The Man in the High Castle (TV series)

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The Man in the High Castle
File:The Man in the High Castle (TV title).png
Genre <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Created by Frank Spotnitz
Based on The Man in the High Castle
by Philip K. Dick
Starring <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Opening theme "Edelweiss", performed by Jeanette Olsson
Composer(s) <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 20 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Producer(s) <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Production location(s) <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Cinematography James Hawkinson and Gonzalo Amat
Editor(s) Kathrynn Himoff
Running time 48–60 minutes
Production company(s) <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Distributor Amazon.com
Release
Original network Amazon Video
Original release January 15, 2015 (2015-01-15) –
present
External links
Website

The Man in the High Castle is an American dystopian alternative history television series produced by Amazon Studios, Scott Free, Headline Pictures, Electric Shepherd Productions and Big Light Productions.[1] The series is loosely based on the 1962 novel of the same name by science fiction author Philip K. Dick.[2] Taking place in an alternate version of 1962 America, where the Axis powers won World War II and subdivided the United States into two powers, the Greater Nazi Reich and the Japanese Pacific States. The series follows characters whose destinies intertwine after coming into contact with a series of propaganda films that show a vastly different history from that of their own.

The pilot premiered on January 15, 2015, and was Amazon's "most-watched since the original series development program began."[3] On February 18, 2015, the series was picked up for a ten-episode season,[4] and the remaining nine episodes were released on November 20, 2015.[5][6] A second season of ten episodes premiered on December 16, 2016.[7] On January 3, 2017, it was announced that Amazon had renewed the series for a third season.[8]

Synopsis

Season one

The central characters are Juliana Crain, Frank Frink, Joe Blake, John Smith, Nobusuke Tagomi, and Takeshi Kido. The series takes place in an alternate 1962.

Flag of the Greater Nazi Reich in America
File:Japanese Pacific States Flag.png
Flag of the Japanese Pacific States

Juliana Crain is a San Francisco woman who becomes entangled with the resistance when her half-sister Trudy is killed by the Kempeitai, just after giving Juliana a film reel that contains newsreel-style footage depicting an alternate history in which the Allies won World War II and Germany and Japan were defeated. The film is entitled The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, and is part of a series of similar newsreels being collected by someone referred to as "The Man in the High Castle". Juliana believes the newsreel reflects some sort of alternate reality and that it is part of some kind of larger truth about how the world should be. Her boyfriend, Frank Frink (who keeps his Jewish roots hidden in order to avoid extradition and death at the hands of the Nazis), believes that the newsreel has no relation to real-life events. Juliana learns Trudy was carrying the film to Canon City, Colorado, in the Neutral Zone, where she was going to meet someone. Juliana decides to travel there in Trudy's place to find out what her half-sister's mission was. When she arrives in Canon City, she encounters Joe Blake.

Blake is a 27-year-old New Yorker who is a double agent working for the Nazis under Obergruppenführer John Smith, a former US military officer who joined the Nazis and rose through the ranks to become a senior officer in the SS. Blake is pretending to be a member of the resistance while he searches for the resistance contact in Canon City, which is Juliana, substituting for Trudy.

Nobusuke Tagomi is a high-ranking Japanese official (the Trade Minister) in San Francisco. He meets in secret with Nazi official Rudolph Wegener, who is traveling incognito as Swedish businessman Victore Baynes. Tagomi and Wegener are concerned about the power vacuum that will exist when the Reich's Führer Adolf Hitler dies, or is forced to step down due to his worsening Parkinson's disease. Wegener explains that Hitler's successor will want to use the Reich's nuclear bombs against Japan to gain control of the rest of the former United States. Currently, however, Japan and the Third Reich are engaged in a cold war full of tension but no open warfare, with the Japanese lagging behind the Germans technologically.

Frank Frink ends up being arrested when the Japanese and the Nazis become suspicious of Juliana's activities. He is unable, even if he wanted to, to give them the information the Japanese wanted, causing the Japanese to kill Frink's sister and her two children for being Jewish. This leads Frink to plan to kill the visiting Crown Prince and Princess, but he ends up backing out.

Season two

Season Two of the show broadly encompasses Frank Frink deciding to forgo his hesitancy and relative pacifism and choosing to become a committed member of the American Resistance to the Japanese Empire inside the Pacific States, eventually participating in a successful terrorist bombing of a central-command building of the Pacific States government in downtown San Francisco. The attack kills many Empire military and other top-level leadership and it is presumed that the size and depth of the incendiary explosion means none of the perpetrators of the bombing—including Frink—survived the attack either.

