#steven root

The Man in High Castle.

I’ve been trying to get my head around Man in High Castle for about a week now, and it’s not that it confused me (it did) it’s more trying to explain the feelings I have towards it. I think it amounts to being sad, satisified and confused.

The Smith family are my main cause for this. I always was drawn to them throughout the series, with their arc with their inevitable fall. Hands down one of my favourite episodes, of a series recently, one that has had such a affect on me, was the alternate universe with John, Helen and Thomas. The heartbreak John went through was one thing but also the way his life could have been. I was rooting for him until the end, I wanted him to go through the portal and back to that life. On the flip side though we now know that alternate universe Helen is without a husband and potentially son. I loved Helen throughout, I felt she was so restricted by the reich and was actaully acting the way any one who was grieveing would under those circumstances. The fact that she couldn’t was the whole problem.

Julianna on the other hand left me conflicted. I like parts of her storyline however pretty much from the beginning I felt she was in some ways selfish and wooden. Whether thats to do with the acting or the character, is a different question altogether. I think it started with how her actions impacted Frank, just really bothered me, in some ways I guess it ignited his fight but it still didn’t feel right to me. Then theres this connection between her and Joe, this level of trust and belief they have in each other. I liked in some ways that it was unwavering and she in his darkest times was what brought him through,but this air of indignation that she had whenever it was questionned annoyed me; I would obviously rather she was more open about that. Joe’s ultimate end though was inneviatble he was a changed man, someone who had been broken down and built back up, not the person we had grown to love from the beginning.

The Japanese storyline I enjoyed however wasn’t as drawn to in all honesty. I thought the acting was superb, but after finding out that it was a contractural fall out leading to the death of Tagomi, it didn’t seem to flow as well. It was obvious that they had to change some things, and that disappointed me. 

I guess this whole story got me thinking about the wider plot points. The Japanese and Nazi alliance, the alternate universes, the man in high castle etc. I’m just going to say it I hated the unnanswered questions, especially that ending. Take it as making your own interpretations I just wish there was a glimpse of someone we recognised or a bit more clarity. I know thats not the point though.

I would have been happy if we saw Ed and Jake on a ranch in the neutral zone living their best lives, that would have been enough for me.