HBOs Watchmen made its intentions clear when it started its first episode with a depiction of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre. The superhero series is a new version of the 1986 alt-history graphic novel, and it isnt shy about taking on race.

And not everyones happy about that.

The series, created by Damon Lindelof (Lost, The Leftovers), has received effusive praise from many fans and critics, though a number of outlets have reported that theres a contingent of people seemingly review bombing the show, unhappy with its politics . On Rotten Tomatoes, the critics score for the show is in the 90s, while the audience score is in the low 40s.

Criticism of the show is understandable, given that it is an unequivocally new take on the source material. With so many mysteries going on, from squid falling out of the sky to whatever is happening with Jeremy Irons Adrian Veidt, even the most avid consumers of Peteypedia , the shows supplemental material, might be confused. However, with the Cold War being such an integral plot point in the 1986 comics, criticizing Watchmen for being political is like criticizing Silver Lube Man for being lubey.

In an interview with HuffPost, Nicole Kassell, the executive producer and a director of the show, addressed the criticism, explaining why the show is so relevant now and how there was never any question of whether Watchmen would tackle race head on.