Juliana Crain claims asylum in the Nazi Reich using their San Francisco Embassy so she can escape Japanese soldiers who hold her responsible for at least one murder. John Smith, seeing that her asylum claim is unlikely to succeed, steps in to the interrogation room and assumes command of her claim himself, ensuring it goes through, and he takes her to New York without Joe Blake's knowledge. Joe Blake himself discovers he was a product of the Lebensborn programme, and also that he is the sole biological son of a top-ranking Nazi official in Berlin, Martin Heusmann. Eventually Blake reconciles with Heusmann on the personal level and, in so doing, becomes second-in-command of the Chancellorship after Adolf Hitler dies and the Nazi leadership in Berlin grants Heusmann the Reich's Acting Chancellor title, which they do quickly and almost by default.

Immediately, Hitler's death is abruptly pinned upon Japanese spies, and Heusmann suddenly announces on television that the Japanese agents whom he claims assassinated the Führer will be brought to justice by any means necessary, including war. John Smith is the only high-ranking Nazi official to be suspicious of the nature of Heusmann's sudden announcement. To gain insight in to why it has happened, he interrogates another high-ranking Nazi, Heydrich, who reveals a far-reaching conspiracy led by Heusmann designed to result in a Nazi nuclear onslaught against the Japanese Empire that will kill tens of millions of Japanese, decimate their Empire, level Tokyo, kill their Emperor, and force the surviving Japanese to permanently absorb themselves in to a global Nazi Reich. John Smith undertakes carefully-calculated stealth actions to disrupt and dismantle the Heusmann conspiracy and, as a final act, travels to Berlin and informs Heinrich Himmler — the Nazi Reichsführer and not involved in the conspiracy — of the existence of the conspiracy. Audiotapes, together with physical and written evidence reaching too deep within the existing Reich's power structure to be dismissed as hearsay, are handed personally by John Smith over to the Reichsführer, who then angrily leads Smith and several of his closest Berlin subordinates in to the late Führer's office occupied by the Acting Chancellor. He arrests Heusmann for high treason and the murder of Adolf Hitler, detains Joe Blake along with Heusmann, and then addresses the Volkshalle packed with hundreds of thousands of Reich civilians and uniformed stormtroopers, nixing the war-declaration speech meant to have been delivered by Heusmann and instead informing the Reich of Heusmann's conspiracy and John Smith's exposing of it. Upon learning this, the entire Volkshalle erupts in to a celebratory mood marked by repeated mass Nazi salutes of Himmler's men in general and then John Smith in particular.

The second season ends with Himmler and John Smith implicitly assuming command of the Reich, and an implied new era of peace and tranquility between the Japanese Empire and the Greater Nazi Reich. Juliana Crain continues to live out her asylum claim inside New York Nazi territory, and the final few minutes of the final episode of the second season show Crain's sister is not in fact dead after all. In a basement somewhere, John Smith is given access to a room filled to bursting with reels of films watched by the late Führer.

Cast

Main

  • Alexa Davalos as Juliana Crain, a young woman from San Francisco who is outwardly happy living under Japanese control; she has become an expert in aikido and is friendly with Japanese people living in San Francisco. Her mother harbors hatred of the Japanese, as they killed Juliana's father during the war.
  • Rupert Evans as Frank Frink, Juliana's boyfriend. He works in a factory, creating replicas of pre-war American pistols that are prized by the Japanese, while on his own time he creates original jewelry and sketches. When Juliana vanishes just after the police kill her sister, Frank is taken into custody, which is particularly dangerous since he had a Jewish grandfather and would face execution if this fact were exposed. His experience with the Japanese causes him to turn against the state.
  • Luke Kleintank as Joe Blake, a new recruit to the underground American resistance who is actually an agent working for the SS under Obergruppenführer John Smith. He transports a copy of a reel of the forbidden film The Grasshopper Lies Heavy to the neutral Rocky Mountain States as part of his mission to infiltrate the American resistance.
  • DJ Qualls as Ed McCarthy, Frank's co-worker and friend. He closely follows politics and cares very much about Frank's well being.
  • Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Nobusuke Tagomi, the Trade Minister of the Pacific States of America. His true loyalties are ambiguous throughout the first season.
  • Rufus Sewell as John Smith, an SS Obergruppenführer investigating the Resistance in New York. He is a natural-born American who previously served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps and lives a comfortable suburban life with a wife and three children. It is implied that he embraced Nazism because he grew up in poverty as a result of the Great Depression.
  • Joel de la Fuente as Chief Inspector Takeshi Kido, the ruthless head of the Kempeitai stationed in San Francisco.
  • Brennan Brown as Robert Childan, an antique store owner who makes secret deals with Frank. (recurring, season 1; main, season 2)
  • Callum Keith Rennie as Gary Connell, leader of the West Coast Resistance movement and enforcer for Abendsen. (season 2)[9]
  • Bella Heathcote as Nicole Dörmer, young, Berlin-born filmmaker who will cross paths with Joe. (season 2)[10]

