See How They Fly

Perfect ending to wrap up a great season of television. Congratulations to Lindelof and everyone involved and especially Regina King

Loved the movie (2009). As for this series that came as a sequel I honestly didn't like the first 2 episodes, I was like "wtf! this is not Watchmen, not even close... But the rest of the episodes were brilliant and then I thought the first 2 were not so bad, they were essential parts in this great story. If there won't be a second season it's fine, the ending was perfect imo. If it will be renewed for 1 or 2 more season it would be great! 10/10 for this ep and 9/10 for the whole seas

Everybody expects a lot from season and show finales, where there should be ideally in my view a lot of emotional impact, all the ideas introduced and developed over the course of the run falling into place and where it all feels rounded off realistically. Some season and show finales have been very successful at that, 'Breaking Bad' and 'Inspector Morse' example. Others failed spectacularly, still remember vividly how angry those for 'House of Cards' and 'Game of Thrones' made me.

"See How They Fly" is not quite one of the best season and show finales (have actually heard varying accounts though of whether there will be a second season or not, but have believed for some time that this season is intended to be a one-off). It is also a slight disappointment after such a masterful previous episode. "See How They Fly" also is a long way from being one of the worst and does what a season and show finale should do mostly extremely well. It is a more than worthy end to 'Watchmen' and shows how far the show had come on since it first started, liked but not loved the first four episodes while loving the others.

All of 'Watchmen's' episodes are exceptionally well made and put a lot of films released today to shame. "See How They Fly" is gorgeously designed and the photography is some of the best of any television show from 2019, just love its style, atmosphere and how cinematic it looks. The lighting is suitably moody and matches the episode and show's bold tone, and the effects don't look cheap or under-budgeted, the squid looked surprisingly great.

The music is still haunting and the music choices are still inspired, especially effective are "Clair De Lune" and "Oh What a Beautiful Morning". A few of the tracks were used in other episodes as well, but this didn't feel recycled at all and like it was referencing what had come before and a way of tying things together.

Other 'Watchmen' episodes are more playful, episodes 3-5 and 7 namely, but the script is intelligent, occasionally subtly witty and has bold bite without being over-serious or dreary. The storytelling is bold and unflinching, ties things together, answers questions and puts it all into place. Amazing for an episode with so many ideas, a few too many perhaps, that are not trivialised and feel timely today. A lot of revelations and turns here and they are not just clever but quite shocking too.

Characters are richly fleshed out with Lady Trieu being at her most interesting throughout the whole show, and she was a character that showed enormous potential and made a big impression from the get go. Veidt's role in "See How They Fly" is also one of his most illuminating and a good deal is learnt about his character and motivations. The performances are stellar all round, Regina King and Jeremy Irons are big standouts as is classy Hong Chau.

My only criticism for "See How They Fly" was that the ending did feel a bit too rushed and anti-climactic, with not as much of a sense of finality that other show finales have.

Summing up, excellent conclusion. 9/10

I'm still trying to figure if this was a genius or a meaningless ending. Good episode though.

And so, a season (series maybe) finale that whilst not hitting the heights of some of the earlier episodes totally sticks the landing, pulling together the disparate threads of the plots into one totally satisfying conclusion.

With Dr Manhattan (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) successfully captured by the 7th Kavalry and preparing to take his power for their own, Angela Abar (Regina King) launches a desperate escape mission to rescue her husband. Meanwhile Lady Trieu (Hong Chau) sets her own plan into motion.

I write this review on New Year's Eve in 2019 so can look back with a bit of reflection. I honestly thing that this "Watchmen" show was the best thing I've seen this year. To say that I approached it with trepidation was an understatement, given the reverence the source material requires - but every decision made with the series was excellent. To attach where they did, to build on certain mythology but not others, to build it about present day tensions much like the graphic novel reflected the threat of nuclear annihilation at the time. It has been phenomenal.

As I say, this episode in particularlis perhaps not as stellar as some of its predecessors. It is naturally a little more concerned with pulling the plot together and wrapping it up than in high concept artistry, or time bending machinations. That is not to say it doesn't have a few of its own revelations. The statue of Veidt, for an example. But maybe a couple of those ideas felt underwhelming, the tower, for example, didn't add up to much. However, for a show produced and written by Damon Lindelof, this much of an all-encompassing conclusion was more than you could reasonably have expected.

What next then? Certainly, I don't want another series that picks up exactly where this finishes. If you absolutely have to, my preference would be a show leading up to the 1995 arrest of Nite Owl. I'm not sure I want anything more at all, to be honest, given that there's now two high quality aspects to live up to.