But first, let's take a moment to praise a beautiful eerie opening they made for the show.
Liking Adolf Hitler is not an easy task—but when he’s in the
#WorldWarIIIPreventionSquad, you are left with a very limited option. Set
fifteen years after WWII, The Man In The High Castle blows our mind with an alternate
universe of the world wherein Hitler won his war. Based on a book with the same
name by Phillip K. Dick, the Amazon’s original web-series has an undeniably sterling
premise one can’t simply miss. The portrayal of chillingly believable other
world manages to leave a solid mark in my mind, and I have nothing else to say
about their outstanding job in creating the setting, details, and vibes of The
Nazi’s America.
Now is ruled by The Nazis on the East and The Imperial Japan
on the West, the world’s superpower country is nothing but history. When The
Resistances are busy with their movement to be free from the not so friendly
ruler, the two forces in this alternate universe are taken with their own
agenda. Words travel fast, and it’s been said that Adolf Hitler is terminally
ill and waiting for his time. It is easy to note that not every Nazis are
satisfied with his decision to share their victorious win during WWII with The
Japs, let alone in dividing America. The Japs has every right to worry, seeing
how advance The Nazis’ technology has grown over years. On the other hand, The
Nazis can’t just declare a war just like that.
Tangled in the complicated politics, Joe Blake (Luke Kleintank) arrives as a
newbie wanting to join The East Resistance Group. His first task is driving a
truck to a place referred as The Neutral-Zone somewhere in between The Rocky
Mountains. Then we meet Juliana Crain (Alexa Davalos), our heroine. Like every other heroines I
know, she suffers stupid-decision-making-disorder; and like every other
heroines I know, the consequences are rarely small. In her case, pursuing a
highly dangerous errand to deliver some kind of propaganda-film linked to
someone coded The Man in The High Castle resulting her lover, Frank Frink (Rupert Evans),
tortured and his sister, nephew, and niece killed by the Japs. Such an experience surely changed your life
forever, and it applies well to Frank. Once a calm man seeking nothing else
than what’s been given to him, he goes to an extent of planning to shoot The
Japanese Prince himself. When Juliana hasn’t been made aware of that, she is
already getting herself into something so much bigger for herself. After all,
Joe is probably not someone he claimed to be.
I love the way the show present us many perspectives to see
this different world. Especially in
this different world, because here I am curious about everything. The upcoming war is not something unknown for Japanese
Trading Minister Nobusuke Taogomi (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), whom interest is always to remain the
peaceful agreement. On the other hand, perfect Nazi and cold-hearted loyalist
Obergruppenfuher John Smith (Rufus Sewell) may be so much more than the previous description.
There something about these two men that caught my heart. I couldn’t really see
myself rooting for a Nazi before, but I found myself begging The
Obergruppenfuhrer not to die anytime soon. In between the grim and slow paced
story, he manages to keep the tension going and that is very appreciated
especially in the middle of the series. Honestly, I started the series and hating
almost everyone including our protagonists with stupid-decision champion title.
Crawling to the closure, I see tremendous whys that don’t right their wrong in
killing innocent people, but I understand. This is one of that fiction in which
everyone have their own way to justify their decisions to what to them is a
greater good.
I believe I can say more about the so called The Man in The
High Castle himself when I see the next season, since I feel this one is
serving as a mere introduction of the pillars and situations. Wisely said, this series is not packed with
noisy action scenes that thrill you the same time they excite you. I barely see
anyone laughing or even smiling, but that is probably unavoidable when you are
either held captive by The Nazi or live in this universe at all. Most fight
happens with tension eyes and words rather than gunfight, and every episode is
darker than the previous one. That being said, getting through the first
episode might be hard for many people that not keen on this kind of show—and it
doesn’t get better after either. Anyhow, missing this one would probably cost
you a very amazing pleasure of one goddamn good creation. The Man in The High
Castle is to return this December with brand new Season Two.
x, Michelle
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