after the pilot came up for vote on Amazon, I watched it and then read the book. I was extremely disappointed in the book even though i liked the ideas and the universe it set up. Just finished the show last night and thought they did a job of fleshing out the universe and not really taking too much else from the book. I'm excited to see where things go in S2, I trust in Spotnitz. Hated Frank, didn't care much for Jules, I like Joe and think he will be an interesting character going forward (best part he had in the season was the day he spent with Smith's family). Agree that Smith, Kido and the trade minister are the best characters. Kido's #2 and the trade minister's assistant i thought were also solid, not used much but well acted.
Forgot about Rudolph, his character was really well done. The desperation to make contact with the Japanese contact early in the series, his interplay with Smith, all the way to his meetup with the Fuhrer, all very well done. The scene where he was saying goodbye to his family was heartbreaking.
Apparently he wasn't very hands on with the show so this may not have a huge effect but he stopped being the showrunner early in season 2's production.
season 2 review http://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/the-...-the-high-castle-season-2-spoiler-free-review dropping friday
I didnt read past the headline...this is all i wanted to know: " The Man in the High Castle season 2 will please fans.
Will definitely watch over the next few weeks. Love this show. It's been so long I had to go read some episode recaps.
What's a good episode recap site? Once in a while I go to AV Club but they can get kinda lengthy IIRC.
Sow whats the protocol for discussing stuff in spoilers? Do you list the "Through episode X" before it?
I would think that's the way to go, its going to take a while for some people to get into/through it with the holidays.
Dammit i misread the listings....i didnt realize "episodes 11-20" were Behind the Scenes things. I just saw Ep.20 for season 2. Disregard.
I hate how Amazon does that. So misleading. Not the first show they've done that shit for. Behind the scenes is not a damn episode!
Yea. I bet most people will like it. I get frustrated when I feel like a show takes too long to really explain its mystery, and the pacing of it is what has me annoyed I guess.
This is also a thing. Audio mix is a real problem in places, and it took me a couple of tries before the captions worked properly - and when they do, they kind of fuck up the Japanese and German parts. Why is everything so terrible!?!??
Finished last night. Really enjoyed it, wasn't perfect by any means, but much better than some reviews I've seen out there. Some specific thoughts in the spoiler. Spoiler -I want to know more about the alternate reality that Tagomi is able to go back and forth from. The ability to actually take items from one reality to the other makes me wonder why he just brought the film. Kotomichi is also in an alternate reality/timeline. How many others are using it? Just so much more I want to know about it. -I hope Frank is actually dead. I guess that'd be a bold move for a main character, but it felt like they took him as far as they could. The flashback I think was supposed to make you appreciate the sacrifice Frank was making, but to me, it just reinforced how much he changed and was such an asshole, to Ed specifically. I won't miss Frank if he is truly dead. -So much of Joe's character this season just seemed like they had no idea what to do with him. I don't think they did a great job of explaining why the "Lebensborn" thing is so important and meaningful. In the finale, Joe went from not wanting his dad to murder millions of people to not wanting to let Smith stop him until he found out Juliana was still alive in the span of a few seconds. Very strange. The finale in general felt a little rushed. -Obergruppenführer Smith was absolutely fantastic all season long. Their ability to make him sympathetic despite all he's done and who he in was quite impressive. Best character in the show. -Childan's small bits of attempted humor and sarcasm were annoying at first, but I came to appreciate them as the season went on. Was needed with all the dark and heavy things going on around them. -As for season 3, they've basically given themselves a clean slate of sorts. With the show-runner change midway through the season, I wasn't sure if they'd have some trouble figuring out where to end things. While the ending was a bit too tidy for me, I'm interested in what direction the new writers decide to take their first full season under their control.
Reviews sound awful, I'm moving this off my immediate viewing list for some time down the road when I don't have anything else to watch.
Just finished. Thought the season was great overall. Still some questions on things that happened in the final episode; particularly sorting out the alternate universe. Ready for Season 3 - can go multiple directions.
I think I liked them equally. I should have watched a recap or something before diving into the second season so I wasn't spending chunks of the first 2-3 episodes trying to remember why certain things were happening though.
Just finished. Can we openly discuss or still need to spoiler shit? Spoiler Is Juliana's sister's death faked, or did the Man in the High Castle bring her from another dimension/reality?
Spoiler The latter would be my guess, although if he brought her, I'm not sure why Tagomi didn't bring his son with him from the alternate reality. And talking about Juliana, does she know she's in Tagomi's alternate reality subconsciously? Can you appear in another without knowing? Is she fake in that reality, or real? Are there multiples of everyone?
Spoiler I haven't noticed anything in Juliana that indicates she's aware even subconsciously. Cool thought though.
just finished. season 2 was better than 1. tagomi is still my favorite character in the series. joe blake continues to suck.