Recurring

  • Carsten Norgaard as Rudolph Wegener, a disillusioned high-ranking Nazi official who trades secrets with Tagomi.
  • Rick Worthy as Lemuel "Lem" Washington, owner of the Sunrise diner in Canon City and member of the Resistance.
  • Camille Sullivan as Karen Vecchione, a leader of the Pacific States branch of the Resistance.
  • Lee Shorten as Sergeant Hiroyuki Yoshida, Inspector Kido's right-hand man.
  • Arnold Chun as Kotomichi, Tagomi's assistant.
  • Hank Harris as Randall Becker, a member of the Pacific States branch of the Resistance
  • Christine Chatelain as Laura Crothers, Frank's sister.
  • Allan Havey as the Origami Man, a Nazi spy sent to Canon City to eliminate members of the Resistance.
  • Burn Gorman as the Marshal, a bounty hunter searching for concentration camp escapees.
  • Shaun Ross as the Shoe Shine Boy, a young albino man living in Canon City.
  • Rob LaBelle as Carl, a bookstore clerk in Canon City who is revealed to be a concentration camp escapee named David P. Frees.
  • Geoffrey Blake as Jason Meyer, a Jewish member of the Resistance.
  • Michael Gaston as Mark Sampson, a Jew living in the Pacific States; he is Frank's friend
  • Louis Ozawa Changchien as Paul Kasoura, a wealthy lawyer who collects pre-war American memorabilia.
  • Tao Okamoto as Betty, Paul's wife.
  • Daisuke Tsui as the Crown Prince of Japan
  • Mayumi Yoshida as the Crown Princess of Japan
  • Amy Okuda as Christine Tanaka, an office worker in the Nippon building.
  • Hiro Kanagawa as Taishi Okamura, the leader of a Yakuza based in the Pacific States.
  • Stephen Root as Hawthorne Abendsen/The Man in the High Castle. (season 2)
  • Sebastian Roché as Reichsminister Martin Heusmann, Joe Blake's estranged father and high-ranking member of the Reich. (season 2)[11]
  • Cara Mitsuko as Sarah, a Japanese American Resistance member, confidante of Frank and survivor of Manzanar. (season 2)
  • Tate Donovan as George Dixon, a mysterious friend of the Crains (season 2).
  • Michael Hogan as Hagan, an ex-preacher and leader in the San Francisco resistance. (season 2)
  • Tzi Ma as General Hidehisa Onoda, a leading member of the Japanese military. (season 2)

John Smith's family

  • Chelah Horsdal as Helen Smith, John's wife.
  • Quinn Lord as Thomas Smith, John and Helen's son and the eldest child. A member of the Hitler Youth, it is later revealed that he has inherited a form of muscular dystrophy from his father's side of the family.
  • Gracyn Shinyei as Amy Smith, John and Helen's daughter.
  • Genea Charpentier as Jennifer Smith, John and Helen's daughter.

Juliana Crain's family

  • Daniel Roebuck as Arnold Walker, Juliana's stepfather and Trudy's father.
  • Macall Gordon as Anne Crain Walker, Juliana's mother who is still bitter about losing her husband in World War II.
  • Conor Leslie as Trudy Walker, Juliana's half sister who is shot dead by the Kempeitai.

Nobusuke Tagomi's family

  • Yukari Komatsu as Michiko Tagomi, Nobusuke's wife. (season 2)
  • Eddie Shin as Noriaki Tagomi, Nobusuke and Michiko's son. (season 2)

Historical figures

Episodes

Season 1 (2015)

The pilot and the second episode were screened at a special Comic-Con event. The season premiered on November 20, 2015.[12][13]

