Q: Into The Storm is a 2021 Documentary following the rise of the Conspiracy Theory Q-Anon. It was released on HBO Max on March 21, 2021.
The series follows Cullen Hoback as he chronicles the rise of Q-Anon, trying to unravel how it began, how it took shape, who pushed it into the spotlight, and ultimately, who is Q?
- The Atoner: Fred, after seeing just what 8chan turned into, devoted his life to try and get the site shut down.
- Driving Question: "Who is Q?" In every episode, Cullen tries to determine who Q is, with his research leading him to almost half a dozen people. A slip of the tongue heavily implies it's Rob Watkins.
- Conspiracy Theorist: QAnon ends up becoming a hub for these types after Pizzagate occurs, with the site doing nothing to try and dispel the absurdity of the claims and allowing free discussion of it on its boards.
- Content Warnings: Warnings are included for explicit content, due to several episodes featuring pornographic content shared on image boards.
- Frivolous Lawsuit: Discussed and Subverted — it's noted that Jim Watkin's accusation of cyberlibel against Fred would get thrown out in an US Court, but the Phillippines has different laws than the US and takes the claim more seriously.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: 8Chan was initially created by Fred just to be an image board to discuss whatever people wnated. It ended up becoming the home of one of the largest conspiracy theories in The New '10s and The New Twenties.
- Hope Spot: It looks like things might turn for the better when 8Chan is finally shut down... only for Watkins to bring it back as 8kun, none the worse for wear.
- It's Personal: Fred takes the descent of 8chan into a hub for QAnon extremely negatively, to the point he outright calls his former friend and current 8chan owner Jim Watkins "senile" over his actions with the site, and outright moved to prevent Watkins from becoming a citizen of the Phillippines. In turn, Watkins files a suit to have Fred tried for cyberlibel, which would effectively be a death sentence for Frednote , forcing him to flee the country.
- Just in Time: As revealed by Hoback, Brennan's arrest warrant was printed just seconds after their plane to the US took off.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Fredrick Brennan, creator of 8chan, came to regret founding the site after it became a hub of alt-right activity, and spent many years trying to get it taken down for good.
- Self-Imposed Exile: Fred ends up having to leave the Phillippines pretty effectively forever after fleeing the country to avoid being arrested for cyberlibel.[[note]]Fred left because he feared he wouldn't survive the prison he'd have been detained at prior to his trial, both due to conditions and being afflicted with brittle bone disease.
- Soundtrack Dissonance: The end of the documentary features footage of the January 6 2021 US Capitol Riot accompanied with cheery music. It's jarring, to say the least.
- We Used to Be Friends: Frederick Brennan, the founder of 8chan was initially friends with site owner Jim Watkins and his son Rob Watkins, even moving over to the Phillippines as part of an agreement for giving him site ownership, and being allowed to step down from the site while still working with the two on other projects. Over time, though, their friendship frays due to the increasingly far-right direction 8chan heads toward, with Fred eventually severing ties after Jim apparently visited his house and berated Fred for wanting to take time off. Things only got worse as QAnon started picking up steam, with Fred getting extremely angry at Jim for doing nothing to stop its spread. Fred's efforts get the site taken down and Jim's efforts to get Fred arrested for cyberlibel have ensured that this friendship is truly dead.
- Wham Line: During the final episode, while being interviewed by Hoback, while Rob Watkins mentions all the things he's done since QAnon took off, he states that done many of them before, "just not as Q", all but confirming that he is Q.
