Got to this a bit late, but thought I'd chuck my two cents up FWIW.
Spoilers everywhere.
Overall 7/10, this was a frustrating mixed bag which was several crucial flaws away from being outstanding. There was an element of suspended disbelief required along the way for purists of the graphic novel, and the show was excellent if you could sustain it, but about three quarters through it hit tipping point and settled at being an above average but wasted opportunity.
Loved:
- The score, Reznor & Ross did a brilliant job
- Cinematography, everything was shot gorgeously, it still astounds me sometimes just how far TV visual have come and the sheer work that goes into it
- The squid PTSD, explored some excellent ideas on the New York fallout, esp with the paranoia, bunkers & trying to bait tourists back
- Looking Glass, one of the more interesting sub-characters particularly again in relation to the PTSD, Pity they did nothing with his character in the end.
- Laurie, they got her right, enjoyed the sardonic foul mouthed portrayal, completely believable
- Post-Manhattan Vietnam, the alternate reality was fascinating to watch, along with the Dr Manhattan worship & calling booths all over
- Panda, hilarious character
Mixed:
- Abar, started out interesting while she was a vigilante, but went downhill in the last few episodes after they handed her way too much importance and contrived sub plots
- The plot; it was a good choice to mirror the original text by starting out as a murder mystery expanding out to a wider hidden conspiracy. Unfortunately the twists here just didn't have the same punch, the "Manhattan Machine" climax was weak.
Hated:
- Ozymandias; as entertaining as Jeremy Irons's goofy & eccentric take was, they've misunderstood the character and that always drives me up the wall. Ozzy for all his immense flaws was a likeable passive humanitarian who truly and naively believed he was doing what it takes to save the planet. It made no sense for him to turn into a bitter old man and bugger off and mince about in Europa, turning his back on his life mission. Frustratingly he added little to the plot too, the raining squids was just bizarre, especially the frozen squid rain
- Hooded Justice; it was ballsy to throw in such a twist and I loved the general idea, but the execution was off. Switching race was a fascinating idea, except the original HJ just didn't fit Will Reeves one bit. This was supposed to be an vicious immoral masochist who got off on sadism and was built like a tank. It was also hinted he was of German descent & Cpt. Metropolis was a flat out racist. I was on board for a while but simply couldn't suspend the disbelief.
- Lady Trieu; interesting idea for a character but just didn't do it for me after the reveal as the primary antagonaist. The artificial insemination was a lazy connection too, why the hell would Ozzy keep samples around?
- Calvin Manhattan; this was just terrible. The key arc for Doc M was his transition towards complete and utter indifference towards mankind, before learning the value of it through Laurie. He then established he had no place with humans and the tangle of their lives, so why on earth did he show up again and crazier still, fall madly in love with the wholly uninteresting Abar. The show lost several notches for me when he was then far to easily trapped and killed shortly after, inexplicably in Calvin-face.