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in which i tell you watchmen things you didn't want to read about
These are my thoughts on yaoi Watchmen.
A little over 10 days to go for the Director's Cut release and I am way too excited about it, especially now that I have seen how a lot of the stuff that was missing might be included- this will make it the best movie ever. Unquestionable.
Hollis' death and Dan's reaction are a shoe-in, thankfully. I love that scene with Dan's reaction, because he had always been in control of his emotions up until then, but he completely loses it when he is confronted with a direct tragedy. Even if he had always been out there seeing injustice and death (which could have desensitized him) this wasn't some random person off the streets, it was his friend and mentor and someone he knew very well and cared for deeply. I do believe that in the theatrical cut of the movie they still achieved a sense of it by having him cry out like he did after Manhattan killed Rorschach. That is something I would have loved to see in the graphic novel because it means that Rorschach’s death mattered to someone, and he finally had someone to mourn him. Alan Moore didn’t give him that.
And speaking of that crazy redhead, he finally gets to be the voice of reason for once. Not only does he stop Dan -who has been merrily pounding on some random Knot Top- but he tries to comfort him.
Still, both these scenes, as much as I like them, are deeply tied to the scene with Walter's landlady- or at least they are to me.
The scene with his landlady… It’s a favorite for most people; even Jackie asked to film it (and he would have killed in it!) and in it he, as Kovacs, shows mercy for this woman who had slandered him, and accused him of doing some really bad things. That panel in which he looks over at the kids, it has to be one of the most significant panels in the comic. His expression is incredible, and Gibbons even drew his facial features in a much softer way. He looks different than he does at the beginning (or at least when the mask first comes off)
Before they even go into his apartment, he tells Dan:
“Some of us have always lived on edge, Daniel. It is possible to survive there if you observe rules. Just hang on by fingernails and never look down”.
As I see it, this is him acknowledging that all of his actions, his detachment from society (and humanity, since he tries to block out every and any kind of feelings) are nothing more than a survival mechanism. One that he has been using for a very long time, but that he is still aware of. And this, I think, is an argument against the theory that he is literally insane. He obviously doesn’t have a split personality because he knows the difference between Rorschach and Walter Kovacs. That is already a sort of breakthrough (maybe Dr. Long got to him? Or just by opening up and telling the story it made him see it differently?)
The bad thing about not having that scene in the movie is that Rorschach loses a lot of dimension because of it. Dan makes up for his “always being in control” issue when he snaps at Rorschach and when he cries for him. But Rorschach lost some much needed depth.
Now, I realize that having that scene meant that he had to kill Big Figure as Walter Kovacs and not as Rorschach (another interesting point from the novel) and having to add extra scenes that they didn’t have time for. Although, having him in costume at all times while interacting with the other “superheroes” creates more of a mystery. It also sets the tone for their relationship: he has always been his “alternate personality” (to call it something) and never Walter Kovacs- even if that is reversed for him. And this way at the end, when he takes off his mask before Doctor Manhattan, when he’s trying to keep the man he is upfront (paraphrasing Alan Moore there) that reveal is more shocking. It gives that gesture a bigger meaning.
I noticed that all through these scenes, after he breaks out of prison, the stains on his clothes are very similar to the blood stains he got after killing Gerard Grice’s dogs. It’s similar when he’s wearing the wife beater and I’m sure it’s pretty much exactly the same when he puts on the trench coat- if it’s not the same coat. And these are too events in his life that show a “change” in him. When he kills Grice he takes the final step towards transforming into Rorschach, and when he comes face to face with his landlady he is forced to stand down and put his sense of justice and morality aside for the sake of those kids. He identifies with them, like he did with Blair Roche “Thought of little child, abused, frightened. Didn’t like it. Personal reasons.”
It is directly after this scene that he tells Dan he is “a good friend” and they then have that awkward hand shake that everyone loves. That, paired with the next instances in which he both takes the lead as the voice of reason, commanding Archie (even for a little a while) and trying to comfort Dan, I think it shows that maybe he could have been set up for a little change. And that’s what makes his death even sadder.
A little over 10 days to go for the Director's Cut release and I am way too excited about it, especially now that I have seen how a lot of the stuff that was missing might be included- this will make it the best movie ever. Unquestionable.