No.
overall
No. in
season
Title Directed by Written by Original release date
1 1 "The New World" David Semel Frank Spotnitz January 15, 2015 (2015-01-15)
A young man, Joe Blake, volunteers to serve the resistance by driving a truck from Nazi New York to the neutral zone in the Midwest. In Japan-occupied San Francisco, Juliana Crain receives a package from her sister Trudy, only to see her get shot by the Japanese police. She returns home where her boyfriend Frank urges her to go to the police and tell them she had nothing to do with Trudy's treason. The package contains film of the Allies winning World War II, which Juliana watches. She boards a bus to the Neutral Zone to deliver the film in Trudy's place. A female agent on the bus attempts to steal the film but only escapes with decoys. Joe befriends Juliana in Canon City while in San Francisco, Frank is arrested by the Kempeitai, who want to know Juliana's destination. Joe calls a Nazi commandant, Smith, revealing that he is working for them.
2 2 "Sunrise" Daniel Percival Frank Spotnitz October 23, 2015 (2015-10-23)
In the Canon City diner, Juliana meets a man she assumes is her contact. Smith tells Joe that the contact is a Sicherheitsdienst (SD) agent trying to stop the resistance, and orders him not to intervene. However, when the SD agent tries to kill Juliana, Joe drives up, and she is able to throw the agent over the railing to his death. In New York, Smith is attacked by resistance fighters. In prison, Frank meets a resistance fighter who convinces him not to inform on Juliana. The Kempeitai kill Frank's sister and her children, but do not kill him when the woman who stole Juliana's bag is found with fake film reels.
3 3 "The Illustrated Woman" Ken Olin Thomas Schnauz and Evan Wright November 20, 2015 (2015-11-20)
Joe spots a Nazi bounty hunter in town, looking for the man Juliana killed. They go to dispose of his body and car, but find a map which leads them to a cave where they find a dead woman and list of names. They realize that Juliana's boss from the diner was her actual contact. Frank breaks the news of his sister and her children's deaths to his brother-in-law. Frank returns to work where he makes a real gun. The bounty hunter realizes Juliana's identity and tries to kill her.
4 4 "Revelations" Michael Rymer Thomas Schnauz and Jace Richdale November 20, 2015 (2015-11-20)
Joe quickly saves Juliana from the Marshal. Joe and Juliana confront Lemuel who leads them into the woods, where they are surrounded by resistance fighters, who force them to give them the films and leave. Joe and Juliana are attacked again by the Marshal, causing Joe to reveal to the Marshal that he is a Nazi agent. The Marshal pursues Juliana on the highway. When Juliana gets far enough, she burns her car and hides. When the Marshal reaches the car, he assumes that she has died. Back in the Reich, SS Captain Connolly is suspected by Smith for telling the resistance members who attacked him, which route he was taking to work. In the Pacific States, Frank heads to the Crown Prince's speech with a gun to assassinate him, but hesitates to do so. The Crown Prince is then shot by an unseen gunman.
5 5 "The New Normal" Bryan Spicer Rob Williams November 20, 2015 (2015-11-20)
The Crown Prince is rushed to the hospital after the attack, and the captain of the Imperial Guard is ordered to commit seppuku, for not protecting the Crown Prince. Kido then states that if he cannot find the gunman, he will do the same. Meanwhile, Juliana returns home to find an angry Frank, who tells her about his time in prison. Joe returns to New York from the Neutral Zone and is kidnapped by Gestapo agents and brought to Smith's office. He is then forced to tell Smith what happened in Canon City. Smith believes him, and invites Joe over for VA day (Victory in America day).
6 6 "Three Monkeys" Nelson McCormick Rob Williams November 20, 2015 (2015-11-20)
Joe celebrates VA day at Smith's house. Juliana accepts a job working for Tagomi as she continues her search for answers. Smith, who has received intelligence about Wegener's activities but also happens to be an old friend, intercepts him at the airport and invites him for dinner hoping to probe Wegener for answers. Smith has Wegener arrested. Smith catches Joe sneaking through his files.
7 7 "Truth" Brad Anderson Emma Frost November 20, 2015 (2015-11-20)
Juliana makes a startling discovery about her sister's death. Frank reflects on recent events and makes an important decision about his future, and Tagomi gains greater insight into Juliana's past. Smith catches Joe in his home office and interrogates him about Juliana and Canon City.
8 8 "End of the World" Karyn Kusama Walon Green November 20, 2015 (2015-11-20)
Juliana and Frank make plans to escape the Pacific States, only to be dragged back into danger by Joe as he tries to retrieve a new film, and walks directly into the Kempeitai's ambush. Meanwhile, Smith's loyalty is put to the ultimate test when confronted with a startling family discovery. The episode is named after the song of the same name, which is performed by Lini Evans during the episode with Japanese lyrics she co-wrote.
9 9 "Kindness" Michael Slovis Jace Richdale November 20, 2015 (2015-11-20)
With time running out, a desperate Frank is forced to put his life on the line to help Joe. The pieces finally fall into place for Smith as he uncovers who was behind the assassination attempt. Tagomi is devastated when he is confronted with the consequences of his scheming, and Kido's investigation takes a dramatic turn when he makes an important discovery. Meanwhile, Frank and Juliana, after taking possession of the new film, decide to watch it, but they are shocked to find out that the film describes, apparently in the near future, a nuclear-bombed San Francisco where the SS are rounding up and executing survivors; Frank is shown being executed by Joe, who is wearing an SS uniform.
10 10 "A Way Out" Daniel Percival Rob Williams November 20, 2015 (2015-11-20)
Frank and Juliana angrily confront Joe as a Nazi agent. He goes to the Nazi embassy with the film. Joe learns that Heydrich is preparing a trap. Kido acts on the information from the Yakuza and kills the Nazi sniper that shot the Crown Prince. Ed is caught with Frank's gun and is used as a scapegoat for the attempted assassination of the Crown Prince, averting the need for Kido to commit seppuku. Heydrich demands Smith's loyalty ahead of Wegener assassinating Hitler. Wegener says goodbye to his family and travels to Hitler's alpine castle (filmed at Hohenwerfen Castle), but after confronting Hitler (who is watching the alternate newsreels in his huge film vault saying that he learns something every time he watches), kills himself instead. Smith captures the traitor Heydrich and reports such to Hitler. Joe evades Lem's ambush and boards a boat to Mexico in Juliana's place. Frank finds out that Ed has been arrested and returns to the Kempeitai headquarters to find him being detained. Tagomi goes to Union Square to meditate with Juliana's charm and opens his eyes to find himself in an alternate 1962 where the Allies won World War II and America is in the midst of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Season 2 (2016)

