History YMMV / Watchmen2019

* AuthorsSavingThrow: The usage of the "alien psychic squid" in the miniseries' universe like in the original comic instead of a more pragmatic and less absurd choice (i.e., the [[spoiler:sabotaged clean-energy plants which pinned the blame on Doctor Manhattan]] in the film adaptation) seems to have been in part motivated to soothe those who were still angry over that major facet of the ending being changed in the comic's film adaptation.

* AwesomeEgo: Adrian Veidt is still just as self assured as ever, but his brilliance and the fact that [[spoiler: he successfully saves the day]] show that his ego is still not unearned.

* EvilIsCool: [[spoiler: Lady Trieu's MadScientist, TheWonka, and DeadpanSnarker tendencies all coupled with Hong Chau's '''fantastic''' performance result in her stealing virtually every scene she's in]].

* FriendlyFandoms: With ''Series/TheLeftovers'' (and, to a slightly lesser extent, ''Lost''), thanks in large part to Damon Lindeloff's involvement in all three series along with both ''Watchmen'' and ''The Leftovers'' dealing with similar themes involving grief and analyzing how people react to a massive traumatic event (in the former, 11/2, and in the latter, the Day of Departure).

** [[CorruptPolitician Senator Joseph "Joe" Keene Jr.]] is the true leader of the Cyclops splinter cell known as the [[Characters/Watchmen2019SeventhKavalry Seventh Kavalry]], using his position as an Oklahoma politician to mask his terrorist activities. Organizing the [[RightWingMilitiaFanatic Seventh Kavalry]] and using them to perpetrate the White Night--a massacre of off-duty police officers and their families on Christmas night--Keene gets dozens of Tulsa police killed [[PlayingBothSides just so he can institute a new law to protect cops and make himself look good]]. After discovering the presence of Dr. Manhattan, Keene has the Kavalry commit a variety of other murders and bombings, threatening the entire family of Angela Abar along the way, before capturing Manhattan and revealing his plans to drain the man's life force and powers to [[AGodAmI become a god]] and rewrite reality to one where white men reign supreme just to satisfy his racist, egomaniacal agenda.

* {{Narm}}:
** The line "I've got a nose for racism, and it smells like ''bleach''," has been thoroughly mocked as being cheesy, over the top, nonsensical, or a combination of the three by a large number of reviewers. This may have been intentional, given that [[spoiler:she's actually saying the line to one of the leaders of the Seventh Kavalry, with no clue that he's a racist.]]
** The mere fact that [[spoiler:Angela's grandmother suffers a HollywoodHeartAttack almost ''right'' [[HopeSpot after promising to take her home to the States]]]] is such a jarring YankTheDogsChain that it can't help but come across as [[CrossesTheLineTwice somewhat funny.]]

* OlderThanTheyThink: If the Website/RottenTomatoes review bombs and angry Website/{{Twitter}} posts are anything to go by, there is no shortage of viewers who have either never read the original graphic novel by Creator/AlanMoore, or somehow failed to miss the [[{{Anvilicious}} heavy political themes]]. Of course, Moore himself was famously quite dismayed by [[MisaimedFandom people who completely misunderstood his political message]] and [[DracoInLeatherPants insisted on holding Rorschach up as an inspirational figure]].

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** TheReveal of [[spoiler:Hooded Justice's real identity being Will Reeves, a black man who assumed the role after a brutal lynching incident from white cops. Fans noted that this contradicts many parts of the comic's backstory and begs the question of how the Minutemen (besides Captain Metropolis) never knew his true identity, given he would've been required to take his hood off for the initiation. Ignoring the UnfortunateImplications created by the noose symbolism, not helping matters is that it also directly contradicts the Mayfair Games' RPG's confirming Hooded Justice's identity to be Rolf Mueller, a supporter of the Third Reich and with ties to the KKK. Adding to this is that the RPG itself is the only adaptation of Alan Moore's work that he not only liked, but also made several creative contributions to.]]

