the smartest people are not immune to hubris, as Veidt himself pointed out.
Sure, and I can give the password thing a pass for that reason I suppose. But it's lazy writing because otherwise Trieu doesn't exist. If you hang the existence of a major character on something, you draw attention to it.
How he didn't see that wrench coming is something else though, lol. Like c'mon.
I'm also less enthused that the plot really was as simple as "good guy vs bad guy." Watchmen's entire thing was shading the heroes and villains gray to the point you can't tell them apart. The fact the ending and its debate has endured so long is a testament to that achievement.
It seems to me the purpose of Watchmen HBO season 1 was to "clear the boards" so a longer-lasting incarnation can take place. Between the death of Dr. Manhattan and the exposure of
Veidt's scheme, the status quo is back to even before issue #1.
All they need to do is re-legalize masked vigilantes and you can literally have a Saturday Morning Watchmen perpetual franchise now.
