The Man in the High Castle Amazon Review

Spoilers ahead for folks who aren't caught up with the offset ii seasons of Amazon's The Man in the High Castle.

In Season 3 of Amazon's Emmy-winning drama series The Homo in the Loftier Castle , the story takes place in a globe where oppressive governments brutally invade intimate aspects of their citizens' personal lives, nuclear state of war is a looming threat, and torch-wielding Nazis march in the streets. The only thing separating the fantastic adaptation of Philip K. Dick's alternate history novel from our current reality is the fact that, in this tale, the Centrality powers won Earth War Two and people who can freely travel betwixt alternate, parallel universes exist; everything else is a subtle and nuanced criticism of the pervasive evils of human being against mankind, and a celebration of the hopeful optimism and rebellion that springs upwardly from the most unexpected places.

Viewers have enough of choices of dystopian stories to choose from today, just The Human in the High Castle stands autonomously by focusing on hope and humanity rather than existential despair and stupor value. Sure, atrocious things still happen, and roughshod deaths and shocking reveals are a certainty this season, just they serve to illustrate the characters' will to survive, to fight back, or even the lengths to which they'll go to serve an platonic. What The Man in the High Castle does best in this regard is to develop characters on all sides of the cardinal conflict who exist in gray areas of morality, with near of them sliding back and forth along the spectrum of morality as each difficult conclusion forces their hand. Information technology's a relatively wearisome-burn of a drama punctuated by a staccato of action and intrigue and spectacle, but with and then many irons in the fire, Season 3 handles each and every plot signal remarkably well.

the-man-in-the-high-castle-season-3-review — Epitome via Amazon Studios

To grab you up on just what those plot points are and where they cistron in, the Season three premiere has a solid recap that takes upwards the beginning few minutes; a more than in-depth video epitomize tin can be found here. I'll sum them upwards here, so our spoiler warning withal holds for folks who haven't watched the showtime two seasons; however, the Flavor iii review itself will be spoiler-costless.

For the most part, the story takes place in one of iii cities or regions: There's San Francisco, nether the control of the Japanese Empire, with Merchandise Minister Nobusuke Tagomi (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) and Kempeitai Chief Inspector Takeshi Kido (Joel de la Fuente) vying for control of the region by diplomatic and brutally oppressive ways, respectively, while attempting to navigate a tenuous alliance with the Reich; at that place's New York City (with some time spent in Berlin) equally the primal hold of the Greater Nazi Reich, overseen in role by Obergruppenführer John Smith (Rufus Sewell) who's investigating the Resistance movement while apace rising through the ranks and occasionally mentoring the young Joe Blake (Luke Kleintank); and there's Denver, Colorado, foursquare in the middle of the neutral zone where protagonist Juliana Crain (Alexa Davalos) and her revolving circle of allies try to rebel on two fronts.

This core cast is astounding. Tagomi knows that at that place is a better style forwards, as glimpsed by his visions of parallel worlds, and he seeks a peaceful resolution to all conflicts, but is non afraid to take up arms against those who would harm him and those shut to him. Kido is ruthless and rigid in his role, only Season 3 continues to develop his slightly softer side in rare moments when the Master Inspector lets his guard downward. Smith, haunted past the ghost of his martyred son in myriad ways, deals with trouble at dwelling with compassion and a stern hand at times, while too ferreting out plots to undermine and betray him, and snuffing out internal threats in stray ways. (His arc this flavor might exist my favorite, if only considering his increasing sense of unease with the Reich and its ambitions is counterbalanced against his own rocketing rising through the ranks of the organisation itself.) Blake finds himself at the mercy of the Reich'due south leadership and is put to the test in a number of heartbreaking ways that are meant to steel his resolve and testify his loyalty. And so there'due south Juliana, a lynch pivot in the show itself and in the internal mythology. Enemies and allies at all levels of seniority and proximity to both the Resistance and the governments' attempts to quash it revolve around her; Juliana frequently uses them for her own ways, whatsoever they might be, but this is done as a matter of emotional or applied necessity rather than charade. People gravitate towards Juliana because she is vital to both the Resistance movement carried on by the proficient people of her earth and to the worlds-conquering plans of the Reich, and the ultimate destination on her journey may just be teased this season.

