Continuity mistake: During the prison fight scene, Silk Spectre's stiletto boot heels are alternatively flat-soled from shot to shot, for the stunt woman's benefit.
Watchmen (2009)
Ending / spoiler
Directed by: Zack Snyder
Starring: Patrick Wilson, Carla Gugino, Matthew Goode, Billy Crudup, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jackie Earle Haley, Malin Akerman
Dr. Manhattan, Silk Spectre, Night Owl and Rorschach all discover Adrian Veidt was behind everything, killing the Comedian and hiring the assassin for the attempt on his own life (of whom he then forced the suicide). He was working through a subsidiary of his called Pyramid Industries - Moloch and Janey Slater also worked for that company, without knowing its secret, and that's how he gave them cancer, in order to make Dr. Manhattan fear he was causing it and leave the planet.
They confront him and he explains it's all necessary in order to prevent the Watchmen interfering in his plan to prevent nuclear war and save humanity. The reactor he was working on with Dr. Manhattan generates enormous power - he plans to use that power to cause massive explosions in cities worldwide, killing millions in order to save billions. Because the reactor is based on Dr. Manhattan's abilities, the world will believe he caused the destruction in order to prevent nuclear holocaust, and unite in peace. They tell him he can't do such a thing, whereupon he reveals that it's already happened - we then see the final explosion in New York.
Although horrified, they realise that they can't reveal the secret without destroying the peace that does indeed emerge - except Rorschach, who refuses to compromise, even in the face of Armageddon. He knows this will force Dr. Manhattan to kill him, but sticks to his position, so is killed in the snow outside Veidt's base. Night Owl and Silk Spectre return home, while Dr. Manhattan decides to see other galaxies, and says he may try creating life.The final scene reveals that Rorschach sent his journal, which details Veidt's guilt, to a newspaper - debating what to fill the space with, the editor tells a journalist "run something from the crank file - I leave it entirely in your hands", and the journalist's gaze falls upon the journal...
Ashfan
More mistakes in Watchmen
Daniel Dreiberg: What happened to us, Rorschach?
Rorschach: You quit.
More trivia for Watchmen
Question: I don't quite understand why Dr. Manhattan had to kill Rorschach. That is, I don't quite get why that was the only solution. Rorschach was a valuable member of the Watchmen, and in the type of world they were in (chaos, corruption, murder, etc) one would think that they would want to keep as many of themselves banded together as possible. Couldn't some sort of negotiation or compromise have been reached/agreed to by Rorschach instead of him being killed?
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Answer: He has spent years as a costumed vigilante despite the fact that it was illegal. He has a very strict idea of what is right ("never compromise") and has proven himself incapable of doing otherwise. So no, there was no real chance of negotiating with him - Rorschach himself made it clear he'd have to die if they wanted his silence.
Garlonuss ★
Death was not the only choice. Doc M could easily have teleported/banished Rorschach to Mars/anywhere secluded in an oxygen bubble. He could have spared his life and just made him mute or manipulate his brain chemistry/atoms to remove the memory of what happened. The point is Doc M is all powerful and could manipulate matter at his whim; death was just a plot device creating a chance of an emotive martyrdom/sacrificial ending.
Ethically speaking, exiling him to Mars or erasing his memory of the event can be considered just as cruel as killing him, because then his agency is being taken away from him. Rorshach's malcontent with the situation poses a problem for the other heroes, and since Dr. Manhattan isn't willing to let him tell the truth of what happened, he obliges Rorschach's demand that he kill him instead.
Phaneron ★