Watchmen is quickly becoming one of the best shows on TV. The character of Adrian Veidt was finally revealed in the last episode, confirming the long-held suspicion that Jeremy Irons was playing the villain Ozymandias.
Immediately, fans jumped to create theories as to why Veidt is even still alive. His circumstances are quite strange as the smartest man in the world is in an old house, seemingly in England, surrounded by clones. We have so many questions that are yet to be answered but here are 10 fan theories about the HBO show that may actually help to provide some light in the darkness.
DR MANHATTAN'S PRISONER
The first theory is that Ozymandias is actually being held captive by Dr. Manhattan. We know that the blue god is currently living on Mars and we've actually seen him making constructs out of the sand. The constructs look very similar to that of the building Veidt is in.
The old friends could be living so close to each other and this is some kind of protection for Veidt, while also making him atone for the mistakes he made. The Gamekeeper could, therefore, also be Dr. Manhattan keeping an eye on his guest.
THE GAMEKEEPER IS A CLONE
The Gamekeeper appeared in episode 3 and many people have been trying to work out who he actually is. We've already mentioned the theory that the man stopping Veidt from leaving could be Dr. Manhattan. But others have suggested that he could, in fact, be a clone.
Adrian is surrounded by clones already and we assume they are of his own creation. The Gamekeeper could also be one of these clones who he has told to not let him leave, for unknown reasons. He could, however, even be a clone of himself and so he is very much battling internally with whether to leave or stay.
CLONE CREATION
It's unclear who exactly created the clones. Ozymandias is smart enough to be able to create all of these clones himself. We'd love to know who it is he cloned though, perhaps members of his own family or even a much younger version of himself.
Others have suggested that it is Dr. Manhattan that created the clones to keep an eye on Ozymandias and stop him from doing anything too dangerous. People also think that Ozy created these clones in order to experiment with ways to escape his imprisonment.
HOUSE ARREST
We were always guaranteed that Veidt would appear in the show and we always assumed that he was living in luxury in his European house. This very well may be what we're watching but he is still under arrest, albeit in his own home.
Perhaps the people of Earth couldn't decide whether Ozymandias was a hero or a villain and so a house arrest seemed like the fairest way to both punish him but still allow him to live in style and in a comfortable way. Perhaps this was a decision made by the few people who knew that Veidt was actually still alive.
VIRTUAL REALITY
The world of Watchmen does not have technology in the same way we do. Their internet isn't developed and yet they appear to have some kind of spaceship. They also have a form of virtual reality which is what people are assuming Veidt is being subjected to.
We've seen the 'racist machine' at work, as used by the police. This uses images in a pod to surround a user and make them feel overwhelmed. Perhaps this is much cruder technology for what Veidt is actually experiencing in his imprisonment.
PLASTIC SURGERY
During the episode "She Was Killed By Space Junk", Agent Petey of the FBI mentions that some people believed that Veidt was actually still alive, despite being reported as dead. They suggested he'd had plastic surgery, changed his accent and moved somewhere else.
There may be some truth to this. Veidt is indeed using a different accent and appears slightly different from what we'd expect. While he may actually just be an older version of what we've previously seen, there's every chance that the conspiracy theories are true.
PLOT TO ESCAPE
If Veidt really is imprisoned in some way, then he may be creating a plot to escape. This could be why the clones were created and would of course explain what all of his science experiments actually are. In the last episode we saw the unfortunate death of one of these clones.
It appears that Veidt catapulted him into the air, but that he froze and died before hitting the ground again. If the prison is on Mars, perhaps Veidt wants to escape by catapulting himself and traveling through space. He needs to work out how to stay alive doing so.
FLASHBACK
There's some evidence to suggest that all of this is happening in the past and that Ozymandias is long dead. Perhaps this is part of the story that is crucial to explain what else is going on in the series. It may also be bringing up people to speed who never read the comics.
The type of house that Veidt lives in, as well as the simplicity of the area, could suggest that this is far in the past. There have been suggestions that even time travel is involved, but there may be something about Veidt's late life, before he died, that was important for audiences to know.
ISN'T OZYMANDIAS
There are a few theories suggesting that this isn't Ozymandias at all. We've seen that there are people in this universe that have become obsessed with the heroes and villains of the past. Perhaps someone has taken this a bit too far.
It seemed strange and quite on the nose that Veidt put on the Ozymandias costume. Perhaps this isn't Veidt at all but rather some wannabe Veidt, who's cosplaying and trying to be the supposed hero who saved the world with a giant squid. He could also be not quite as smart, explaining why his inventions are failing.
YEARLY BIRTHDAY CAKE
Each episode we see Veidt is given a birthday cake by his clones. The number on the cake has usually reflected the number of the episode. But surely the clones don't think it's Veidt's birthday every day, nor would they be celebrating every day they are trapped there.
The theory is therefore that Veidt has actually been trapped here for years. Every time we see a birthday cake it marks another year of imprisonment. Therefore, the timeline of the Ozymandias scenes are moving at a different pace compared to the rest of the series.