Created by: Frank Spotnitz
Starring: Alexa Davalos , Rupert Evans , Luke Kleintank, Rufus Sewell
Germany won World War II and America looks completely different with Germany controlling of the East coast, Japan controlling the West coast, and the mid-west is the free zone.
Verdict:
I wanted to like this show. I love the concept, but the pacing is terrible. The main plot point is deliberately avoided. We get hints of an alternate reality, but it doesn't go far enough. The finale of episode ten should have occurred in episode five, or the first four episodes should be cut. The first season should have been condensed. My hope was that the show would rely on more than just the concept, but for the first season that's not the case.
Skip it.
Review:
This is the first Amazon show that convinced me to actually watch it. I watched a few pilots when Amazon first launched the Amazon Studios, but I didn't stick around.
The concept of Man in the High Castle brought me back with an intriguing concept. Frank Spotnitz of The X-files fame is the creator and the the concept is based on a Phillip K. Dick novel of the same name. I really like Dick's books, and he's an acclaimed sci-fi writer.
From the first scene it's apparent the production values are top notch.
Episode 1 opens with a Joe Blake wanting to help the resistance. He's tasked with driving a truck to Canon City to deliver a film from the man in the high castle, an anti nazi, propaganda film maker. A lot of information is thrown at the viewer, and I was left wondering what this show is really about.
Juliana Crane living in Japan America San Franciso has to find a contact in Canon City because she is also delivering a man in the high castle film.
The show tells us the tape is important, but not why. Joe Blake runs into Juliana, which seemed more than a little contrived. It wasn't clear whether he meant to or if it was just a plot contrivance.
What is absolutely crazy is that she eats at the diner, knowing she has no money. Wouldn't you want to keep a low profile? She's gone what a few hours without eating. It's completely contrived and fully annoying. It turns out Joe Blake is a double agent. The videos turn out to be more than propaganda. They portray an alternative reality. How such a thing exists, we don't know and wont' find out this season. This is easily the most intriguing thing about the show and they absolutely bury it. I kept watching, hoping to find out more, and I was left disappointed.
The Germans seem to get all the videos so where is the plot going? Joe Blake saves the girl even though he's anti-resistance because if he didn't the plot would halt.
I wondered if Episode 3 was when the show really grabbed me, but it wasn't. It's still relying wholly on an awesome concept and an average execution of a standard story. We have three episodes of set up without any payoff.
The show introduces a Western-type marshal bounty hunter. We get all of these characters in all too typical roles, but not enough attention is focused on the main plot. I want to see something happen with the video and the mysterious man in the high castle. We finally get a teaser that Joe Blake might meet the castle man in episode four. This should have come earlier. The pacing is a huge problem for this show. It's all setup.
We get a big moment when Frank, Juliana's boyfriend, decides to assassinate a Japanese prince. Frank had been detained and mistreated, and he sought revenge. The show severely lacks big moments, but they play this one up. We get a slow motion lead in and close ups, and even a moral decision for Frank before someone else shoots the prince. I half expected another character to pop out of the background, look me in the eye, laugh, and scream, "Gotcha!" The build up was all for nothing.
I want answers, not tricks. This show didn't seem to be made for binging. The beginning of episode five replays the end of episode four. This is streaming. I don't need a recap. It happens more than once. Why does this occur?
At episode six I was just hoping to reach the end of the season. It's so overwrought. Every episode ends with slow motion and extreme close ups of characters doing mundane tasks for that emphasis. Discard that and just tell a story. The show drags everything out for so much longer than it should. I wonder what the source material is like. When the show finally picks up I'm left wondering why we had so much runway. You could cut out the first four episodes and be just fine. Maybe it's trying to stay true to the novel, but you have to balance that with telling a story for television.
Why was so much time spent on the antiques dealer? It's just another character thrown into the mix so the real question about the man in the high castle can be avoided. This video is supposed to be so important, but it has so little bearing on anything.
Rufus Sewell plays a high ranking German official. He is a standout in this, but has little bearing on the main story.
Finally in episode nine we get to see this magical film and it shows Frank and Joe in the future. This is what we need. More of plot progression and less noise about non-consequential characters. The big finale has a lot of people dying and we see Hitler. One of the Japanese officials does some mental somersaults and transports himself to an alternate reality New York, which ostensibly is our world. This should have happened in episode five. There's just too much noise and not enough focus.
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