WATCH WATCHMEN.

Just do it.

If you have HBO, if you read the original comic, if you like cop dramas, if you like superheros, if you like existential-metaphysical-philosophical-and-humanitarian commentary, just do it.

Just watch Watchmen.

Ignore the spiteful hate it received upon its series premiere, most of which built upon the argument that HBO unnecessarily forced SJW agendas upon the Watchmen name with their choice of Rorschach-masked antagonists. Yes, in the first episode the plot does seem a little cut-and-dry with its cops-versus-racists conflict… but any true fan of the original Watchmen should know that nothing is as it seems, and that things sure as hell aren’t just black and white. In HBO’s Watchmen, ANYONE in a position of power is liable to be corrupt, and well-meaning liberal billionaires are just as likely to commit mass murder as white supremacists.

Now, that doesn’t sound like a one-sided political propaganda piece to me. That rather sounds like a story that promotes free-thinking, questions what “the greater good” really is, and encourages people to always be wary of their leaders.

Another thing to praise here is how out of all the show’s many parallel character arcs and plot lines, I cannot think of any that are left unsatisfactorily addressed by the time the final episode’s credits roll. There are a few that are open-ended, yes - I’m looking at you, Lube Man - but there’s plenty of in-show visual evidence and supplementary online material to guide the attentive audience member to the most logical assumption. This wonderful encouragement of drawing one’s own conclusions from the story is something not enough shows or movies have nowadays… but it is something that makes the gems in the rough shine all the brighter.

We need more stories like this. And we need GOOD ones, too. Ones that answer every plot thread that needs answering, ones that flesh out their characters, ones that are a single consistent vision from beginning to end, and ones that bend the rules of storytelling where they need to so they can be new, fresh and engaging.

So go. Watch Watchmen.

And I would most certainly recommend giving Peteypedia a good read, as well.