{"id":100681,"date":"2022-10-18T13:48:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-18T13:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/what-to-watch-for-when-youre-watching-the-watcher\/"},"modified":"2022-10-18T13:48:00","modified_gmt":"2022-10-18T13:48:00","slug":"what-to-watch-for-when-youre-watching-the-watcher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/what-to-watch-for-when-youre-watching-the-watcher\/","title":{"rendered":"What to watch for when you&#8217;re watching &#8216;The Watcher&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div class=\"wpds-c-grBDNq hide-for-print mb-sm undefined\">\n<div class=\"PJLV PJLV-iAjpuP-css flex items-center\" config=\"[object Object]\" data-qa=\"article-actions\">\n<div class=\"wpds-c-fLphcs\">\n<div class=\"wpds-c-jmLDag wpds-c-jmLDag-bywHgD-variant-primary wpds-c-jmLDag-biynoz-density-compact wpds-c-jmLDag-hZSyid-isOutline-true wpds-c-jmLDag-ejCoEP-icon-left wpds-c-jmLDag-futxca-cv wpds-c-jmLDag-iknmtxO-css\"><button aria-label=\"Comment\" class=\"PJLV PJLV-iPnDcc-css\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" fill=\"currentColor\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" role=\"img\" class=\"wpds-c-kKAfCG wpds-c-efqEZa focus-highlight flex items-center justify-center brad-lg pointer transition-400 ease-in-out transition-colors\" aria-label=\"Comment on this story\"><title>Comment on this story<\/title><path d=\"M14 14V2H2v9.47h8.18L12.43 13ZM3 10.52V3h10v9.23l-2.5-1.66Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p>Comment<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"teaser-content grid-center\">\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">In the fall of 2018, New York magazine published an engrossing account of the nightmare that unfolded after Derek and Maria Broaddus bought what they thought was their dream home in the leafy suburb of Westfield, NJ After beginning renovations at 657 Boulevard, the couple began receiving creepy letters from an anonymous person who dubbed themselves \u201cthe Watcher.\u201d  The writer made references to \u201cyoung blood\u201d and showed they were familiar with the family&#8217;s three children, down to their names and birth order.  The letters grew increasingly threatening, but the Broadduses found little recourse, even as they reported the letters to the local police department and hired a private investigator to look into the bizarre matter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Last week, Netflix brought the still-unsolved mystery to its platform via Ryan Murphy, the prolific producer behind \u201cAmerican Horror Story,\u201d \u201cAmerican Crime\u201d and, perhaps his most controversial outing, the recent \u201cDahmer: Monster \u2014 The Jeffrey Dahmer Story \u201d  \u201cThe Watcher\u201d is a classic Murphy production: campy, over-the-top and full of recognizable faces \u2014 Margo Martindale!  Mia Farrow!  Jennifer Coolidge!  \u2014 amid its ensemble cast.  Bobby Cannavale and Naomi Watts play the couple at the center of the storm, whose names have been changed for the series to Nora and Dean Brannock.  In this retelling, the Brannocks have two children, 16-year-old Ellie (Isabel Gravitt) and her younger brother Carter (Luke David Blumm), and a host of kooky neighbors who double as suspects.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Just like the story that inspired the series, \u201cThe Watcher\u201d is about more than just the frightening letters.  Let&#8217;s examine some of the larger themes lurking beneath the show&#8217;s surface.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">The elusive American Dream is at the center of \u201cThe Watcher\u201d as the Brannocks \u2014 a decade removed from a bankruptcy filing \u2014 are accused of greed in the menacing letters.  The series pulls in verbatim passages from the letters that appeared in the magazine story by Reeves Wiedeman, so there are a number of scenes featuring Watts and Cannavale furrowing their brows over typed correspondence.  \u201cDo you need to fill the house with the young blood I requested?  Better for me,\u201d one excerpt from the Watcher reads.  \u201cWas your old house too small for the growing family?  Or was it greed to bring me your children?  Once I know their names I will call them and draw them too [sic] me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">The Brannocks also face scrutiny from their community, as some in the enclave refuse to believe anyone would disturb the safety of their neighborhood.  Both the couple&#8217;s real estate agent, Karen (Coolidge), and a police detective (Christopher McDonald) they think is mishandling the case accuse the Brannocks of taking on \u201ctoo much house\u201d and suggest they wrote the letters themselves to get out of a financial abyss  Pearl Winslow (Farrow), one of the Brannock family&#8217;s most eccentric neighbors, judges them harshly for upgrades made to the six-bedroom home.  \u201cButcher block countertops,\u201d she scoffs.  \u201cAre you turning your house into a delicatessen?