The Squid Rain in HBO's 'Watchmen' Series Relates Back to the Comic Book

If you’ve been watching the new HBO series, Watchmen, based on the popular comic book, you may have been a bit befuddled when it started to rain squid in the show's premiere. Not only does this bizarre event occur, but the characters in the show are not at all confused with it raining tiny squid in the city.

Unfortunately, the common occurrence has not yet been explained in the series. Therefore, fans may be asking themselves: Why does it rain squid in Watchmen? Well, audiences may have to wait a bit longer in the season to find out the real reason, but there have been some clues as to why the downpour of squid is completely normal. 

If you’re familiar with the graphic novel then the TV show may be referencing the events that played out in the comic. Adrian Veidt (Jeremy Irons), also known as the superhero Ozymandias, tried to end the Cold War using fear tactics. And, he succeeded. The United States and the Soviet Union stopped fighting in the 1980’s after a new common enemy rose.

Veidt concocted the idea to introduce the world to an extra-dimensional being in 1985, designed by using advanced technology and science. However, when he dropped the “alien” in the center of Manhattan, it died … and so did half of the population of New York City. 

Russia and the Americans eventually laid down their nuclear weapons to join together to fight their new common enemy. 

The show has referenced this gigantic squid attack, which is known as D.I.E. or "dimensional incursion event." However, viewers (or the characters in the series) do not know if this was something Veidt cooked up to continue to inspire a bit of fear in people, or the tiny squid are simply a scientific result from the first attack. 

Luckily, fans will not have to wait too long for the answers. Executive producer/writer Damon Lindelof revealed that fans’ questions will be answered before the Season 1 finale. 

"I love mystery storytelling and I've experimented many times over the course of my career with delayed gratification," he explained (via Den of Geek). 

He continued: "Sometimes it turns out too long, sometimes [it] turns out too soon. And so you're constantly trying to get it just right...The good news is there's nine episodes of this season of Watchmen, and by the ninth episode, you're going to get the resolution to every single question that the show asks. That's important to us as storytellers without sort of frustrating the audience." 

The Episode 5 promo seems to imply that fans will learn more about how the world was affected by the 1985 attack. Lindelof teased this storyline in an interview with Esquire, explaining, “Adrian Veidt dropped an enormous fake alien being in the middle of Manhattan that killed three million people. That is a 9/11-like event." 

"What does 30 years after something like that happens, what does the world look like? You can’t just do that in passing reference," he teased. 

Watch Watchmen Sundays at 9 p.m. EST on HBO.