#tmihc

thanks for the LL tag @tizniz and TTT tags @bidisasterevankinard @midsummersmorn @diazsdimples 💖

Rules: share the last line written, tag some peeps, have some fun!

the other week I started watching The Man in the High Castle and dear gods please don’t judge me too harshly 🫣

“Yeah.” Joe huffs, taking a step back and all his warmth with him. “Thought so.”

Before he can stop himself, Frank’s hand shoots out, catching Joe’s pretentious leather jacket in a vice grip. Stupid. Reckless. The words briefly flash through his mind before he’s yanking Joe closer, crashing their lips together.

2x01 The Tiger’s Cave, The Man in the High Castle

(And the first 15 min of 2x10 Fallout)

I watched second to last episode of season two just a few hours ago. I know, I know, I said I'm going to watch it several days ago. I am lying liar who lies. I expect to get a medal for procrastination any day now. I deserve it.

Anyway I LOVED this episode. Wow. I was sad for Frank (I think he is dead but I don't think I saw the body) but despite having several moments in this and last season when I was sympathising with him, I never really connected with the character. Also this entire season was like watching him rolling toward the end of the proverbial cliff, Gary most helpfully pushing him along. So I wasn't really surprised by his death. When we are the subject of Gary, one of my wishes for this season was his death. If he delivered the bomb it would be perfect - both him and Onoda would be dead (okay I would rather they didn't kill so many people along the way but you know what I mean) But no, of course Frank dies, who even if I didn't like all the time, was interesting and sympathetic character and cockroach Gary lives! It's not fair! I don't care what kind of tragedy he had gone trough, he can be ruthless and homicidal but that doesn't mean he has to be such a bastard to everyone. Gah! I hope he dies in the next ep or at least at beginning of next season...

I was very happy to see that Kido survived. I was so afraid they would kill him. It would be a waste of a great character. And he is now the highest ranking in JPS. Yes!

I liked that Juliana was finally forced by the resistance to do something she was uncomfortable with. She couldn't just escape from hard choices like before. I'm worried about Lucy even if she can be such an airhead, and was surprised about feeling sorry for her husband even though he was proven to be very unpleasant character before. I guess it's partly fault in the writing that I'm feeling even that much for minor Nazi character while completely hating one of the prominent people of resistance.

In this season Tagomi was sort like Juliana at the beginning of the last season, disappearing without word and leaving everyone else in the mess. I never expected he will stay in AU for so long. Not very nice. I understand him but still not very nice. I loved his interaction with everyone though, especially AU Julliana. Very moving. Also happy he survived the bomb.

Onto my favourites - the Smiths. As I expected they were fucking heartbreaking. That was one the main the reasons I've been procrastinating so much. Poor Thomas - I had a feeling he strongly suspected something is wrong with him but ignored it until he couldn't anymore. And John seeing that conversation on the surveillance tapes, it was like milder version of reaction he had in the doctor's office. Did he kill that surveillance guy I wonder? I wouldn't be surprised if he did. Thomas looking about diseases in that eugenics (I guess) book and than that scene where all three finally talk, and  - my throat was all closed up. It's happening again now while I think about it. Helen and John are such good parents. Not to mention that acting was so good that I was feeling like a voyeur while watching them. I'm sure I'll have much more thoughts on all this later - impressions have to settle a bit before that. There was also good scene when Gruppenfuhrer from Berlin was advising John to wipe out entire city for example. That is very true to history.

Heusmann was properly chilling, calmly organising to nuke entire world, all for the world peace of course. What's worse I could understand his horrible logic. And while I'm sure writers won't let him do that, to be honest I'm curious if he would manage to achieve it if he went trough with his plan. What can I say, I have a dark imagination.

Joe’s reaction was as I expected.

From the beginning of the season I knew there will be new Fuhrer and suspected and hoped who will it be. Heusmann and Joe’s developments confounded me but now I'm thinking I was right all along. I'll keep fingers crossed that I am.

I’m going to watch last ep tonight, only WWIII would make me procrastinate now. Wish me luck fellow tmihc fans.

So critique about America: To make this clear, luckily the allies won in reality but many people tend to forget that it wasn't out of altruism. America can pride it self wih having won over the Nazis in WWII all fine but at the same time the stories of internation camps for Japanese Americans in Amerca is swept under the rug. Later, after in the 1950s, especially under McCarthy, the USA were in a state which sadly wasn't that much progressive in question of social terms. Social segreation beween Black and White was common, homosexuals and communists got politically persecuted, women were put in the role of the good housewife while media such as radio and television told stories about the perfect American life. The USA fell into celebrating their nationalism without reflecting that their society was still in mindset that was not so far away from the Nazi idea of a world where only people they considered "good" lived an indyllic life. Women only as loyal house wives, no space for people not fitting in an ideology, homosexuality was not accepted, communism was terribly persecuted (the USA still lack well etablished syndicates).

Meanwhile in The Man in the High Castle the East Coast got taken over by the Nazis. The first characters of this part of the USA are Joe Blake and Obergruppenführer John Smith. I blinked as the last character's name. John Smith? Isn't that an "all American" name? Episode 6 Season 1 we meet the Smih family seeming like a lovely family. The neighbour hood seems friendly and pretty and then there is John Smith. We normally meet him as calculating, coldblooded Nazi leader but o Veteran's day he greets his neighbours naturally, too friendly which seems grotesque. Later when Juliana takes the role as spy for the Man in the High Castle the world in which the East Coastners live seems fine but under the surface women beat themseves up when they can't give birth to children since this is the only thing women are meant to. When Joe reads Huckleberry Finn to his son his son is genuiely surprised that Jim could be a good person as he's black. (Considering Joe began to leave Nazi ideology at this point this scene was terrifiying.)

The man in the Highcastle (show because I haven’t read the book yet…)

For a story talking about rebellion against the Nazi-Emperial-Japan-regime, I miss either a Native American or Afroamerican protagonist. Sure it makes sense that there aren’t any at the eastcoast resistance, and Samuel Lemm as well Sarah as Japanese American have important roles in the Resistance still… I wish there were minorities having PoVs.

Frank Frink should have something good happening to him. (well he can’t anymore since Season 2.) His fate is one of the cruelest in the story.

As much I like Tagomi Nobosuke I found his meditation for an alternative world a bit too longwided in Season 2.

I’m aware Phillip K. was American, many events of the occupied Westcoast were subtle bur critical remarks on the the American society, nonetheless I would like to know if there were any other resitance movements in the world?