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:

* WTHCastingAgency: Many people had this reaction towards Yahya Abdul-Mateen II after the big reveal that [[spoiler:Angela’s husband was Doctor Manhattan the entire time. While the general consensus was that he ''did'' give a genuinely good performance as Manhattan, a combination of [[SpecialEffectsFailure him spending most scenes just in blue body paint]], the contentious RaceLift of the character, and Creator/{{Bill Crudup}}'s performance in the 2009 film being one ''hell'' of a ToughActToFollow led to some fans derisively dubbing the miniseries' iteration of the character "Dr. Manhattan Lite".]]

** Despite the [[FandomRivalry above mentioned rivalry]], fans of this series and the 2009 film have also gotten along fairly well. It helps that Damon Lindelof and Zack Snyder are good friends in real life and Lindelof even acted as an unofficial consultant on the film and highly praised the end result, even saying he was partially motivated to focus largely on new characters because he [[ToughActToFollow didn't think he'd able to match the portrayals in the film.]] Lindelof even expressed support for the fan campaign to see [[Film/ZacksSnydersJusticeLeague Snyder's Justice League film.]]

* DesignatedVillain: Literally, in the case of the Game Warden. Adrian needed a nemesis to stave off boredom, so he gave a random Phillips clone a mask and an 18th century highway man costume, and told him to act accordingly.

* SuddenSexuality: Zero context is to given when and under what circumstances [[spoiler: Will Reeves went from being HappilyMarried with children, to him (as Hooded Justice) and Captain Metropolis being in a TransparentCloset.]]

* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: [[Heartwarming/Watchmen2019 Has its own page]], though special mention should be given to Laurie assuming that Doctor Manhattan doesn't care about humanity anymore after his years of isolation on Mars. But when she calls him, his "response" allows her to have [[ActuallyPrettyFunny a moment of genuine happiness]].

* OutOfTheGhetto: A show based on an unconventional (if highly regarded) comic-book, that already had a critical and commercial lukewarm film adaptation, didn't appear to be the next big HBO crossover smash. After early raves, ratings were through the roof and the show garnered ''26'' Emmy nominations, winning 11, including four in the primetime event of the show (Best Limited Series, Outstanding Actress and Supporting Actor - Limited Series, and Outstanding Writing), more than any other show of the season.

* CriticalDissonance: The series has a "Certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 96% approval rating among critics. However, it has been significantly more divisive among audiences, achieving a 56% approval rating score from the latter. While this is likely in part from mass downvoting incited by racist trolls angry over the miniseries giving such a damning criticism of white supremacy, as evidenced by this very page, there's still plenty of other reasons for why this miniseries will be considered divisive.

** Tim Blake Nelson's widely praised performance as Looking Glass was completely ignored by the Emmys, even though many predicted that he would win. Made even worse by the fact that Louis Gossett Jr, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Jovan Adepo were nominated instead of him. All three performances ''were'' seen as deserving, but Nelson was widely regarded as the favorite of the show’s supporting men. Made even more noticeable since

* EpilepticTrees: Some viewers have suggested that Red Scare is actually just an American who's a Russophile and uses his knowledge of Soviet culture as a disguise to intimidate criminals, particularly if they profess anti-Communist ideologies.

** Ozymandias is arguably even more despicable this time around, but he’s still an [[EvilGenius ingenious man]] with [[DeadpanSnarker razor sharp wit]]. Even in his old age, he manages to pull of feats that are extremely impressive on both intellectual and physical levels.

** How will the world react to [[spoiler:finding out the truth about 11/12 and the long-running President's role in helping cover it up]]?

** [[spoiler:Three days after "See How They Fly" aired, the final issue of ''ComicBook/DoomsdayClock'' was released--both featuring the death of Dr. Manhattan.]]

