This is such a powerful show from beginning to end.
Note: The second part of the review will contain spoilers for the entirety of the first season. If you want to experience this story and be surprised, stop reading after the copyright notice. You’ve been warned.
As a fan of sci-fi, I am a little surprised that I never got around to the works of Philip K. Dick until now. Luckily, my interest in alternate history and my knack for criticizing television shows has brought me to The Man in the High Castle. This is an Amazon drama adapted from the book of the same name that explores a horrifying alternate world. Even with its’ bizarre and disturbing setting, this is Amazon’s first must-watch show and may go down as one of the greatest television shows of the decade.
Yes, it’s that good.
The Plot.
The opening rendition of “Edelweiss” is so bleak and sinister that it will suck you in to the world.
This is not the world that you know. A year after he became President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt is assassinated before his policies could ever take hold. The following governments fail to create an alternate New Deal that would have helped the United States to recover from the Great Depression and maintained their isolationist attitude in World War II. When Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, the Pacific fleet is destroyed and the U.S. is far too weak or too late to engage the industrial might that won the war in our timeline. Once Europe falls under Axis rule, the Nazis nuke Washington D.C. and invade, splitting the country in half.
The main story picks up in 1962. The Nazis occupy the East and the Japanese occupy the West in a Cold War is threatening to go hot. Most people in occupied America have moved on with their lives, accepting fascism as the new norm. Some still resist, hoping to keep the dream alive by distributing films created by eponymous mystery figure that show visions of an alternate world, namely one where the Allies are victorious.
The story begins when Juliana Crain (Alexa Davalos) is handed one of these films by her half-sister, Trudy, and sets off looking for answers…
The Characters.
These two do a great job.
The performances are excellent across the board, but it’s important to note how subtle everything is on the side of both the heroes and villains of the story. Almost every single actor and actress in this story build up characters that are disturbingly believable in the context of the story. Nothing really felt out of place or missing here.
Davalos’ Juliana is arguably the beating heart of the story and the one character that offers the most hope in a seemingly lost world. After seeing the first film, there is a small glimmer of optimism that drives her search for answers, even if it isn’t shared by her boyfriend, Frank Frink (Rupert Evans). Joe Blake (Luke Kleintank) soon joins Juliana on the road and offer a more morally ambiguous look into this dystopian setting. On the West Coast, Trade Minister Tagomi (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) struggles to keep the peace and builds a slow-burning relationship with a Nazi insider, Rudolph Wegener (Carsten Norgaard). Meanwhile, Rufus Sewell acts the hell out of his role as Obergruppenfuhrer John Smith, showing us how all-American evil might have been… and may still be with us.
The huge cast does a good job, but I would argue that Davalos, Kleintank, Tagawa, and Sewell stand out the most here. Sure, they have the most screen time, but they present an interesting contrast that defines the very different worlds of the two nations. For instance, Tagawa is stern but fair-minded in his authoritarianism, whereas Smith is a completely monstrous schemer and the type of guy that will pretend to be your friend before he shoots you in the back of the head… except he is also portrayed as a loving husband and father. It is truly twisted and intriguing to watch.
The Themes.
What can make a man turn into a monster like this?
Castle deals with themes like authoritarianism versus freedom, but it is also a form of science fiction that excels at delivering on the themes of what is real and how a human can stay alive in a dark world. The series may be a slow burner, but it is one to think about and also doubles as a masterful satire of how it is easy to infuse American life with things that the world now knows as evil. As I mentioned, John Smith is a straight-up Nazi that doubles as a family man, but the show also meditates on the cultural parallels in a fully realized world.
Aside from the few resistance fighters, what happens if most are ignorant or supportive of rumored horrors that are happening on the other side of the world? What are the similarities and differences between a preachy show like Dragnet and one that might be in this totalitarian world (I think it’s called American Reich)? Do ideals matter at all if the old forget why they were fighting and the young are too brainwashed to believe anything different? These questions, and many more, will reward repeated viewings and force the viewer to grapple with their own look on the world that they live in.
The Downsides.
This show does have problems, but it never fails to leave you with a feeling of hope.
Burn Gorman’s turn as The Marshal is the lone exception to a uniformly excellent cast because it wavers between being sinister and being so over the top that it ends up being unintentionally funny. He is an evil man to the core, but some of the scenes gave me the impression that he was Yosemite Sam rather than a complete and utter bastard that is bounty hunting for the Nazis. I don’t know if it is the writing or if the man was off his game (Torchwood, anyone?), but it was something that messed with the greatness of the show.
In addition, there is absolutely no attempt to be funny at all in this show. Admittedly, this could be disrespectful when you consider the source material, but I would have liked to see some of the resistance fighters tell a joke to one another. It would be a timely way to reinforce the “inner fascist” theme by showing how the freedom to laugh is something that is lost on most people in occupied America. While this show would still be the darkest show on television by a mile, the failure to use comedy in the context of this world represents a missed opportunity to me.
Conclusion.
These two are very intriguing, especially since you could say that they’re friends.
The Man in the High Castle is a haunting and unforgettable thrill ride that will make you think about it long after you’ve finished binge watching the season. It is a stunning and brutal look at the tides of history and all of the little things that we should be grateful for in the modern day. It is also a warning. While the Nazis may be in the dust bin of history, we must always be vigilant against the new strains of authoritarianism that might pop up. The urge to control others will always be with us, and we must choose to combat it with all of our might each and every day.
Spoiler Corner.
I’m warning you. Turn away now if you haven’t seen it yet.
Are the rest of them gone?
Great.
The other thing that elevated this show to greatness was the several mind-bending moments that create the appearance of a multi-verse in the show, even though it is only confirmed at the very end of the season when Tagomi seemingly warps into our timeline in the midst of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Even then, there were several clues that point out the mystery, but could easily be explained away by the trauma of the characters. I also looked into the history of the book and I was surprised to see that Spotnitz and the creative team apparently changed the alternate-alternate reality in The Grasshopper Lies Heavy into our world, but here’s the thing.
That timeline could still be out there.
I would love to see a Season 2 that delves into the ability to travel between worlds, which would be a fitting way to explore human nature and how people adapt to different circumstances. We know that at least one alternate Trudy is still out there now, but there are so many creative possibilities that this show could be endless. What if our U.S. government catches wind of the jumpers between timelines? How many alternate worlds are out there? Are any of them influenced by alternate history that is not centered around World War II? Are any (or all) of the worlds an illusion? How will the characters change? What if there is an inter-dimensional war?
I can’t wait to see what comes next.
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