system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Watchmen] Why did Dr. Manhattan's touch cause flashbacks?

*WARNING: VERY MINOR SPOILERS FOR A 5-YEAR OLD MOVIE*
First of all, I apologize in advance for being an idiot and only watching the movie without reading the comics.

On two separate occasions in the film, Dr. Manhattan touches Laurie's face in order to show her his perception of time. My question is: Why does this cause both of them (and the viewer) to see one short scene from Laurie's childhood and then carry on as if now she understands (or doesn't understand, maybe it failed or something) anything better than before?
gpt
The recent course of events was triggered by the death of the Comedian. Everyone has him on their mind as everything that seems to be happening ties back into why (and who) killed him.

Given Laurie and her mother's own interactions with the Comedian, it seems natural that she would be dwelling on him and that history (even if subconsciously). Her interaction with Dr. Manhattan was simply that little *something* her mind needed to connect the dots she was already thinking about.