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| The two sides may be Amazon Prime and Netflix |
"World goin' one way, people another, yo." - Poot Carr, The Wire, S04E10
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| "A conquered America" |
Last Friday, Amazon Prime debuted its most heavily anticipated series in the streaming service's history: The Man in the High Castle. Inspired by a Phillip K. Dick book of the same, the show follows an alternate history in which the Axis Powers won World War Two and as a result, Germany and Japan took over the US. In this dark version of 1962, the West Coast is now the Pacific States of America, while the East Coast is something of a Nazi colony. Adolf Hitler still rules the land from Germany, but the fuhrer is getting old, and the alliance between the two nations is starting to crumble with every passing moment. At the same time, those who still rue for the days of America have started a resistance group, trying to restore what once was. At the center of all of this is the enigmatic Man in the High Castle, a mysterious figure who puts out video tapes of an alternate universe in which the US won the war and all was right in America once again.
The story is told from multiple points of view. In California, Juliana Crane and Frank Frink are dating happily, until Crane's sister is killed, a member of the resistance. From here, the two become involved in the movement. Meanwhile, in the East, Joe Blake, a double agent from the Nazi party investigates the Man in the High Castle, trying to track him down and kill him. However, a run-in with Juliana causes him to begin to join the resistance and play both sides. We also track the story of Nobusuke Tagomi, the Japanese trade minister in the US trying to prevent war between the Germans and the Japanese, along with Obergruppenfuhrer (what a word) John Smith, a Nazi leader who employs Blake. For the most part, High Castle delivers on its characters, giving interesting plot for the leads and fun supporting cast as well. However, some of the writing for the most central characters is a bit weak, leading to the biggest problems for the show.
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| Looking bored and bland |
The most major of the characters is probably Juliana, as she is our gateway into the world of the American Resistance. With her, we travel to Canon City, capitol of the Neutral zone between the two pseudo-American nations and have insight into the Pacific States where she begins. However, whether its the acting or the writing, the character doesn't have much depth. Though we care about her plot due to the intrigue surrounding it, after a full season I still don't really know what drives her. Though she obviously cares about her loved ones, not much characterization has actually been given to her. Likewise, Joe Blake has quite shadowy development. After meeting Juliana at Canon City and falling in love, he starts to be on both sides, still reporting to the Obergruppenfuhrer, but also helping out the resistance. However, we don't have a lot of insight into his background or his motivations beyond loyalty and love. As two of the three most central characters to the show, this needs to be fixed should we continue on to second, third, and beyond seasons. Develop the characters to make us care about them.
However, on the other side of the coin, The Man in the High Castle succeeds where many shows have failed, in the world view department. Right from the pilot, with its dark, film noir style, we understand what has befallen America. The people live in fear, the persecuted races still hide their heads to try and avoid death, and the resistance puts their lives on the line every time they deliver a tape to a new venue. The dynamic between the Germans and the Japanese is also very well done, giving us a look at how a double occupation of a country could potentially work out, and the fact that as Hitler dies, the end could be near for the alliance. All of these are well drawn and shown to us in little bits, allowing the audience to want more scope as the series continues.
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| Kudos to the show for making me root for a Nazi |
In addition, while I complain about the blandness of Juliana and Joe, there are a few characters that succeed in a great way. Inspector Kido, the head of the police in the Pacific States delivers as a major villain, while Obergruppenfuhrer John Smith is the shows best drawn character by far. Though a villain from the perspective of being a head Nazi, Smith is still highly sympathetic, and with his son falling ill, is thrown into conflict with the Nazi Party, beginning to blur the lines between villainy and double agent status. Special props to Rufus Sewell for portraying him.
The crux of High Castle's intrigue comes in the form of what exactly the Man in the High Castle's tapes reflect. Though at first glance they are propaganda of a better world to spur on the resistance movement, as the show goes on, it becomes more and more clear that they are in fact glimpses into an alternate universe: the one we live in today. This changes much of the dynamic and brings the true Phillip K. Dick plot to life. Suddenly, we are talking about two universes along with characters that must now exist within both. Somewhat of a more intelligently realized version of Fringe.
As a whole, I must say that I truly enjoyed The Man in the High Castle, especially for being from such a new blood network like Amazon Prime. I would watch a second season in a heartbeat, and should some of the initial problems with the show be fixed, it could be in contention for being one of the better shows on television.
Whatever the case, this skinny Jewish critic will just continue to thank his lucky stars that the Allies won World War Two.Labels: Alexa Davalos, Amazon Prime, Cary-Hirouki Tagawa, DJ Qualls, Frank Spotnitz, Joel de la Fuente, Luke Kleintank, Phillip K. Dick, Ridley Scott, Rufus Sewell, Rupert Evans, The Man in the High Castle
