'Watchmen' Episode 7 'An Almost Religious Awe' is a beauty built on stunning transitions, great music and a helluva reveal
"Light precedes every transition. Whether at the end of a tunnel, through a crack in the door or the flash of an idea, it is always there, heralding a new beginning." Author Teresa Tsalaky
Spoilers ahead for 'Watchmen' Episode 7 'An Almost Religious Awe'
Every episode of HBO's 'Watchmen' has become an experience of its own. The anticipation and the awe of watching scenes that are executed with brilliance and letting the twists and turns sink in... It has now become a tradition. Episode 7 of the show has only attracted us deeper into this world where no complete good or bad exists. There is no one that you can trust nor one thing that you can completely depend on. There is constant movement accentuated with shots that shout urgency in 'An Almost Religious Awe' that shook me. For instance, when Angela Abar (Regina King) is getting treated for Nostalgia OD at Lady Trieu's (Hong Chau) residence, she has flashes of her past interspersed with her grandfather Will Reeves's and the beauty of it all comes through clearly because of this movement between two forms of past.
When Angela relives her parents' death in the present, she is also reliving Reeves' experience of losing his parents. When Angela recalls why she decided to become a cop in the first place, she can feel Reeves' reason slipping through the cracks of memory that was created by Nostalgia and the scenes that transition from one into another portray the duality of Angela's emotions in the present. This can also be seen as an attempt at drawing parallels between the lives of Angela and her grandfather. How their trauma influenced their actions, the reason the two were drawn to the same profession or the conviction with which the two adapted a lifestyle that required them to wear masks -- it is all there to pick at and dig into. The best part about this episode -- and many in the past -- is how Damon Lindelof has equipped his story not only with solid writing but appropriate music and intelligent shots that speak further for the theme of the episodes.
My favorite shot of the episode is the one that frames the hammer in Angela's hand while she tries to explain to Cal that there was never an accident. The fear and confusion in Cal, Angela's resolution to do what has to be done and the audiences gasp of surprise as they are at the cusp of a revelation are intertwined with one another. Even fans who had theorized about Cal being the blue man would have felt a sense of gratification at how well it had all come together and that is a win for the makers.
Every scene, every dialogue holds importance in the grander scheme of things. Even the piece of music that accompanies a scene plays a huge part in getting the audience to invest in the show. Take, for instance, the scene of Angela meeting her grandmother June for the first time, they get to know of each other and Angela learns a little bit of her father that she never had a chance to understand before. Just when she thinks she can finally return to a home with a member of her family, her grandmother drops dead and this scene is accompanied by a song titled 'Everytime You Go Away'. This song is an indication of how Angela is currently experiencing the loss of her grandmother as a child and the loss that Reeves felt when June turned away from. These little details make 'Watchmen' episodes a gift that we cannot wait to unwrap.
The next episode of 'Watchmen' will air on Sunday at 9 pm ET on HBO.