HBO’s 'Watchmen': Top 5 moments of Angela Abar aka Sister Night, portrayed to perfection by Regina King
Angela Abar is the mother of three kids, who runs a bakery in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She loves her kids, and her husband Calvin Abar, and the family is just like any other family in the neighborhood. But then again, that's only on the surface.
Angela is a cop, who cannot claim to be one after what happened on White Night. She is after all the sole survivor of a synchronized attack by followers of Rorschach, who call themselves the Seventh Kavalry. We first see her as a mother. Then, we are introduced to the cop in her.
As layer after layer is removed, King portrayed the different parts that make Angela who she is with spectacular ease. As she slipped from a cop to a mother, as she became a friend, and more recently when we saw her trying to save the man she loved; were all breathtaking moments we cannot imagine anyone else in.
So here are our top 5 Angela Abar moments from the season.
1. The big reveal in the episode 'An Almost Religious Awe'
When she called Calvin by his real name for the first time. The awe in the episode title made sense. It was the feeling that the audience felt when she addressed Calvin as Jon.
When she saw Dr. Manhattan finally surface after a decade of not remembering the truth about himself, the look on Angela's face is more on the lines of acceptance than love. It seemed as if she knew what was going to take place, and by waking Dr. Manhattan up, she became a part of the worst possible outcome, and in hindsight, we understand. You can watch the scene here.
2. That moment with Laurie Blake in 'She Was Killed by Space Junk'
This scene introduces us to the interesting dynamic between Laurie Blake played by Jean Smart and Angela. We first see Laurie introduce herself to Angela and the two speak of masks.
Laurie having given up hers, and Angela using one to hide her real self. But the real gem is when Laurie confronts Angela about the evidence of tread marks of a wheelchair at Chief Judd Crawford's death scene. She tries to shake Angela down with her sharp words and Angela responds with a sarcastic "Ooooh" to be fake-scared.
3. The moment she relives her grandfather's life in 'This Extraordinary Being'
This entire episode was stunning in terms of narration technique as it flits between Angela and her grandfather Will Reeves' (Louis Gossett Jr.) perspective. As we saw Angela live as Reeves, and live through a phase in his life that scarred him enough to pick a mask himself, we see King's ability to seep into characters unlike anyone else. Especially when Angela relives the moment that Judd Crawford met his end, we see Reeves' frustration and anger reflected in Angela.
4. Her argument with God himself in 'A God Walks into Abar'
This is more hilarious than extraordinary and a personal favorite because of the fine balance King strikes between portraying Angela's anger and frustration. She is frustrated that Dr. Manhattan can live in the past, present, and future at the same time.
She hates that he knows what she is going to say even before she says it and it gets on her nerves that he can repeat her thoughts with her. Especially during an argument, she is so frustrated she wants Dr. Manhattan to leave and he tells her what will happen before it does. It is strange, yes, but hilarious too.
5. Surely, the ending moment in 'See How They Fly'
The final episode of the HBO show saw Dr. Manhattan die if that is even possible. But before his corporal form vanishes, he leaves his powers behind in an egg. The first time that Dr. Manahattan had met Angela in a bar, he had explained to her about how if he were to leave his powers behind, it can be inherited through an organic medium.
She sees this one egg that is intact and recalls what Dr. Manhattan had told her and so decides to consume the egg. Now, does that make her a god? She tries to find out by walking on water, but before she stepped on the water, the show ended. You can watch it here.