One of the most batsh*t conspiracy theories of the 21st century starts with cryptic posts on a message board called 8chan.
This doc claims it might reveal who “Q” really is.
Trailer for “Q: Into the Storm”
You Can’t Make This Sh*t Up
- Jim Watkins, owner of 8chan, is a pen obsessive—his son says he’s “autistic about pens.” Q’s cryptic posts often featured close-up photos of pens.
- Ron once ran an adult gay site called “PokeAMan.” He sold it to a hentai company.
- Matlock’s password? Literally just “Matlock”—like the TV show.
Watch “Q: Into the Storm”
You can stream all six episodes of “Q: Into the Storm” on Max.
For latest streaming options, check JustWatch.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 91/100
- IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 91% (Users); 57% (Critics)
Director’s Note: Directed by Cullen Hoback, who also made “Terms and Conditions May Apply”, “Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery” and “What Lies Upstream”.
Hoback embedded himself with Ron and Jim Watkins over several years, gaining unique access that no other filmmaker has matched.
Release Date: March 21, 2021 (HBO)
My Review of “Q: Into the Storm”
The Setup
This 6-part HBO series tracks the rise of QAnon from its cryptic beginnings on 4chan to its real-world impact on American politics.
The doc follows the power struggle between 8chan founder Fredrick Brennan and its new owners, Jim and Ron Watkins—two men who hold the keys to the only platforms where Q ever posted.
More Highlights from the Doc
- Q’s first post was in October 2017 on 4chan’s /pol/ board, before moving to 8chan (later renamed 8kun), both sites run by the Watkins family.
- The series shows how influencers like Jerome Corsi and Tracy “Beanz” Diaz helped amplify Q’s early posts to bigger platforms like Reddit and YouTube.
- Ron Watkins is caught on camera saying Steve Bannon is Q—before awkwardly backtracking. Later, Ron appears to slip in an interview, saying he was “basically doing what I was doing anonymously before—but never as Q.”
- Fred Brennan receives a large, mysterious wooden letter “Q” in the mail—viewers speculate it’s from QAnon. He later admits Q was always his favorite letter (he now designs fonts).
- Hoback follows Jim Watkins to the January 6 Capitol insurrection. The doc shows Q’s predictions and rhetoric feeding into real-world violence.
- “Keystone” was a repeated QAnon term—one theory suggests it refers to Wi”kee”Leaks and Oliver “Stone.” The doc doesn’t confirm this, but throws it out for speculation.
Cameos
- Jerome Corsi, ex-InfoWars and longtime conspiracy peddler
- Fredrick Brennan (8chan founder), wheelchair-bound coder turned Q critic
- Tracy “Beanz” Diaz, who helped move Q content from imageboards to mainstream social platforms
Lesser-Known Details from the Doc
- Ron Watkins repeatedly rebrands himself online—from board admin to “digital soldier”—to maintain control of the QAnon community without directly outing himself as Q.
- Hoback pushes Watkins on the record about his “intelligence work,” catching him in a suspiciously self-revealing monologue.
- Fred Brennan now lives in the Philippines under threat of legal action by the Watkinses—his relationship with them went from protégé to bitter enemy.
- Q’s followers often claim insider government status for Q—but Hoback shows the posts were more often copied from Wikipedia or random forum threads.
- Jim Watkins appears at an Arizona Senate hearing during the post-election “audit,” further blurring the line between Q influencers and real-world politics.
Wrap Up
“Q: Into the Storm” points the camera right at the man who likely created it. What started as online LARPing ends with real-world violence, and one son possibly confessing on camera that he was the puppet master all along.
Thanks for reading!
Rob Kelly, Chief Maniac, Daily Doc