** In “See How They Fly”, [[spoiler:Lady Trieu thinks of using Doctor Manhattan’s powers to make all the nuclear weapons on Earth disappear. Later in the same week, in the final issue of ''Doomsday Clock'', he does exactly that in the Watchmen Universe.]]

* LoveToHate: Ozymandias is back and as bad as ever. Despite being possibly senile, Adrian Veidt manages to be just as [[EvilGenius brilliant]] and dangerous in his [[EvilOldFolks old age]]. Combine that with Creator/JeremyIrons’ [[LargeHam delectable performance,]] and the result is every one of his scenes being an absolute treat.

** The ''[[ShowWithinAShow American Hero Story: Minutemen]]'' portrayal of Hooded Justice is rife with gratuitous slow-mo, bloody violence, and melodrama. But ''damn'' is it both entertaining and perfectly befitting the miniseries' satirical commentary.

** Looking Glass' existential crisis after learning the truth behind [=11/2=] in "Little Fear of Lightning'. To say that the poor man's world has been completely shattered would be a massive understatement. Even worse, at the end of the episode he ''still'' takes his new dimensional alarm back out of the trash and brings it back into his house even though he knows that it's worthless, simply because he can't let go no matter how hard he obviously wants to.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: While it's necessary for the story the show wanted to tell, many fans were disappointed that the publishing of Rorschach's journal didn't indeed lead to WorldWarThree as the end of the comic implied. This is remedied by additional materials revealing that Rorschach's journal was met with skepticism by the public as there were [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome no means to verify it as being authentic]], and his AxeCrazy reputation in life didn't help either, nor the fact that the contents were twisted into a white supremacist manifesto being carried out by a violent group of {{Right Wing Militia Fanatic}}s.

* WTHCastingAgency: Many people had this reaction towards Yahya Abdul-Mateen II after the big reveal that [[spoiler:Angela’s husband was Doctor Manhattan the entire time. While the general consensus was that he ''did'' give a genuinely good performance as Manhattan, a combination of [[SpecialEffectsFailure him spending most scenes just in blue body paint]] and the contentious RaceLift led to some fans derisively dubbing the miniseries' iteration of the character "Dr. Manhattan Lite".]]

** Are all of the members of the Seventh Kavalry motivated by white supremacist beliefs? It's possible that at least some members of the organisation are driven by the motivation to expose the truth of 11/2 to the world, and believe that working with violent racists to do so is ultimately a NecessaryEvil. On the other hand, the only way that said people would decide to work with the organisation would be if they were shown the tape revealing the truth. If they were truly motivated by a desire to let the truth be known, they likely would have just taken the tape and exposed Ozymandias.

** In the comics and the movie, the Comedian quips to the Hooded Justice about how beating up criminals must turn him on. [[spoiler: With the revelation that the Hooded Justice is actually Will Reeves (a black man) in the series, was the Comedian really talking about his sexuality or the fact that he took pleasure in beating up a white man?]]

** Tim Blake Nelson's widely praised performance as Looking Glass was completely ignored by the Emmys, even though many predicted that he would win. Made even worse by the fact that Louis Gossett Jr, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Jovan Adepo were nominated instead of him. All three performances were seen as deserving, but Nelson was widely regarded as the favorite of the show’s supporting men. Made even more noticeable since
** Additionally, Hong Chau’s scene stealing work as Trieu was completely ignored while her costar Jean Smart made the cut.

* EpilepticTrees: Some viewers suggests that Red Scare is an American who's a Russophile and uses his knowledge of the Cold War-era Sovet Union as a disguise to intimidate criminals, especially if they profess anti-communist idelogies.

** The show's very first scene features a silent movie about real life old west lawman Bass Reeves, who is believed to have been a major inspiration for one of the very first masked heroes, ''Radio/TheLoneRanger''.

** The cemetery where Judd is to be buried is called Tartarus Acres. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartarus Tartarus]] is Greek mythology's version of Hell, where the wicked go to be tormented.

