'Watchmen' Episode 2 sees Angela struggle to come to terms with the possibility that Crawford was a villain
Spoiler alert for Episode 2 of 'Watchmen'
If episode one of 'Watchmen' gave us a spectacular portrayal of the 1921 Tulsa race riots, the second episode was deeply entrenched in the verse of 'Watchmen' itself with commentary on how racism has influenced life since the time of Hitler, and days forth.
The episode's main focus is Angela Abar and the audience learning the difference between what we have been told is the truth vs the truth in actuality.
'Watchmen' — be it the comics, or the show — concentrates on one main theme. There is no good guy here and everyone behind the mask is influenced by their personal rage and yes, that includes Angela. For Angela, the driving factor is fear.
The second episode of Damon Lindelof's show answers one important question: Why does Angela need the mask?
After the incident of White Night, where she was attacked by the Seventh Kavalry, and so were 40 other members of the Police including her partner Doyle, Angela refuses to live in fear of being attacked by Rorschach's followers anymore.
Her alter-ego of Sister Night gives her the comfort of anonymity to do things that Angela might not agree with. Or things that could essentially put Angela and her family in danger again.
For instance, when Red Scare (Andrew Howard) tries to round up all the people at Nixonville to question them about Chief Judd Crawford's (Don Johnson) death, Sister Night initially doesn't agree with the idea.
She is not too sure how efficient it is to pick up white people, on the basis of them being racist to find a murderer who could be a seventh kavalry member. But when push comes to shove, she is out there kicking the ass of the racist folks.
Even the way Angela comes to term with her relationship with Will Reeves (Louis Gossett Jr) or the possibility of Crawford hiding something very important about himself from Angela is all dealt with behind the mask.
Angela's grief over Crawford's death is momentary. Once she puts her mask on to question the old man, all that she wants to do is find out who is behind Crawford's death.
She struggles to accept that a 105-year-old man could have strung anyone up on a tree. When Reeves explains that Crawford has skeletons in his closet, Angela's initial reaction is to not believe him.
This is reflective when Reeves tells Angela that he will not give her the complete truth because it is not something that she is capable of accepting readily.
A germ of doubt about Crawford does get planted in her head because we see Angela arriving at the Crawford residence to see Jane (Frances Fisher), and then snoop around in Crawford's closet literally.
The moment of truth is when she finds the Ku Klux Klan robe in Crawford's closet with a badge pinned to it. She initially believes that Reeves had it planted to raise suspicion, but we know the truth by now.
The picture of a young boy with this older man that we saw on Crawford's table in the previous episode and this one too is proof that there was a member of Ku Klux Klan in Crawford's family.
A member who brought upon death and destruction during the race riots in Tulsa was close enough for Crawford for him to prize a possession such as the white robe of the Klan.
Does this mean he held the same beliefs as his family member or is it worse and is Crawford himself a fascist who operates with a facade on?
These are the questions that would cross our minds if we were Angela and to deal with this right after you realize that the man who killed Crawford is your very own grandfather must not be easy.
All this while, Angela's parents have not provided her with any information about who her ancestors were. Now, to meet this old man under the circumstances has definitely put her on the defensive.
Reeves' claims that he has connections with some high people or his initial claims that he could be Dr. Manhattan himself don't help him any in befriending Angela or helping her understand why Crawford needed to be taken out.
It isn't until the very last moment of the second episode that Angela finds herself believing Reeves, at least partly. This toggling between what she knows and what she isn't aware of is what makes this episode a fascinating watch among other intrinsic details embedded throughout the episode that we will discuss in the days to come.