The second season was released on December 16, 2016.[14]

No.
overall
No. in
season
Title Directed by Written by Original release date
11 1 "The Tiger's Cave" Daniel Percival Frank Spotnitz December 16, 2016 (2016-12-16)
Joe returns to New York to hand over the film to Smith and request for his resignation, but Smith denies his request before delivering the film to Hitler. Karen and Lem confront Juliana for not shooting Joe before she is tranquilized. She wakes up in the home of Hawthorne Abendsen, The Man in the High Castle, and his vast film collection. Meanwhile, General Onoda reveals to Tagomi and his staff that the capsule Science Minister Shimada found in his pocket contains the plans for a nuclear weapon that the Empire intends to use to crush the Nazis, much to Tagomi's dismay. Frank confronts Arnold about spying over his own family. Desperate to clear Ed's name, Frank goes to Childan and asks for his help. Juliana attempts to get answers from an evasive Abendsen and receives a clue which may help to avert nuclear war. Gary Connell, leader of the West Coast Resistance, goes against orders and tries to kill Juliana, but she escapes at a Kempeitai checkpoint. A gunfight ensues between the Resistance members and the Japanese soldiers. Karen is killed in the crossfire.
12 2 "The Road Less Traveled" Colin Bucksey Rob Williams December 16, 2016 (2016-12-16)
Kido investigates the shootout at the checkpoint and suspects Juliana is involved. Frank decides to get Paul Kasoura, who is a defense lawyer, to help Ed. In desperation, he reveals to Kasoura that the antique goods he and Childan sold him are fake, leading the pair to be imprisoned by the Yakuza, to whom Kasoura has a connection. Frank is almost killed by Okamura, the Yakuza leader, in the previous incident with Joe. However, he manages to convince Okamura to allow him to repay his debt for the forgery, with a condition that Ed is to work with him as his assistant. Kido is forced by Okamura to release Ed. He later pins the assassination of the Crown Prince on the deceased Karen. Joe is ordered by Smith to visit his father, a Reichminister named Heusmann, in Berlin. Smith tells Joe that Juliana is possibly dead. Meanwhile, Juliana evades Gary and Lem and tries to convince her parents to leave San Francisco, to no avail. Using the clue on a mysterious man that Abendsen is fixated on, Juliana discovers the man is a family friend named George Dixon, who is Trudy's real father. Learning he may be in Brooklyn, Juliana risks her life to reach the Nazi embassy and request asylum, while leaving a letter to Frank.
13 3 "Travelers" Daniel Sackheim Erik Oleson December 16, 2016 (2016-12-16)
Smith is warned by Dr. Adler, the family physician, to end his son Thomas's life, as the boy's incurable illness prevents him from being accepted in the Reich. Juliana makes it to New York and is questioned by Smith, who is notified of her arrival and arranges her stay. He keeps this a secret from Joe. Frank learns of Juliana's defection to the Nazi states, though he does not believe Gary on her betrayal. While he works with Ed and Childan to create forgeries for the Yakuza to repay his debt, Frank is convinced by the Resistance to help them liberate innocent citizens from the Kempeitai in retaliation for the checkpoint murders. While saving a Resistance member named Sarah, Frank commits his first kill against the Japanese. Juliana looks for Joe but is told by his ex-lover that he has rejoined the Nazis, leading her to think he may have betrayed her. Joe travels to Berlin and meets with his father but is distant due to the latter's treatment of his mother. He crosses paths with Nicole Becker, a filmmaker. Smith is unable to kill his son when given the chance to do so. He meets with Dr. Adler and kills him to ensure his silence.
14 4 "Escalation" David Petrarca Wesley Strick December 16, 2016 (2016-12-16)
Juliana adjusts to life in the Reich under the tutelage of Smith's wife Helen and Thomas. While looking for George Dixon at his old apartment, she is pursued by two unknown agents and almost killed. General Onoda has the Kempeitai execute numerous citizens for the murder of the Japanese soldiers during the Resistance rescue. Enraged, Frank starts to neglect his debt with the Yakuza and accepts a risky assignment to siphon materials from an unexploded Japanese bomb for a Resistance mission, much to Ed's dismay. Frank begins to get close with Sarah during the assignment. Smith reveals to a suspecting Helen that he killed Dr. Adler to keep their son's illness a secret. Kido gets Onoda drunk and tricks him into approving an unknown order. After escaping from her pursuers, Juliana is approached by Dixon. Tagomi travels to the alternate timeline once again and sees his still-living wife Michiko, who is deceased in his own timeline.
15 5 "Duck and Cover" John Fawcett Erik Oleson & Rick Cleveland December 16, 2016 (2016-12-16)
Dixon is revealed to be a Resistance leader and meets up with Juliana after she tells him that the Man in the High Castle sent her. Juliana tells him he may be somehow involved in the possible San Francisco bombing as he has appeared several times in the films. Dixon forces Juliana to spy on Smith and his family to redeem her betrayal when she allowed Joe to escape with the film. Joe is upset when his father brings him to his place of birth and reveals he is one of the Lebensborn, an experiment to perfect racial purity. Despite this, he takes up his father's offer to remain in Berlin for a few more days. Kido attempts to use Onoda's approval to extradite Juliana from the Nazi states, though he fails and reveals his motive for visiting Smith for an unknown reason. Frank becomes further involved with the Resistance while Ed is revealed to be under the control of the Kempeitai to report on the Yakuza's counterfeiting activities in exchange for his and Frank's lives. Lem assists Abendsen in moving to a new location under the possibility the location of the High Castle is compromised and Abendsen destroys most of the films before leaving. Tagomi reveals himself to the alternate Michiko and his son Noriyuke, but discovers the alternate Tagomi's relationship with them is estranged. He is shocked to see Noriyuke married to an alternate Juliana with their son.