** The [[StylisticSuck amusingly bad]] commercial begging tourists to come back to New York City isn't funny now at all after the city became the biggest hotspot in the United States for the 2020 [=COVID-19=] pandemic, which several economists have grimly noted will likely keep tourism in NYC at an all-time low for several months (at the least) after the pandemic eventually ends.

** In “See How They Fly”, [[spoiler:Lady Trieu thinks of using Doctor Manhattan’s powers to make all the nuclear weapons on Earth disappear. Later in the same week, in the final issue of “Doomsday Clock”, he does exactly that in the Watchmen Universe.]]

* JerkassWoobie: Angela Abar/Sister Night, Wade Tillman/Looking Glass, and Laurie Blake/The Comedienne are all bitter cynics who frequently show barely disguised contempt for most of the people around them (though Abar is a lighter shade of this compared to the other two) but they are also all fundamentally broken people who are just trying to make it day-to-day while living with countless bundles of insecurities and traumas metaphorically shackled to their ankles.
* LoveToHate: Ozymandias is back and as bad as ever. Despite being possibly senile, Adrian Veidt manages to be just as [[EvilGenius brilliant]] and dangerous in his [[EvilOldFolks old age]]. Combine that with Creator/JeremyIrons’ [[LargeHam delectable performance,]] and the result is everyone of his scenes being an absolute treat.

** The [[ShowWithinAShow American Hero Story: Minutemen]] portrayal of Hooded Justice is just rife with gratuitous slow-mo, bloody violence, and melodrama. But damn is it so entertaining and fits the satirical commentary of the series.

** The show chooses to portray Adrian Veidt as a narcissist who ultimately feels no guilt over his actions. While this is certainly a fairly common, and arguably valid, interpretation of his character, it does come off as the writers taking the easy way out. It would have been interesting to watch a Veidt who was haunted by his actions, and who questioned if he truly did do what was necessary to bring about world peace.

* ViewerGenderConfusion: With his long hair and somewhat androgynous looks, it can be easy to mistake Topher for being a girl at first.

* WTHCastingAgency: Many people had this reaction towards Yahya Abdul-Mateen II after the big reveal that [[spoiler:Angela’s husband was Doctor Manhattan the entire time. It got to the point where they dubbed him “Dr. Manhattan Lite”.]]

* AndYouThoughtItWouldFail: When it was announced that Creator/{{HBO}} would be creating a live-action ''[[Series/Watchmen2019 Watchmen]]'' SequelSeries, to say that the initial fan reaction was skeptical is... quite an understatement, to say the least. That it was being written by Damon Lindelof only added to concerns, as his writing was most strongly associated with ''Series/{{Lost}}'' gradually turning into a convoluted mess and ''Film/{{Prometheus}}'' just being SoOkayItsAverage. However, the show went on to average around ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watchmen_(TV_series)#Audience_viewership 9.6 million viewers by the end of the series]].'' This made ''Watchmen'' HBO's most watched new series since ''Series/BigLittleLies'', with its first episode alone garnering more than ''1.5 million viewers'' across both broadcast and streaming services according to [=HBO=]. It also garnered nigh-unanimous praise from both critics and audiences during its run. It ended up winning 11 Emmys including Outstanding Limited Series.

** Also the original comic leaves the morality of Veidt's plan up to the reader and deliberately refrains from taking a side, while here Veidt is portrayed as an extreme sociopath whose so vain that he craves to be worshipped, and his acts from the original comic are specifically portrayed as evil and worthy of punishment, [[spoiler: which he ultimately receives at the end]].