Agree with most everyone's thoughts that S2 was better than S1, but: Spoiler There's still stuff that comes out of left field in this show, and I feel like it'd be even better if we didn't have to deal with these random alternate reality storylines that ultimately make very little sense.
The EP of the show answered (or tried to answer) some of the questions about season 2 that we've brought up on this page. Quotes in the spoiler: Spoiler ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I’ve got some burning questions from the final episodes to tackle first. When the Man in the High Castle takes Juliana to meet her sister, that is Trudy, right? She’s not in a dream or seeing a vision of her dead sister? DAVID ZUCKER: Yes, that is her sister in reality. It is not a dream. But we’ll come to learn in [a potential] season 3 how such a thing came to be. In some ways there’s clues to that in [the story of] Tagomi as well. Do you mean she’s from another reality, then? Or a different time? These are some of the questions we’re exploring. [Laughs.] You’re asking the right questions. We’ve only seen Tagomi as the one who’s traveled, and obviously, we’ve also come to understand Kotomichi’s history, but beyond that and the explanations we got from the Man in the High Castle, how and from where Trudy has landed is something we’ll pick up. Seeing as how the Man in the High Castle knew Juliana would kill George Dixon, how much does he really know from having seen all the films? Does he know everyone’s futures? That I can’t entirely answer. Beyond what the Man in the High Castle has revealed to Juliana, those are some of the larger questions we’re continuing to explore. The final scene shows Tagomi being visited by Lem. Does that mean the Man in the High Castle knows what Tagomi can do, because presumably he sent Lem? Again, a really good question that I’d prefer not to put a specific comment on. But the interesting thing about releasing a series like this at once is, from our side, one cannot anticipate how things will be interpreted. We were surprised last season that so many people thought Hitler was the Man in the High Castle. There was no intention to deceive people, but upon examination, it wasn’t surprising because he’s a recognizable historical figure and we shot scenes where he was literally in a castle. The point is, nobody wants to be coy about these questions. They’re vital to the mythology, so they’re things we want to reveal as it relates to the narrative at the time. Well, on a more specific note… is Frank dead? We didn’t see a body. [Laughs.] That is again another good question that will be answered. It’s unknown. I mean, there are a number of characters who were impacted by that explosion, and the fates of all of them except for those you saw in [episode] 10 are uncertain until we get back. http://ew.com/article/2016/12/19/man-high-castle-season-2-postmortem/
Similarly (sigh, ok I'll spoiler even though I think we don't have to) Spoiler It bothered me having to suddenly just accept, as a given, that one character can spend 3 episodes in an alternate reality
This show is dog shit. Didn't want to continue after season 1, watchef three episodes of this season. Fuck this. Could have been a really cool premise and went in any direction that didn't involve alternate universe shit. Even if it was homeboy meditating.
Just finished. Spoiler John Smith is just an amazing character and everything he does comes from solid thought...even if you dont know it yet. Linking him with Keito was a really cool dynamic to the show. So they plant the seed of John's time with the US Military (including in the finale) but then at the end is basically the hero to the Reich. Its important to note how "he does everything for his family" and presumably not loyalty to the Nazis. I want to see how that plays out. Cool storyline. Thought it was weird they didnt confirm/deny Frank's death since the explosion happened in Ep9. Which basically means he is probably alive. So they definitely show us how the films get around...but not who/how many people are out there going back and forth.I guess thats a Season 3 thing to expand on. But it doesnt seem like anyone can time travel, right? It's just lateral across universes...but at the same year/date. They could have easily gone the entire season without Joe. Just have him ride off on the boat in Season 1. I like him but his only real impact i guess was the link with John and his dad at the end. But you could have written it another way I'm sure. But i guess his relationship with his dad helped develop the dad's character. Thats about it. i think one of the underrated parts of the season was how they kept alluding to the differences between Japanese rule and German rule in America. So Juliana made her family flee their homes and now San Fran wasnt blown up. WAY TO GO JULES One question...does the show imply infinite alternate universe timelines or does it basically stick with two...1 with America winning and 1 with it losing. (?)
- I've wondered about what they could play into by planting that seed of John in the US Military. I assume there is a different version of John in the reality where the Allies win. Could that John and this John somehow "meet" if he becomes aware of the alternate realities/timelines? Is his son Thomas alive and taken care of in this alternate reality? Could that turn him against the Reich? - The show seems to imply that there are just the two timelines, basically the "good" version and the "bad" version. It's certainly possible there could be more. I wonder if significant events could spawn new timelines as it continues. -Also, I guess we've only really seen Togomi and Kotomichi use the alternate realities. Would assume everyone has access to them, not just the Japanese, but that's just an assumption.
Spoiler they basically confirmed that its not just the Japanese who have access with Trudy at the end