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p><span class=\"font--article-body font-copy hide-for-print ma-0 pb-md db italic interstitial\">&#8216;Dahmer&#8217; is not a story that needs retelling<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<h3 data-qa=\"article-header\" class=\" pb-sm pt-lgmod\" id=\"OYCX76G6MRF3FI2DS5LZHQOM7Q\">\n<p>Toxic masculinity and White privilege<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">There&#8217;s nothing like a terrible teen to spice up a drama based on real-life events!  One subplot of \u201cThe Watcher\u201d revolves around tension between Ellie and her overprotective dad, who objects to his daughter dating Dakota (Henry Hunter Hall), an enterprising 19-year-old who sets up security cameras across the Brannocks &#8216;new property.  After Dean angrily confronts Ellie and her beau, the teen gets on TikTok and falsely tells her followers that her parents object to her boyfriend because he is Black.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">The storyline is a heavy-handed reminder that many people in this largely White town are unaware of their privilege.  That fits with Wiedeman&#8217;s story, which quotes one woman&#8217;s tone-deaf plea at a community meeting: \u201cOur neighborhoods are constantly under attack from turf, lights, parking decks, you name it.  If we can&#8217;t make a stand on Boulevard, where can we?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<h3 data-qa=\"article-header\" class=\" pb-sm pt-lgmod\" id=\"UTD3AGKDNNBC7NAQUQPKNDD7OM\">\n<p>The duplicity of obsession<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">In an update on the case published last week, Wiedeman reported on the amateur sleuths who have attempted to discern the identity of the Watcher<b> <\/b>since the article first published.  The reporter cites a 19th-century short story by Irish author J. Sheridan Le Fanu \u2014 about a man who goes crazy after receiving threatening letters from someone who called himself the Watcher \u2014 as \u201cthe closest literary connection anyone could draw.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">In the show, Dean becomes obsessed with finding the Watcher, so much so that his marriage is left hanging by a thread and he appears absolutely unhinged as he accuses various neighbors of sending the letters.  Murphy and Co.  pull in supernatural elements, including a mysterious character based on John List, a real-life<b> <\/b>former Westfield resident who murdered his family and covered up his crime so meticulously it was nearly two decades before he was tried and convicted.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">The Brannocks eventually (spoiler alert) leave 657 Boulevard, but Dean is incapable of moving on.  \u201cI can&#8217;t let it go.  I can&#8217;t just get over it.  I feel like someone played a big \u2026 practical joke on us, and I&#8217;m never going to know why they did it,\u201d he tells his therapist.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"b bt bc-offblack dn-ns hide-for-print\" data-testid=\"mostRead\" subscriptions-section=\"content\"\/><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Comment on this story Comment In the fall of 2018, New York magazine published an engrossing account of the nightmare that unfolded after Derek and Maria Broaddus bought what they thought was their dream home in the leafy suburb of Westfield, NJ After beginning renovations at 657 Boulevard, the couple began receiving creepy letters from &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/what-to-watch-for-when-youre-watching-the-watcher\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">What to watch for when you&#8217;re watching &#8216;The Watcher&#8217;<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":104967,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/the-watcher-house-now-on-netflix-is-a-nightmare-for-current-owners\/","url_meta":{"origin":100681,"position":0},"title":"&#8216;The Watcher&#8217; house, now on Netflix, is a nightmare for current owners","date":"October 22, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The current owners of the house at 657 Boulevard in Westfied, NJ \u2014 subject of the Netflix hit, \u201cThe Watcher\u201d \u2014 have reportedly never received creepy correspondence like the previous owners. 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The seemingly idyllic town outside of Manhattan has been riddled with news trucks and unrest ever since Derek and Maria Broaddus purchased the massive six-bedroom house for $1.3\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Entertainment&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Bobby Cannavale stars in the Netflix series \"The Watcher\"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/pcn_the_watcher__2_730334396.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":98073,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/the-watcher-is-netflixs-latest-true-story-tale-meant-to-get-you-watching\/","url_meta":{"origin":100681,"position":4},"title":"&#8216;The Watcher&#8217; is Netflix&#8217;s latest true story tale meant to get you watching","date":"October 15, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"CNN \u2014 Netflix has found its sweet spot with freaking us all out. \u201cThe Watcher\u201d is no exception. 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