The supporting bandage is just every bit incredible across the lath. The standout addition this season is Jason O'Mara's Wyatt Cost, a somewhat shady fella who's and so charming it'south impossible not to just go along with whatever scheme he's currently pulling. You'll have to watch and see just where his loyalties lie by the season's finish, but the ride is very worth it. DJ Qualls and Brennan Chocolate-brown continue to delight as the "comic relief" of the piece with the Odd Couple of Ed McCarthy and Robert Childan, a duo who find themselves drawn dorsum into the heart of the Resistance in unexpected ways. Smith's wife Helen (Chelah Horsdal) gets to play an amazing arc that puts her at odds with members of her own family and, by extension, the upper echelon of Nazi society and the Reich's tiptop contumely. Bella Heathcote'due south well-connected and fabulously fashion-frontwards Nicole Dörmer gets to play a pivotal part in the Reich's plan this flavor, crossing paths with reporter Thelma Harris (Laura Mennell) and "Nazi Mad Men" Minster of Propaganda Billy Turner (Giles Panton), while also honoring the legacy of her fellow Lebensborn, similar Blake himself. And of class, Stephen Root and Ann Magnuson are fantastic every bit Hawthorne and Caroline Abendsen, the mysterious "keepers of the keys" who have the arcane noesis of the filmstrips showing alternate universes and possibly even the key to travel betwixt worlds themselves. That's a dangerous clandestine to take, because while the Resistance may exist able to apply the movies to win people to their cause, the Nazis are hell-bent on conquering these other worlds past any means necessary.

While I could wax poetic about the bandage all 24-hour interval, I call up it'southward of import to bear upon on another relevant things that this season of The Human being in the Loftier Castle incorporates. The first is the use of media every bit a weapon, on both sides of the divide. For the Reich, Dörmer, Turner, and Harris work together to boost the popularity of their government and inspire a new generation of little Nazis to devote themselves to their führer, even if they have to apply the death of a leader's children to do so. On the other side, a mysterious artist has been creating Resistance propaganda that has caught on with rebels beyond the state; though the minimalist art is open up to interpretation, it'south increasingly held up as a symbol of rebellion, which puts the artist in the cantankerous-hairs once the local governments catch air current of it. (This is a prissy boosted visual bit of propaganda alongside the Man in the High Castle's movies themselves.)

In addition to the use of the "fourth manor" as a storytelling device in this season, The Homo in the High Castle also does not shy abroad from taboos and prejudices that are prevalent in our own earth still today. Characters have same-sexual activity relationships, and while some may find true love and solace, others are punished for what is seen as perversion nether the conservative governments. Interracial couples, physical deformities or maladies, and even the simple quality of being Jewish are all punishable offenses in this globe, with the toll often existence the ultimate one. Themes of anxiety and mail service-traumatic stress disorder are likewise explored this season, generally centering on the Smith family subsequently the loss of their son; John's nightmares are particularly brutal and unforgettable, equally much for the character as they are for the viewer.

Flavor 3 as well does a solid chore of closing off questions from the first 2 seasons while request new ones, many of which come about in the flavour finale. Viewers, exist assured that you lot will get closure as to the fate of Frank Frink (Rupert Evans) and Juliana'southward sister Trudy (Conor Leslie), along with some hard details on just who can travel between parallel worlds and how. The skillful editing keeps the pace up equally the story dashes from identify to place, but at that place are moments where this piece of work actually shines, particularly when interim as a way to juxtapose life in the Reich vs life in the Resistance. There's something for anybody this season, and though information technology's a slow-burn drama compared to some shows on Goggle box today, the ten-episode spotter is well worth your time.

Literally my only gripe with this bear witness is how dark it is. I don't mean thematically, I mean visually. It's and so dang dark that, even with my monitor/Television set settings turned upwards to full brightness, information technology'due south nigh incommunicable to make out the sets or the characters at times. And when I say "at times" I mean, in a majority of the running time. This is unfortunate, more than so since it's become a weird tendency in "prestige" drama TV. I become the apply of heavy shadow or dim lighting to gear up the mood, hide a reveal, or even more practically to hide some unfinished sets or visual furnishings that aren't upwardly to snuff, but The Man in the High Castle can't hide behind whatever of those excuses. The sets are fantastic, the production value is off the charts, and the cast is both very attractive and super-talented; please let viewers actually see the hard work of the cast and crew so they can relish it by more than the few lumens cast by single dim calorie-free seedling.

Rating: ★★★★★ Excellent