16 6 "Kintsugi" Paul Holahan Francesca Gardiner December 16, 2016 (2016-12-16)
Juliana starts to socialize with the Ladies Committee as planned and gains the support of one of the members, Lucy. Helen discovers Thomas has been selected by the Hitler Youth group to go for an expedition in South America. She forbids her son to go until she finds out that Smith arranged to have their son disappear from society by staging a fake abduction and live a life of anonymity. Joe starts to get closer to Nicole, who reveals herself as one of the Lebensborn and brings him to meet with some of the others. After spending the night with Nicole, Joe begins to embrace his real heritage. Sarah brings Frank to a secret prayer gathering with Hagan, a leader of the Resistance. Tagomi attempts to mend his alternate self's relationship with his family, and is dismayed by the alternate Noriyuke's foregoing of the Japanese culture. Kido is informed by his right hand man, Yoshida, that they have found Abendsen's burnt hideout and learns the Yakuza is also looking for the films.
17 7 "Land O' Smiles" Karyn Kusama Rob Williams December 16, 2016 (2016-12-16)
Ed and Childan go to Okamura to repay their debt with the sale from Frank's forgery but are locked up in a storage room when Kido and his men pay a visit. Kido kills Okamura and the Yakuza members present for treason as he has deduced the Yakuza are working with the Nazis. Yoshida discovers Ed and Childan but lets them go. Frank is tasked to plant a bomb at the harbor where General Onoda is visiting. However, Frank aborts the mission when he discovers that the Japanese are secretly building an atomic bomb there and alerts the Resistance of this information. While at Adler's funeral, Smith is dismayed when Adler's wife Alice raises her suspicion on her husband's sudden death and plans to have an autopsy performed. Juliana also attends the funeral and while talking to Thomas, she notices he has a seizure and covers for him. Later, she promises Helen that she will not reveal Thomas's condition. Smith has further troubles when Heinrich Himmler informs him that Hitler has suffered a collapse.
18 8 "Loose Lips" Alex Zakrzewski Rick Cleveland December 16, 2016 (2016-12-16)
Smith questions Juliana about Joe's film and learns of San Francisco's impending destruction. Lucy tells Juliana she knows that supposedly live footage of Hitler is actually archival because her husband manages the TV broadcast. Juliana shares with Dixon her belief that Hitler may be dead. The Resistance decide it is time to stage an uprising, leaving Juliana concerned that she may have caused the nuclear catastrophe she is trying to prevent. Heusmann is made Acting Chancellor while Joe decides to support his father. Frank learns from Arnold that Juliana has warned them to leave San Francisco and has not betrayed him. Enraged, he confronts Gary but the Resistance is determined to go ahead with the uprising. Armed with the knowledge from Juliana and Kido, Smith misleads a secretly imprisoned Heydrich into thinking Germany and Japan are already at war, leading Heydrich to confirm what Smith has suspected: a conspiracy to create a pretext for war with the Japanese exists among the Nazi ranks. Smith executes Heydrich, but not before learning he is not the mastermind behind the rush to war. Hitler passes away, leaving Heusmann in charge, and the new Chancellor is revealed to have orchestrated the looming conflict.
19 9 "Detonation" Chris Long Wesley Strick December 16, 2016 (2016-12-16)
Tagomi watches a film with his alternate family showing the recent test detonation of a hydrogen bomb at Bikini Atoll. Finally resolved to stop war between Japan and the Nazis, Tagomi takes the film and returns to his reality. Thomas confronts Juliana about his condition, unaware that their conversation is being recorded. Smith later learns of the tape and takes it to protect Thomas' secret. In a televised address, Heusmann frames the Japanese for Hitler's death by poison and promises retaliation much to Joe's horror. Frank decides to assist the Resistance in assassinating Onoda using their homemade bombs. Before the operation, he convinces Ed and Childan to leave San Francisco. Frank and Sarah infiltrate a car bomb into the Kempeitai HQ underground parking garage. They set the bomb timer and attempt to leave the building, but are spotted by Kido, which starts a gunfight in the lobby. Just as Tagomi arrives, the bomb detonates, killing General Onoda and his staff and collapsing most of the building, seemingly killing Frank and Sarah in the process.
20 10 "Fallout" Daniel Percival Erik Oleson December 16, 2016 (2016-12-16)
Tagomi and Kido, who survived the bombing, deal with the aftermath of the destruction of the Kempeitai HQ. Afterwards, Kido travels to New York and plays the film for Smith appearing to provide evidence that the Japanese possess a hydrogen bomb. The resistance attempts to avenge Karen's death by killing Juliana, but she escapes and kills Susan in the process. She then confronts and kills Dixon, who was threatening to expose Smith by broadcasting the tape of her conversation with Thomas. Smith travels to Berlin with the film to convince the Nazi higher-ups not to attack Japan out of fear of nuclear retaliation and meets privately with Himmler, exposing Heusmann as the traitor. After arresting Heusmann and Joe, Himmler addresses the worldwide public from the Volkshalle, possibly assuming control of the Reich, and rewards Smith for his service. The recognition Smith receives inspires Thomas to turn himself over to the Public Health Department to be euthanized. After traveling to the Neutral Zone, a bereft Juliana learns from Abendsen that hope remains and that her sister is alive. Finally, Lem hands over Abendsen's films to Tagomi.

