Dale Petey, the FBI agent behind 'Watchmen' encyclopedia Peteypedia, makes his on-screen debut
Spoiler alert for Season 1 Episode 3 of 'Watchmen'
Agent Dale Petey (Dustin Ingram) has spent a long time being ignored. His memos, for the large part, go unread, he works out of an FBI sub-basement, and he's seen almost no work in the field — until now.
While this is his first appearance on the show itself, he's been a part of the show right from episode one, providing extra context for the world of 'Watchmen' on the official HBO page, Peteypedia.
It's safe to say that no one is paying closer attention to the events of the Watchmen world's alternate history than Agent Petey — young as he seems, he’s even got a PhD in history.
Dale's memos have thus far focused on the larger alternate-history of this world, showcasing the larger ramifications of the release of Rorshach's journal, the effects of the Dimensional Incursion Event (the dropping of a giant alien squid onto New York) and the rise of the Seventh Kavalry.
Embroiled in the events of the show as he now is, thanks to Agent Laurie Blake (Jean Smart), it is possible that the memos on Peteypedia will be more focused on events in Tulsa, as they happen, giving his reports relevancy.
Agent Dale Petey — what we know
As of this episode, combined with what we know of him from the Peteypedia entries, we know a few things about the character's background.
We know that he has an obsession with past events that are related to superheroes — he mentioned doing his graduate thesis on the police strike of 1977, while respectfully leaving out the fact that that same strike led to the Keene Act that outlawed all vigilantes.
He's up to date on all history revolving around the Watchmen and their predecessors, the Minutemen, and has done extensive research into the release of Rorschach's journal and the resultant fallout.
On top of that, he owns a domino mask. He seemed pretty excited about the idea of wearing one in Tulsa, like the policemen there get to do, before Laurie Blake shuts him down.
He's extremely critical of the tasteless sensationalism of the in-world 'American Hero Story: Minutemen' that portrays the older superhero team rather tastelessly.
We also know that he's a character who's used to being ignored. His usefulness at the FBI has been reduced to running the projects during briefings. There’s a wryness in both his memos and in his appearance, that of a man who knows that nobody cares about what he has to say, but says it all anyway.
"...you do not read these memos nor know I exist," he writes, in one memo, slipping impertinence between the lines with all the confidence of someone who knows he's not important enough to get caught.
His memos come from Desk 2, Room X of the sub-basement — it's not a stretch to believe that he barely gets any sunlight, much less field work — the events of HBO's 'Watchmen' may just be too much for him to handle, but fortunately, he has Laurie Blake on his side.
Sleeping just on his left, specifically, as towards of the episode, we find out that she and him have slept together.
Agent Dale Petey's role
It's too early to say what part Dale has to play in the larger events of the series — but with his eye now on the specifics of the case in addition to the world’s larger contexts, no one is better suited to be the show's overall narrator figure.
Or, alternatively, the show's point of view character — representative of the fans who comb over every Easter Egg, article and examination of the events of the original comic.
Agent Dale Petey's collected files can be read at the offical HBO 'Peteypedia' website. The next episode of 'Watchmen' titled 'If You Don’t Like My Story, Write Your Own' airs November 10 on HBO.