

It's over. The most important TV series since the time of Breaking Bad ended last night with its ninth and final episode. Watchmen has defeated all the criticisms. Lindelof fully repaid HBO's trust. Moore himself probably will have watched the TV series feeling a shiver run down his back, even if he never or will admit it. On this Watchmen finale the legacy of Lindelof himself hangs in a palpable way and in particular that much mistreated and poorly digested final of Lost. That was a cryptic, complex episode where nothing was explained. There was no literal explanation of the events narrated. This was appreciated by many, but it sent millions of people on the rampage who wanted something less smoky. This Watchmen finale is the exact opposite. It's didactic to the nth degree. It's a perfect episode, maybe too much. Show Don't Tell. This was Hitchcock's motto. Lindelof respected him until episode 8, preferring a very explanatory conclusive episode. It is clear that the creator had somehow been afraid of falling back into the controversy as it was for Lost.


Through Senator Keene first, Lady Trieu then and Ozymandias constantly, Lindelof makes a continuous recap and summary of the previous installments. This weakens a wonderful episode where everything fits perfectly and where everything that was built takes on meaning. The skill of the writers to combine the mystery with the linearity of the story was commendable. In a TV series where one of the protagonists is able to live the time simultaneously, where heroes in masks accumulate and where we are dealing with the 2 most intelligent men in the world, it was not taken for granted to be so multilevel on the temporal level and on at the same time succeeding in keeping the narrative firm and linear. Everything came together in the last 2 episodes that gave a total closure to everything that had been developed in the first 7 episodes. Perhaps this ending does not represent the peak of this season but it certainly represents a worthy closure. The final scene is sublime in enclosing the story between Angela and Jon in a single gesture, or perhaps we should say just one step. Attention to detail has remained manic even in the last few minutes. Watchmen ends here. We still have the certainty of having witnessed live television history, witnesses of something grandiose and perhaps unrepeatable, at least for us who do not perceive time simultaneously.