Hollis' death and Dan's reaction are a shoe-in, thankfully. I love that scene with Dan's reaction, because he had always been in control of his emotions up until then, but he completely loses it when he is confronted with a direct tragedy. Even if he had always been out there seeing injustice and death (which could have desensitized him) this wasn't some random person off the streets, it was his friend and mentor and someone he knew very well and cared for deeply. I do believe that in the theatrical cut of the movie they still achieved a sense of it by having him cry out like he did after Manhattan killed Rorschach. That is something I would have loved to see in the graphic novel because it means that Rorschach’s death mattered to someone, and he finally had someone to mourn him. Alan Moore didn’t give him that.
And speaking of that crazy redhead, he finally gets to be the voice of reason for once. Not only does he stop Dan -who has been merrily pounding on some random Knot Top- but he tries to comfort him.
R: “Merely suggesting that by finding mask killer can have revenge for Mason’s death. Meant to comfort you”
D: “Who in their right mind could take comfort from… Yeah, okay. Thanks Rorschach. Really, thank you.”
R: “You’re welcome”
Now this has to be one of the main reasons why he seems to be everyone's favorite character. It's not because he's sexy or such a bamf or cool, it's because he's so complex. Even after everything he has gone through, after living the way he has, he can still pull out his softer and more human side, one that had been hidden under the mask repressed for so long, to comfort his only friend.Still, both these scenes, as much as I like them, are deeply tied to the scene with Walter's landlady- or at least they are to me.
The scene with his landlady… It’s a favorite for most people; even Jackie asked to film it (and he would have killed in it!) and in it he, as Kovacs, shows mercy for this woman who had slandered him, and accused him of doing some really bad things. That panel in which he looks over at the kids, it has to be one of the most significant panels in the comic. His expression is incredible, and Gibbons even drew his facial features in a much softer way. He looks different than he does at the beginning (or at least when the mask first comes off)
Before they even go into his apartment, he tells Dan:
“Some of us have always lived on edge, Daniel. It is possible to survive there if you observe rules. Just hang on by fingernails and never look down”.
As I see it, this is him acknowledging that all of his actions, his detachment from society (and humanity, since he tries to block out every and any kind of feelings) are nothing more than a survival mechanism. One that he has been using for a very long time, but that he is still aware of. And this, I think, is an argument against the theory that he is literally insane. He obviously doesn’t have a split personality because he knows the difference between Rorschach and Walter Kovacs. That is already a sort of breakthrough (maybe Dr. Long got to him? Or just by opening up and telling the story it made him see it differently?)
The bad thing about not having that scene in the movie is that Rorschach loses a lot of dimension because of it. Dan makes up for his “always being in control” issue when he snaps at Rorschach and when he cries for him. But Rorschach lost some much needed depth.
Now, I realize that having that scene meant that he had to kill Big Figure as Walter Kovacs and not as Rorschach (another interesting point from the novel) and having to add extra scenes that they didn’t have time for. Although, having him in costume at all times while interacting with the other “superheroes” creates more of a mystery. It also sets the tone for their relationship: he has always been his “alternate personality” (to call it something) and never Walter Kovacs- even if that is reversed for him. And this way at the end, when he takes off his mask before Doctor Manhattan, when he’s trying to keep the man he is upfront (paraphrasing Alan Moore there) that reveal is more shocking. It gives that gesture a bigger meaning.
I noticed that all through these scenes, after he breaks out of prison, the stains on his clothes are very similar to the blood stains he got after killing Gerard Grice’s dogs. It’s similar when he’s wearing the wife beater and I’m sure it’s pretty much exactly the same when he puts on the trench coat- if it’s not the same coat. And these are too events in his life that show a “change” in him. When he kills Grice he takes the final step towards transforming into Rorschach, and when he comes face to face with his landlady he is forced to stand down and put his sense of justice and morality aside for the sake of those kids. He identifies with them, like he did with Blair Roche “Thought of little child, abused, frightened. Didn’t like it. Personal reasons.”
It is directly after this scene that he tells Dan he is “a good friend” and they then have that awkward hand shake that everyone loves. That, paired with the next instances in which he both takes the lead as the voice of reason, commanding Archie (even for a little a while) and trying to comfort Dan, I think it shows that maybe he could have been set up for a little change. And that’s what makes his death even sadder.