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"Watchmen": Damon Lindelof Offers Post-Finale Season 2 Thoughts

Now that HBO's wonderfully authorized pseudo-sequel to [REDACTED] and Dave Gibbons' celebrated comic book series Watchmen has been unveiled to the world – the world likes what it sees from Damon Lindelof's "remix". Even die-hard Watchmen purists appear to be slowly coming around – as they should.

Now we've reached season/series finale "See How They Fly", where the machinations of the Seventh Kavalry-Sen. Keene, Lady Trieu, "Calhattan", Adrian, Angela, and Agent Laurie come to a head – as the world of Lindelof's Watchmen comes to an end… and to a beginning (review here).

While we continue mentally unpacking the season, Lindelof offered up some post-finale perspectives on the possibility of a second season during an extensive sit-down with Deadline Hollywood's Dominic Patten. The full interview is available here – and here are some of the highlights that caught our attention:

● Let's be clear, Lindeolf isn't necessarily "for" or "against" more Watchmen ("I don't know. That's the answer.") – he just needs a reason to do more Watchmen:

"All I can say is I've consistently believed and still believe that these nine episodes are a complete story with a beginning, middle, and end. I have to acknowledge that not everyone's going to see it that way, and I definitely don't dispute any opinion that's sort of like there should be more. I just don't feel compelled to continue the story without a reason to do so. That reason should be a creative reason, idea-driven, and I don't have any ideas for subsequent seasons of Watchmen currently."

● Viewers assuming there "must" be a second season coming because of the unanswered questions that were left need to put that theory off to the side. For Lindelof, just because you leave the potential for more doesn't mean there should be more:

"I think you could make that argument about The Wire finale or any finale, the Silicon Valley finale that just aired. The story could continue if any of the characters are alive or if the world is continuing. That doesn't mean that it should. I mean is it a compelling television show to see Adrian in prison after we just watched a season of Adrian Veidt in a much more interesting prison? I don't know. I'm just saying I don't disagree with your opinion that it certainly could continue. I just don't know how to continue it at this moment in time."

● Lindelof believes that new storytelling structure "norms" that are found in series like Big Little Lies, Fargo, and Castle Rock allow for there to be more tales to tell in the Watchmen universe:

"I mean there's no such thing as an unlimited series unless you're like 60 Minutes or The Simpsons, I guess.

Even Big Little Lies, which presented as a limited series then went on to have a second season and is now considered just a straight up drama series. I feel like it relates to Watchmen. My reverence for the source material really drove a lot of the decision making on a storytelling level. But, it would also be completely and utterly lacking in self-awareness for me to say that nobody should continue this story because Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, Alan more than Dave, certainly didn't want that original story continued and I went along and did it anyway."

● And as far as Lindelof's concerned, those "more tales to tell" don't have to (and shouldn't) just come from him:

"I do think that the world is much more expansive than anybody gives it credit for. I would not decry or be insulted by a further exploration. In fact, I'd be quite curious about future iterations of Watchmen moving forward. Like I said, and I'm not being precious about it, but for me, we put all the ideas that we had into this season."

● One dangling plot thread that could be examined if there is a next season is the trial of Adrian Veidt and the impeachment of President Redford – a timely idea Lindelof jokingly believes must be pursued:

"(LAUGHS) Oh, my God, that's true. Maybe this is the reason that there needs to be a Season 2 of Watchmen is that the whole season will just be the articles of impeachment written for Redford covering up the squid massacre of 11-2. That would be riveting television. I'm going to call Craig Mazin immediately and kind of get the Chernobyl process cracking on that."

The Road to HBO's "Watchmen"

From Damon Lindelof and set in an alternate history where masked vigilantes are treated as outlaws, this drama series embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel of the same name while attempting to break new ground of its own. The cast includes Regina King, Jeremy Irons, Don Johnson, Jean Smart, Tim Blake Nelson, Louis Gossett Jr., Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Hong Chau, Andrew Howard, Tom Mison, Frances Fisher, Jacob Ming-Trent, Sara Vickers, Dylan Schombing, and James Wolk.

Bleeding Cool didn't exactly pull any punches when praising just how powerful the Nicole Kassell (Castle Rock)-directed series premiere "It's Summer and We're Running Out of Ice" was (check out our review here).

"Martial Feats of Comanche Horsemanship" kept the momentum going by deepening the conspiracies at play (review here).

Jean Smart's Agent Laurie Blake took center stage in "She Was Killed by Space Junk", elevating the tension while serving as "devil's advocate" (review here).

"If You Don't Like My Story, Write Your Own" (review here), introduced us to Lady Trieu (Hong Chau), saw Angela (Regina King) look to Looking Glass (Tim Blake Nelson) for help when things started hitting too close to home, and revealed how Adrian (Jeremy Irons) "trains" new servants as his escape attempts continued

We learned Wade Tillman aka Looking Glass' "origin story" – and possibly his final days – in "Little Fear of Lightning" (our review here), as Agent Blake places Angela under arrest… but not before she goes "nostalgic".

Angela comes to understand her true past and the truth about "This Extraordinary Being" Will (Louis Gossett Jr. – review here) – truth that starts with the formation of the Minutemen.

"An Almost Religious Awe" (our review here) brought with it the major reveal that Dr. Manhattan has been with us the entire time – and he's a major part of the Seventh Kavalry's plan.

With penultimate episode "A God Walks into Abar" (review here), we were offered a look back at the seeds of Angela and "Cal's" tragic (and apocalyptic) love story – the heart of our series.

In the following featurette, Lindelof explains how the original comic book series influenced him to take the core themes of the series and find a way to apply them to a modern society. King offers more details on both the terrorist group at play during the season as well as the personal conflicts that arise when one dons a mask in the name of the law:

In the following clip, King takes us behind the scenes on production with a set visit to show us anything and everything Watchmen – or at least what Lindelof will allow:

HBO's Watchmen stars: Regina King as Angela Abar, Don Johnson as Chief Judd Crawford, Tim Blake Nelson as Det. Wade Tillman aka Looking Glass, Louis Gossett Jr. as Will Reeves, Adelaide Clemens as Pirate Jenny, Andrew Howard as Red Scare, Jeremy Irons as Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias, Frances Fisher as Jane Crawford, Jacob Ming-Trent as Panda, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Cal Abar, Adelynn Spoon as Emma Abar, Jean Smart as Agent Laurie Blake, Tom Mison as Mr. Phillips, Sara Vickers as Ms. Crookshanks, Dylan Schombing, James Wolk as Senator Keene, Hong Chau as Lady Trieu, Dustin Ingram as Agent Dale Petey, and Lily Rose Smith.

Watchmen is produced for HBO by White Rabbit in association with Warner Bros. Television; executive producer-writer Lindelof; executive producer/director Kassell; executive producer Tom Spezialy; executive producer-director Stephen Williams; and executive producer Joseph Iberti.

Based on the iconic graphic novel co-created and illustrated by Gibbons and published by DC.

Nine Inch Nails duo Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are on board to compose music for the series.

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