Watchmen’s mysteries just keep getting weirder. Here are some theories about “She Was Killed by Space Junk.”
The major reveal of Episode 3 may have come care of a number of completely bizarre Adrian Veidt scenes, but by-and-large, “She Was Killed By Space Junk” was a character study of another familiar Watchmen character: Laurie Blake, an FBI agent and member of the Anti-Vigilante Task Force, who Senator Joe Keene assigned to investigate Sheriff Crawford’s hanging. Laurie, for those who have not read the comic, was the second person to take on the mantle of Silk Spectre.
More than any prior episode, “She Was Killed by Space Junk” attempts to bridge the past events of the comic with the current events of the HBO show. In a voicemail she leaves for Doctor Manhattan–who is apparently still on Mars–Laurie recaps the events prior to the show with a series of “jokes.” And, in the closing minutes of the show, we get a seemingly supernatural response, in the form of a car being thrown at Laurie’s feet. But was Doctor Manhattan answering her “prayers” or was it all just a very lucky coincidence?
Here are 6 new theories, based on Season 1, Episode 3 of HBO’s Watchmen.
1. Tartarus Allusion
Sheriff Crawford is laid to rest in Tartarus Acres cemetery, which almost certainly has significance. Tartarus is the deepest pit of Hell in Greek mythology, where Zeus banished the Titans after they attempt to overthrow him. It’s also where the gods sent mortals to be tortured for eternity–like Sisyphus, damned to roll a giant rock up a hill only to have it roll back and crush him every day, and Tantalus, cursed to be starving and parched with food and water always just out of his reach. In other words, this might foreshadow and support the theory that Sheriff Crawford was a bad man underneath the veneer of respectability. Along with the Klan outfit in his closet, it’s certainly not looking good.
2. Son of a Klan Member or Klan Member?
There is a massive revelation in Watchmen’s supplemental materials on Peteypedia, an HBO-published, in-universe website. We can read a letter written to Sheriff Crawford (presumably the recently deceased Sheriff Crawford’s father) from J. David Keene (Senator Joe Keene’s father). We learn, based on the contents and tone of this letter, that both men were high-ranking members of the Ku Klux Klan. Keene the elder even signs off with the acronym AKIA (A Klansman I Am).
Of course, just because Judd’s father was a Klan member does not necessarily mean Judd was as well. Perhaps Sheriff Crawford kept his father’s Klan outfit in his closet as a sobering reminder of the awful man his father was. But one could theorize that either way, it may explain why Senator Keene sent Laurie to Tulsa; he has a vested interest in ensuring his own family history isn’t revealed.
3. A False Kidnapping Attempt?
At Sheriff Crawford’s funeral, a 7th Kavalry member attempts to abduct Joe. But is it the real deal, or is Joe attempting to pull a dangerous PR stunt?
It begs the question: What if Keene is the one in charge of the 7th Kavalry, and he’s using them as a boogeyman for his presidential campaign? What if he’s created the threat himself to bolster his political career? If his father was a high-ranking Klan member, it’s reasonable to theorize that he passed this lineage down to his son.
Also, to note: Joe’s father John Keene was also the man who spearheaded the Keene Act, which outlawed all vigilante activity.. And after the White Night, it was Joe Keene who pushed for police to wear masks to protect their identities. On its surface, this seems like a pro-police policy, but instead, it has done a great deal to erode the public’s trust in law enforcement.
Doing one thing while actually intending something totally opposite is the core of what made the original Watchmen comic so compelling. A reveal of Keene as the leader of the 7th Kavalry would be in line with that narrative approach.
4. Who Is Imprisoning Veidt?
Episode 3 made it clear that Veidt is being imprisoned against his will. But where is he being held? And who is the person, or “Game Warden,” imprisoning him?
The place is probably somewhere beyond Earth–maybe the Moon or Mars. Veidt sends one of the Mr. Phillips clones on a mission “into the great beyond,” which apparently kills him from extreme exposure–a reasonable outcome if one was exposed to the -454 degrees Fahrenheit temperature of outer space.
That said, it’s hard to imagine that the Game Warden is anyone but Doctor Manhattan. No one else would have the power to maintain this sort of gilded comfort beyond the confines of Earth. And it also places Veidt’s play from Episode 2 into better context. Whether Veidt was mocking Manhattan or simply trying to better understand him, assuming that he’s functioning as Veidt’s jailer certainly makes it make more sense.
5. Who Threw The Car?
The episode ends after Laurie finishes her interstellar voicemail to Doctor Manhattan. Moments later, a car falls from the sky and lands at Laurie’s feet seconds after she looks up to see the glowing red speck of Mars in the night sky. The prevailing theory is that Dr. Manhattan threw the car from space. He’s pretty much a god, so this would likely not be beyond his capabilities. And also, the voicemail machine said it would take 40 seconds for the message to be sent from Earth to Mars. The car crashes at Laurie’s feet 45 seconds later–enough time for a superhuman to get a windup on his throw.
The car appears to be the same one that Will was in when he was lifted away from Sister Night. Will said he had friends in “high places.” Again, it’s a great idea to take Will’s words literally moving forward.