12 Comic Easter Eggs From ‘Watchmen’ Episode 4 (PHOTOS)
Broken Glass
Although it may be a looser connection than others, Angela’s (Regina King) style of sneaking into places by any means necessary — including breaking glass — is reminiscent of the tactics exhibited by comic character Rorschach. Perhaps her black and white costume may be another nod to their possible connection, which is separate from the appropriation being made by the clearly racist Seventh Kavalry.
Family Revelations
When she broke into the Greenwood Cultural Center, Angela learned more about her family tree, including her great-grandparents on her father’s side. This is similar to the family revelations made by Laurie in the comics, in which she learns the truth about who her biological father is — The Comedian.
Stuffed Bubastis
In the comics, Adrian Veidt has a pet he calls Bubastis, which is a genetically-engineered lynx, and for those familiar with the unique creature, Topher’s (Dylan Schombing) stuffed animal looks an awful lot like her.
Senator Keene
Senator Joseph Keene (James Wolk) is the son of the former Senator Keene who was responsible for the “Keene Act” which ended masked vigilantism in the ’70s. In the comic, the character isn’t seen as flawless, and his son is proving to be the same when Angela called him out in the precinct for his presence disrupting Judd’s (Don Johnson) funeral.
Inspired Masks
If you haven’t noticed by now, Angela’s fellow detectives, Red Scare (Andrew Howard) and Pirate Jenny (Jessica Camacho) are embodiments of two prominent themes and plots in the comics. The original Watchmen focused on the fear of impending nuclear war involving the Russians; meanwhile, The Black Freighter — Watchmen‘s comic within a comic — revolves around a story that includes pirates.
Laurie’s Reveal
During a car ride, Laurie (Jean Smart) clues Angela into her backstory with the help of fellow FBI agent Petey (Dustin Ingram). Essentially the entire exchange is one big Easter Egg or glimpse into the past as the events revealed in the comics are relayed to the detective.
Lady Trieu’s Vivarium
Also known as a greenhouse, Lady Trieu’s (Hong Chau) property happens to include a room that viewers of the comic would remember seeing in Adrian Veidt’s Antarctic estate, Karnak. There, Veidt enjoyed warm temperatures and the surrounding plant life in the middle of snowstorms. In the show, Lady Trieu chalks hers up to a promise she made her mother to never leave Vietnam.
Vietnam Connection
Readers were introduced to an alt-history in which America wins the Vietnam War with the help of Dr. Manhattan, and that’s the case in this series as well. Lady Trieu’s connection with the country could imply that there’s more to learn about her past there, and with that mystery still unanswered, perhaps she’ll also have a direct connection to the plots introduced in the book?
Monuments
In Lady Trieu’s vivarium, she has a statue of Adrian Veidt in his Ozymandias costume. This imagery is reminiscent of the gaudy statues seen in Adrian’s estates in the books, and also reconfirms Jeremy Irons’ identity as the vigilante.
Transformation Chamber
Similar to the chamber used to depict Dr. Manhattan’s origin story in Adrian’s bizarre play, viewers were shown a new one which grows fetus-like figures into the servants we’ve come to know as Mr. Phillips (Tom Mison) and Ms. Crookshanks (Sara Vickers). Like the comic, the chamber has transformation properties — like the one Dr. Manhattan is trapped in — thus changing him into the superhuman he became.
Corpses
In the Black Freighter comic within Watchmen, the story includes the use of corpses, and seeing Adrian’s dining room filled with them, it only brings to mind the dark tale contained in the graphic novel.
Escape
Black Freighter connections abound in the scenes with Adrian so far this season, and when he mentions a desire to escape, that only further supports the similarities. In the story, a man who is marooned on an island wishes to escape — it seems Adrian is in search of his own exit.
[Warning: This article contains MAJOR spoilers for Season 1, Episode 4 of Watchmen, “If You Don’t Like My Story, Write Your Own.”]
Watchmen continues to plot a interesting path as it lays out mystery and slowly reveals new insights along the way. Each week we’re given more and more, and while there’s plenty of unanswered questions, there’s also many Easter Eggs to unpack.
From history direct from the graphic novel’s pages to little nods to characters, themes and more — in the gallery above, we’re breaking down a few of the Easter eggs presented in the fourth episode of the HBO drama.
Click through the images to see what references from the comics were made and how they’re impacting the new story being presented. And if you caught any we missed, let us know in the comments below.
Watchmen, Sundays, 9/8c, HBO