Production

In 2010, it was announced that the BBC would co-produce a four-part TV adaptation of The Man in the High Castle for BBC One together with Headline Pictures, FremantleMedia Enterprises and Scott Free Films. Director Ridley Scott was to act as executive producer of the adaptation by Howard Brenton.[15]

On February 11, 2013, Variety reported that Syfy was adapting the book as a four-part miniseries, with Ridley Scott and Frank Spotnitz as executive producers, co-produced with Scott Free Prods., Headline Pictures and Electric Shepherd Prods.[16]

On October 1, 2014, Amazon.com began filming the pilot episode in Roslyn, Washington,[17] for a new television drama to be aired on their Prime web video streaming service.[18] This has been adapted by Frank Spotnitz and is being produced for Amazon by Ridley Scott, David Zucker and Jordan Sheehan for Scott Free, Stewart Mackinnon and Christian Baute for Headline Pictures, Isa Hackett and Kalen Egan for Electric Shepherd and Spotnitz's Big Light Productions.[1] The pilot episode was released by Amazon Studios on January 15, 2015.[19] Amazon Studios' production process is somewhat different from those of other conventional television channels. They produce pilot episodes of a number of different prospective programs, then release them and gather data on their success. The most promising shows are then picked up as regular series. On February 18, 2015, Amazon.com announced that The Man in the High Castle was given the green-light along with four other series, and a full season would be produced.[20]

Production for the pilot episode began in October 2014. Principal filming took place in Seattle, with the city standing in for San Francisco and locations in New York City, as well as Roslyn, Washington, which was the long-time shooting location for Northern Exposure. Sites used in Seattle include the Seattle Center Monorail, the Paramount Theatre, a newspaper office in the Pike Place Market area, as well as various buildings in the city's Capitol Hill, International District, and Georgetown neighborhoods. In Roslyn, the production used external shots of the Roslyn Cafe which featured prominently in Northern Exposure along with several local businesses and scenery.[17][21]

In April 2015, filming took place in Vancouver, British Columbia, in the downtown area of West Georgia Street, along the promenade of the Coast Capital Savings building.[22] In May and June 2015 filming also took place at the University of British Columbia.[23] Exterior shots of Hohenwerfen Castle in Werfen, Austria were filmed in September 2015 for the tenth episode of the first season.[24]

