'Watchmen' Pilot First Reactions Are Vague But Overwhelmingly Positive
The Watchmen pilot has screened at New York Comic-Con, and even though everyone was told to not tweet about it, everyone is tweeting about it anyway. So there are two common threads here: people saying, "I'm not allowed to talk about this!", followed by those same people saying, "...but, wow!" In other words: the pilot is apparently great, but that's all you're going to get out of people for now. See some of the Watchmen pilot first reactions below.
Who watches the Watchmen pilot? The audience at New York Comic-Con, that's who. The crowd attending the panel got the first look at the first episode of Damon Lindelof's new take on Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' iconic comic. Our own Hoai-Tran Bui was there, and shared her reaction:
Apparently I'm not, so here it is: The first episode of WATCHMEN is great!! Sprawling and ambitious, it shares some DNA with (what I've seen of) THE LEFTOVERS in its focus on rich characters in the aftermath of a mystery event
— Hoai-Tran Bui (@htranbui) October 4, 2019
But in this case it's not a mystery, but I like that the pilot treats it as such. And yes there are a TON of Easter eggs
— Hoai-Tran Bui (@htranbui) October 4, 2019
Sounds promising. And what does the rest of the crowd have to say? Let's look, shall we?
We're not supposed to tweet reviews or spoilers about Watchmen, so all I'll say is: HOLY FORKING SHIRT. Does this mean I have to get HBO?? I need to watch every flippin second of this show. #NYCC2019 N
— Traci Rai (@TraciRai) October 4, 2019
Just watched the #Watchmen premiere at #NYCC. You have to see this when it comes out at the end of the month. So much in depth world building. So cool. A must watch, especially if you liked the graphic novel or the movie.
— Tiffany (@tiff_fb) October 4, 2019
We were asked not to give any thing away and I won't. I will say this, y'all not ready for Watchmen and Regina King is DAT bitch.#WatchmenHBO #NYCC2019 pic.twitter.com/YXUh08niyh
— Nymph O. Braniac🍉 (@nikkibey4life) October 4, 2019
WOW #WatchmenHBO is one of the most audacious first episodes of television I have seen in awhile, like if Twin Peaks was a superhero show, absolutely wild and I can't wait for more @watchmen #NYCC
— Jeremy Wein (@thismyshow) October 4, 2019
Soooooooo HBO is about to have another huge hit on its hands with Watchmen! The pilot episode is phenomenal #WatchmenHBO #NYCC19 pic.twitter.com/m7OZZjDQYZ
— MOVIEDEATHS (@MOVIEDEATHBLOWS) October 4, 2019
Pilot highlights: Amazing "Unforgettable" needle drop; Regina King does some bad ass spy stuff; a sequence about the Tulsa race riots that torched Black Wall Street (look it up); a Gatling gun tearing up a cow; and Tim Blake Nelson. #Watchmen #NYCC2019
— SYFY WIRE (@SYFYWIRE) October 4, 2019
The effect work of #Watchmen is great. The show looks expensive and the cast (King!!) is solid. But hmm there's some fraught fascist vs. fascist stuff with the New KKK and the cops #NYCC19
— Jacob Oller (@JacobOller) October 4, 2019
#Watchmen is the real deal (at least based on the pilot). Novel fans will notice plenty of callbacks but it stands on its own as an intriguing sci-fi drama. Pilot is smart, action-packed, and unexpectedly funny but never in a distracting way. Regina King is *extremely* badass.
— Travis Clark (@TravClark2) October 4, 2019
WOW #WatchmenHBO is one of the most audacious first episodes of television I have seen in awhile, like if Twin Peaks was a superhero show, absolutely wild and I can't wait for more @watchmen #NYCC
— Jeremy Wein (@thismyshow) October 4, 2019
Um yeah, so they did it. No spoilers, but #Watchmen works as an echo to the comics while forging its own path. Regina King is incredible. I need to watch it again.
— Alex Zalben (@azalben) October 4, 2019
I am still very mixed about doing any kind of continuation of Watchmen but what they showed at #NYCC just blew me away. Enthralling.
— Eric Francisco (@EricFrancisco24) October 4, 2019
Oh yeah, for Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor fans...#Watchmen sounds so damn good #NYCC19
— Jacob Oller (@JacobOller) October 4, 2019
That's a hell of a lot of positivity. Are there any negative thoughts out there? We've scoured the internet and haven't found a single one. Of course, it's again worth noting that this is a very early reaction, and full reviews are still embargoed. But the general consensus is that people are loving what they saw in this first episode, and that bodes well for audiences.
Watchmen "takes place in an alternative, contemporary reality in the United States, in which masked vigilantes became outlawed due to their violent methods. Despite this, some gather around in order to start a revolution while others are out to stop it before it is too late, as a greater question rises above them all; who watches the Watchmen?"Regina King, Don Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson, Louis Gossett Jr., Adelaide Clemens, Andrew Howard, Jeremy Irons, Jean Smart, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jacob Ming-Trent, Frances Fisher, Tom Mison, Sara Vickers, Hong Chau, and James Wolk all star in Watchmen, which premieres on HBO October 20, 2019. Time to start getting hyped.