The "President Redford" that is talked about throughout the episode is in reference to actor Robert Redford. A fictional Redford announces his run for presidency at the end of the comic.
The Latin sentence " Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" comes from the Roman poet Juvenal and means roughly "Who guards the guards?" or "Who watches the watchmen?" which is where the graphic novel and this series gets its title.
The code Angela enters into the keypad is 1985. 1985 is the year the original Watchmen is set in.
The appearance of the squid-like rainstorm and the sight of a giant octopus in the images of the interrogation chamber connect with the Alien Invasion Hoax story from the original comic book. As this part was ignored by the film version, the TV series is exploring a future to Alan Moore's and Dave Gibbons' work, not the Watchmen (2009) movie.
At the beginning, Angela Abar breaks the yolks to form a smiley face, like the Comedian's badge, also known as The Button, which is one of the most iconic and recognizable images from the Watchmen comic with its yellow smiley face and blood spatter. The symbol appears on the cover of the very first issue, and throughout the series.