Reception

The first season of The Man in the High Castle received critical acclaim from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives season 1 an approval rating of 95% based on reviews from 58 critics, with an average rating of 7.54 out of 10. The site's critical consensus states, "By executive producer Ridley Scott, The Man in the High Castle is unlike anything else on TV, with an immediately engrossing plot driven by quickly developed characters in a fully realized post-WWII dystopia."[25] Metacritic gives the first season a score of 77 out of 100, based on reviews from 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[26]

Meredith Woerner from io9 wrote, "I can honestly say I loved this pilot. It's an impressive, streamlined undertaking of a fairly complicated and very beloved novel."[27] Matt Fowler from IGN gave 9.2 out of 10 and described the series as a "a superb, frightening experience filled with unexpected twists and (some sci-fi) turns."[28] Brian Moylan of The Guardian was positive and praised the convincing depiction as well as the complex, and gripping, plot.[29] The Los Angeles Times described the pilot as "provocative" and "smartly adapted by The X-Files' Frank Spotnitz." The Daily Telegraph said it was "absorbing" and Wired called it "must-see viewing." Entertainment Weekly said it was "engrossing" and "a triumph in world-building," cheering, "The Man in the High Castle is king."

After its first season, Rolling Stone included it on a list of the forty best science fiction television shows of all time.[30]

Amazon subsequently announced it was the service's most-streamed original series and had been renewed for a second season.[31][32] Season 2 was met with mixed reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gives the second season an approval rating of 63% based on reviews from 19 critics, with an average rating of 6.86 out of 10. The site's critical consensus states, "Although its plot is admittedly unwieldy, The Man in the High Castle's second season expands its fascinating premise in powerful new directions, bolstered by stunning visuals, strong performances, and intriguing new possibilities."[33] Metacritic gives season 2 a score of 62 out of 100, based on reviews from ten critics.[34]

Accolades

Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result
2015 South by Southwest Awards[citation needed] Excellence in Title Design Patrick Clair Nominated
2016 American Society of Cinematographers Awards[35] Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Television Movie, Mini-Series or Pilot James Hawkinson (Episode: "The New World") Nominated
Creative Arts Emmy Awards[36] Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series James Hawkinson Won
Outstanding Main Title Design Patrick Clair, Paul Kim, Jose Limon, Raoul Marks Won
Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More) Drew Boughton, Linda King, Brenda Meyers-Ballard Nominated
Outstanding Special Visual Effects The Man in the High Castle Nominated
Critics' Choice Television Awards[37] Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Rufus Sewell Nominated
Monte-Carlo Television Festival[citation needed] Best TV Series Drama The Man in the High Castle Nominated
Saturn Awards[38] Best New Media Television Series The Man in the High Castle Nominated
USC Scripter Awards[39] Best Television Script Frank Spotnitz and Philip K. Dick Nominated
Visual Effects Society Awards[40] Outstanding Created Environment in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project Casi Blume, David Andrade, Nick Chamberlain, Lawson Deming Nominated
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode Lawson Deming, Cory Jamieson, Casi Blume, Nick Chamberlain Nominated
Young Artist Awards[citation needed] Best Performance in a TV Series – Recurring Young Actor (14–21) Quinn Lord Nominated
2017 Artios Awards[41] Television Pilot And First Season - Drama Denise Chamian, Liz Ludwitzke, Candice Elzinga, Patti Kalles Nominated
Costume Designers Guild Awards[42] Outstanding Fantasy Television Series J.R. Hawbaker Nominated
Location Managers Guild Awards[43] Outstanding Locations in a Period TV Series Nicole Noelle Chartrand, Robert Murdoch Nominated
Saturn Awards[44] Best New Media Television Series The Man in the High Castle Pending
Leo Awards[45] Best Supporting Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series Chelah Horsdal Pending
Best Guest Performance by a Male in a Dramatic Series Kurt Evans Pending

Advertising controversy

As part of an advertising campaign for the release of the first season, one entire New York City Subway car was covered with Nazi and Imperial Japanese imagery as seen in the show, including multiple American flags with the Nazi eagle emblem in place of the 50 stars and multiple flags of the fictional Pacific States.[46] In response to criticism from "state lawmakers and city leaders", the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) released a statement saying that there were no grounds to reject the ads due to neutral content subway ad standards only prohibit advertising that is a political advertisement or disparages an individual or group. MTA spokesperson Kevin Ortiz stated that, "The MTA is a government agency and can't accept or reject ads based on how we feel about them; we have to follow the standards approved by our board. Please note they're commercial ads." Spokesperson Adam Lisberg said, "This advertising, whether you find it distasteful or not, obviously they're not advertising Nazism; they're advertising a TV show." After complaints from New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, initial reports indicated that Amazon pulled the advertisement from the subway. It was later announced that the MTA pulled the ad due to pressure from Governor Cuomo, not Amazon.[47]

See also

References

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External links