Will is shown being inducted into the New York Police Department by Samuel J. Battle (played by Philly Plowden), who in reality was the first black officer in the force. Williams points out that "Watchmen" endeavors to "unearth... that part of our collective history that has been neglected, or omitted, like Tulsa 1921, in the pilot... These are all parts of African American history, and obviously, by extension, therefore straight-up American history that have been given short shrift." While not fully confirmed by the show's staff, the character of Fred, the racist white supermarket owner played by Glenn Fleshler, appears to allude to Fred Trump, the father of Donald Trump, based on both appearance and other elements that aligned with Fred Trump's biography, including his involvement with the KKK. "This Extraordinary Being" received critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, the episode has an approval rating of 96% with an average score of 9.33 out of 10, based on 28 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Revealing and relevant, 'This Extraordinary Being' cleverly shows the long-term effects of generational trauma and deep-seated racism." The episode was nominated for the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Individual Episode featuring an LGBTQ character. In addition, Stephen Williams (director) was nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Drama Series for the episode (an award that was won by Nicole Kassell for "It's Summer and We're Running Out of Ice", another "Watchmen" episode), while Damon Lindelof and Cord Jefferson were nominated for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Writing in a Dramatic Series for the episode, which was won by Nichelle Tramble Spellman for "Monster", the first episode of her Apple TV+ show "Truth Be Told". "This Extraordinary Being" was nominated for a Hugo for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form, alongside "A God Walks into Abar". "This Extraordinary Being" was watched by an estimated 620,000 viewers on its first broadcast.