** Also the original comic leaves the morality of Veidt's plan up to the reader and deliberately refrains from taking a side, while here Veidt is portrayed as an extreme sociopath whose so vain that he craves to be worshipped, and his acts from the original comic are specifically portrayed as evil and worthy of punishment, [[spoiler: which he ultimately receives at the end]]]

** Also the original comic leaves the morality of Veidt's plan up to the reader and deliberately refrains from taking a side, while here Veidt is portrayed as an extreme sociopath whose so vain that he craves to be worshipped, and his acts from the original comic are specifically portrayed as evil and worthy of punishment, [[spoiler: [[KarmaHoudiniWarranty which he ultimately receives at the end]]]

** The original comic leaves the morality of Veidt's plan up to the reader and deliberately refrains from taking a side, while here Veidt is portrayed as an extreme sociopath whose so vain that he craves to be worshipped, and his acts from the original comic are specifically portrayed as evil and worthy of punishment, [[spoiler; [[KarmaHoudiniWarranty which he ultimately receives at the end]]]].

*** [[FridgeBrilliance Doubly so]] with the reveal of [[spoiler:Hooded Justice's identity]]: not unlike how [[spoiler:The Lone Ranger was white but inspired by a real-life black person, Will Reeves, a black man, had to spend his years as a vigilante tricking people into thinking he was white using make-up around the eyes; consequently, later stories about Hooded Justice, including ''American Hero Story'', portray him as a white man]].

** There's a very good argument that the series interpretation of Hooded Justice is a critique of the fact that while Alan Moore draws parallels between superheroes and Far Right extremism, [[https://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2020/07/watchmen-hbo-vs-watchmen-comic-re-race.html black Americans actually have their own history of vigilantism in the face of questionable police aid.]]

** Many were disappointed that all Rorscach's legacy amounted to in this series was being a source of vapid inspiration for a group of militant white supremacists, who bastardize his image and rhetoric to suit their own agenda. [[spoiler: So it becomes quite a treat when Angela and Dr. Manhattan (Rorschach's killer) team up to wipe out a whole contingent of these punks, with Manhattan casually stopping their bullets mid-air and obliterating their heads one by one.]]

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped:
** Just how terrible race relations in America can frequently be is often missed by both the history books and greater society, as shown by the genuine shock and surprise from many, especially white, viewers upon learning the Tulsa Race Riots were actually '''real''', even Lindelof never heard of it before making the show, thus many critics see the unflinching depiction of racial violence throughout history as a significant point in the show's favour.
** PoliceBrutality is never a desirable thing, even when the recipient [[RightWingMilitiaFanatic is a deplorable and irredeemable monster]].
** Attempting to acknowledge and atone for the crimes committed against people of color in the past on a wide scale will not just make racism and bigotry magically go away, and may even cause said issues to amplify if not approached from the proper perspective.
** Utopia is something that can never truly exist. Even if the world is changed on a large scale, several smaller issues will still persist. Instead of fighting for a "perfect" world, people should learn to fight for a "better" one.

** Some of the plot devices related to [[spoiler:Doctor Manhattan]]'s role in the story struck many fans as being a little ''too'' convenient and having very little {{foreshadowing}}, sometimes appearing to contradict [[ComicBook/{{Watchmen}} the original book]]. In particular: despite the book going out of its way to establish that [[spoiler:Doctor Manhattan [[{{Immortality}} can't be killed under any circumstances]]]], the miniseries introduces "tachyon cannons" and a "quantum centrifuge" that make it fully possible to [[spoiler:capture him, kill him, or even ''steal his powers'']]. It also reveals a device that can [[spoiler:shut down his powers entirely]] by [[spoiler:causing him to forget that he has them]]. While the book ''did'' at least establish that [[spoiler:tachyon particles]] can [[spoiler:cloud his view of the future]], many fans felt that using them to [[spoiler:[[BroughtDownToNormal turn him into an ordinary man]]]] was a bit of a stretch.

** In the comics and the movie, the Comedian quips to the Hooded Justice about how beating up criminals must turn him on. [[spoiler: With the revelation that the Hooded Justice is actually Will Reeves (a black man) in the series, was the Comedian really talking about his sexuality or the fact that he enjoyed beating up a white man?]]