to a violent, grimy, racially-charged world where police are forced to conceal their identities and (allegedly) trans-dimensional squid rain from the sky. Regina King, Don Johnson, and Tim Blake Nelson lead the cast as sanctioned detective/vigilante hybrids fighting a losing battle against an increasingly dangerous hate-group, and a crippling bureaucracy.

From a harrowing opening sequence to an enigmatic twist ending the first episode perfectly establishes the series’ tone, and with a clock ticking inexorably over the episode’s final moments we know begin to understand that by the time the answers are revealed it will be too late. Always has been, always will be. Too late.