Watchmen's Hooded Justice origin story wins Emmy for writing

Watchmen's formal boldness in its episodes - large flashbacks, distant locales, and black-and-white cinematography - made it just as memorable as the original comic. Damon Lindelof's adaptation/sequel for HBO brought the tongue-in-cheek comic critique up to date, becoming a fan-favorite and critic-approved series. Now its most inventive episode has earned an Emmy for its writing.

For “This Extraordinary Being,” the black-and-white episode that operates as the surprising origin story for original comic character Hooded Justice, won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special. While Lindelof and Cord Jefferson took home the award, Lindelof noted in his speech that the episodes were written with a committee of writers.

There were also more serious topics to touch on during their speech: “I would be remiss if we didn’t recognize all the men and women who died in the Tulsa Massacre in 1921, the original sin of our show. This country neglects and forgets its own history at its own peril often and we should never forget that.”

“This Extraordinary Being” is one of Watchmen's most-loved episodes, both for its gripping demonstration of generational trauma and racism and for flipping the script on an old character.

Watchmen had already taken home a win for its lead, Regina King, earlier in the night, but there remain MANY categories for the series. Watchmen led all series in nominations when they were announced, scoring 26 nominations. The limited series already brought in seven Creative Emmys earlier in the week: Cinematography for a Limited Series or Movie; Fantasy/Sci-fi Costumes; Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Limited Series or Movie; Sound Mixing for a Limited Series or Movie; Musical Composition for a Limited Series, Movie, or Special (Original Dramatic Score); Casting for a Limited Series, Movie, or Special; and Sound Editing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Special.