CAUTION: Watchmen spoilers follow below.
HBO’s stellar Watchmen series came to a thrilling and emotional conclusion on Sunday. Sure, we never really found out who the “Lube Man” was, but a fan-favorite character finally made their triumphant return after being absent for several episodes, so there’s that. What’s more, series creator Damon Lindelof and his writers’ room manage to tie up eight episodes’ worth of loose ends before plowing through the season’s ninth and final entry. The question is, will there be a second season of Watchmen?
Judging by all the critical acclaim and social media popularity its first season accrued, Watchmen‘s getting a season two order from HBO feels like a done deal. But that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen, and what’s more, there’s no guarantee Lindelof is going to be a part of it. Speaking with Rolling Stone, he said, “I think that it would be foolish to say ‘never.’ And to say ‘done.’ Because every great heist movie is borne on the back of a character who is out of the game”:
I am comfortable saying, “Every single idea that we had is onscreen and presented in these nine episodes. And there isn’t anything that occurred to us that was like, ‘Oh, that would be a good Season Two. We should save that.'” Everything that we wanted to do, we did. So I feel like the plate is empty. There’s nothing rattling around in my brain right now that feels like a compulsion to do more.
That being said, Lindelof stressed that “Watchmen is bigger than me” because “of course it is.” After all, he continued, the graphic novel was created by other people decades ago, and it has “endured as one of the greatest pieces of storytelling for 30 years before I had anything to do with it.” He even admitted, should HBO decide to go ahead and make another season without his direct involvement, and with another showrunner entirely, that he’d be “thrilled” by that.
As for Angela Abar’s (Regina King) final cliffhanger of a moment, Lindelof offered a rather contrarian response to the two presumed interpretations that most audiences have probably already made about it:
Outcome number one is that she just sinks to the bottom of it and just misunderstood everything that Cal told her and ate a raw egg and should probably go be treated for salmonella. Outcome number two is that she starts to walk on water and realize that she is imbued with godlike powers… Let’s just say either of those possibilities exist. I think neither one of those stories are going to particularly make for a compelling season of television. Others may disagree.
So, if it’s not one or two, Damon, then what is it?
(Via Rolling Stone)
