How Does The 7th Cavalry Know Cal Is Dr. Manhattan?

Published December 12, 2019 · Updated July 6, 2022

Hi guys, just started listening your pod this year when I wanted a deeper dive on the Watchmen. Great job. You all really bring a nice literary take on the series.

I can’t figure out the question above. I haven’t had time to rewatch any of the episodes, so maybe I just missed some important detail. But it doesn’t make sense to me.

Let’s start with the premise that building a tachyon laser that can kill Dr. Manhattan would take a lot of knowledge, resources, and time. So the Seventh Cavalry must have known that Dr. Manhattan wasn’t on Mars and was hiding on Earth as Cal Abar a fairly significant amount of time before showing up at the Abar’s house in 2019 (current day for episode 8). And apparently Senator Keene joining the Blue Man Group is part of their plan as well? How could they have that advance knowledge to set up this elaborate plan?

In 2009, after Dr. Manhattan and Angela meet, only three people know Cal is Dr. Manhattan: Angela, Veidt, and Will Reeves. Somehow the information got from one of them to the Seventh Cavalry well before 2019. Reeves either joined forces with Lady Trieu and told her, or Lady Trieu found out when Reeves got a prescription of Nostaglia and then Lady Trieu had access to his memory of Cal Abar visit in 2009. But there is no clue or hint or reason why Lady Trieu would tell the Seventh Calvary. So I am eliminating that possibility. Veidt was beamed up to Europa; it didn’t seem like he had time to tell anyone. And again why would the progressive Veidt tell the Seventh Calvary. Last, I thought maybe Angela slipped up at some point (likely tell Reeves about Judd’s secret closet).

Here is one possible explanation: During the White Night, the one of the Seventh Calvary must have witnessed Dr. Manhattan reflectively blowing up the heads of the other racist shit-bag murderers with his signature blue glow. I hope this is explained on the show. Will we see a scene where one Seventh Calvary member barely escapes from the Abar house, he stumbles into some bushes, and he lifts his bloody Roschach mask to reveal a young Senator Keene? Or a younger Judd Crawford? When did the White Night happen? Fairly soon after the Abars arrived in Tulsa, right? So that gives the Seventh Calvary time to work up this plan. But then again, would Keene (it’s gotta be Keene) set up this entire plan based entirely on one brief sighting of Dr. Manhattan? Would he connect the dots to realize that Dr. Manhattan must just be hiding in this guy in Tulsa?

Holy shit. I have fallen far down the rabbit hole. Please throw me a line and get me out of here.

Love the show and thanks for doing it.

Hans

P.S. The King Bee was wrong about Episode 8. The “flashbacks” weren’t a waste of time. Everything moved the story forward. We found out where Veidt is, why he went there, and what Dr. Manhattan has been up to since 1985. It was masterful non-linear story telling, just like the Dr. Manhattan chapter of the graphic novel. Also the entire series has mirrored the graphic novel in this way. The comics cover a relatively short period of time, from the Comedian’s death to the Squid (excluding the epilogue with Dan and Laurie). That just a few weeks, but at the same time, the comics told the history of that world going back decades to the time of the Minutemen. So too the series. So far, it spans just a few weeks, from Judd’s death to the end of Episode 8. The show is also telling the story of this world since since 1921 and from the end of 1985.

Subscribe Now