Couldn't Manhattan have just teleported to somewhere else before it happened?
Yup, I'm confused as well... probably some secret agenda is in play.
If it's just another stupid J.J. style "mystery box", I hope someone kicks the shit out of Damon Lindelof...
Dr. Manhattan refuses/is unable to change the "future". To him it is has already happened and will not/cannot be changed.
shareBut it didn't have to be this future, I am not sure why he saw it that way.
I think it's pretty obvious things aren't going to end up the way the bad guys have planned. We'll see why Manhattan was okay with letting it all play out. He knew exactly what was coming, and was working with Will Reeves and Lady Trieu for a reason.
shareYeah, I realize all that, it just looked strange because for him that was plenty of time.
The single timeline approach has always struck me as a bit contrived. Time travel (or at least communication through time) works, yet somehow no matter what you do it's impossible to change events? The branching reality model makes a whole lot more sense. Because yeah, why couldn't Manhattan just zap that last guy or better yet, teleport himself and Angela away before the 7K ever had a shot at him? Nothing would've physically prevented it. To me it's like the erratic seasons in Game of Thrones. You just have to accept that this is how things work in the fictional world of Watchmen. Manhattan has complete knowledge of a timestream he's powerless to change, and must simply surrender to the inevitable.
shareEffectively this is saying that he has no greater power or agency than your average person. It nullifies the entire concept of an omnipotent being, which requires free will. Surely this can't be what the writers intended?
shareSuppose you had full knowledge of past, present, and future, it was all laid out in front of you like a map. Then suppose your goal was the best possible state of existence. Not necessarily best for any given individual, best in a big picture sense. There would be one - and only one - set of actions on your part which would lead to that state. Choice isn't a factor. But even if you were selfish and cared only what was best for you, there would still be one and only one course of action that maximized that. Still no real choice.
Also, ask yourself this: what's the difference between hallucinations and visions of a changeable future? Maybe it didn't happen the way you saw because, forewarned, you altered the outcome. Maybe it was all in your head and never would've happened in the first place. 😳
Yes.
shareThat's the problem with his whole storyline on the show.
Suddenly he's not disinterested in humanity, but he's still an overpowered godlike creature... that got bested by a bunch of idiots? He was very poorly used, imo.
He could. But then a black woman wouldn't have become a god.
shareBy asking that question, you open up a can of no-answer-will-ever-make-sense. Even the writers couldn't answer that one.
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