The Man In The High Castle [Amazon] [SPOILERS]

pixelburp · 14-01-2021 4:31pm

De Bhál wrote: »

just started on this...is it worth it?

Seems ok so far but Juliana has just got a job in the Japanese government buildings, literally one day after been on the most wanted list?

No one has even batted an eyelid about that?

Is the rest of it going to have me asking these kind of questions - doubt I have the patience if so.

Yes. Season 1 is rough and very slow going. Season 2 onwards really pick up the pace and from there on in, was arguably one of Amazon Prime's strongest show.

BrentMused · 06-05-2021 10:50am

Just found this thread so hope it's okay to bump.

I've just finished watching the show and got through it all in a couple of weeks.

This is not a genre I would usually enjoy or even consider watching but herself had heard good things about it so I said I would give it a chance and I am very glad I did.

The ending seems to get a lot of criticism online but I thought it was quite fitting. A redemption arc for Smith wouldn't have been appropriate, IMO. Despite him trying at times, ultimately he was beyond redemption and whatever your views are on the rights and wrongs of it because he did it to keep his family safe, even up until his last scene he had approved the Nazi bombing of the JPS and had plans to implement concentration camps, despite Goretzmann telling him he was free to do what he pleased with North America.

A superb performance from Rufus Sewell especially. It was mad to see him as the powerful John Smith when I instantly remembered him from The Holiday! :pac:

Anyone know why Amazon pulled the plug on it? I would have thought it would have been very popular although very expensive which might explain it? There was definitely potential to get another season out of that with Smith and Goretzmann at the helm, Helen's redemption, their kids etc.

My favourite character by a mile was Childen. He has to be the unluckiest man in the world but remained so, so funny. Even when his dream had come through and he was hosting the Crown Princess and co at the auction, it ended up resulting in a mass shootout! I would like to think that he made it to Japan with the ticket he got from the Yakuza in exchange for his shop and made it back to his wife.

It definitely did suffer a bit with the hasty exit of key characters, e.g. Tagomi, as the actor who played him moved on and didn't sign up to season 4, but overall a very solid 8/10 for me.

screamer · 06-05-2021 10:55am

I’ve watched the first 2 episodes and I really had to will myself to watch them. Overall, I like fast moving, interesting stuff, this I found boring and awkward to be quite honest, so I’ll not be watching further episodes.

expectationlost · 08-05-2021 1:29am

it is verrrrrrrrrry slow at the start but gets better

Charles Babbage · 08-05-2021 1:46am

I watched this over the last few weeks. It has some interesting ideas and is well worth a look at.

BrentMused wrote: »

Anyone know why Amazon pulled the plug on it? I would have thought it would have been very popular although very expensive which might explain it? There was definitely potential to get another season out of that with Smith and Goretzmann at the helm, Helen's redemption, their kids etc.

The ending is so lame that this has to be a possibility. Yet even the last episode is entertaining enough until the very end. Apart from anything else they had linked multiple realities, which could have provided a spinoff in itself, but the actual ending made no sense.

Need a Username · 31-08-2021 12:35pm

I started the final season a few minutes ago.

I was shocked that Tagomi was just killed off between seasons. Such a bad send off for a great character.

Was this always the intent or was there a reason Tagawa left/was removed?

I just had to stop watching during the funeral because I’m so perplexed.

And I noticed DJ Qualls was not in the opening credits. Was he killed off screen too?

Need a Username · 31-08-2021 2:02pm

I never binge but some of my favourite characters are gone (most for no reason at all) and a new bunch of people are introduced so I think I want to just finish it this week.

pixelburp · 02-09-2021 11:35am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117827351#Comment_117827351

I don't recall looking it up at the time; but when a character in a TV drama is that quickly bumped off, to the extent don't really see the character's face, I suspect the actor left between seasons for "reasons" (be they contract, controversy or preference based ones). As you say it was a shame 'cos by all accounts Tagomi was the human face of the oppressor that made for a good counter-balance to the viciousness of Inspector Kido.

Season 4 I liked a lot but fare be warned, it's one of those shows that'll end leaving you with more questions than answers.

innuendo141 · 02-09-2021 11:50am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117827351#Comment_117827351

It was scheduling issues, think he had another show that he wanted to do. It was a huge shame, because the whole thing was really jarring and took away from the final season.

Need a Username · 05-09-2021 9:02am

I finished

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117837326#Comment_117837326

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117837389#Comment_117837389

I finished it yesterday.

It was actually really good with some very exciting moments especially in the last three or four episodes.

Was it always planned to be four seasons or did Amazon order this to wrapped up early because it feels to me while this was actually season 5 and we didn’t get see season 4.

The BCR appears out of nowhere, Japan’s difficulties in other parts of the world suddenly escalate, and new bunch of characters show up while others disappear without explanation.

No mention of what became of Ed.

Childen reverts to his old ways despite all the changes he went through in previous seasons.

San Francisco suddenly has a governor who would have been Kido and Tagomi’s boss who apparently never put a halt to Tagomi’s action in the years previously.

And Juliana stays on the other Earth for a year but does nothing to stop the Nazi incursions and apparently becomes friends with the Smith’s and they never notice that John clearly makes her skin crawl.

The Japanese governed should have been a presence since the beginning. “Season 4”should have introduced us to the BCR and Bell, showed Liam travelling America showing the film and creating his army, showed Juliana learning about the other earth and tracking the Nazis and Smith discovering she is there. Then end it with that sequence of Juliana in the diner good John Smith and his murder/her escape and with the assassination of Tagomi - which despite him begin my favourite is the only way that the Japanese characters can become so divided and lead to the evacuation.

I think the final scene was created a “wtf” moment simply for the sake of a “wtf” moment but I did like it.

Despite my complaints it was great season with exciting moments and all the actors did tremendous work.

pixelburp · 05-09-2021 9:26am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117848636#Comment_117848636

I'm not aware of any chat from the producers about what happened, but my reading from what I was seeing, was Amazon told the show season 4 was to be the last, and the production had a season 5 planned - so tried to compress two seasons worth of events into one final capper. Everything felt either rushed or undercooked.

The SF and New York stuff was maddening, because the clearly seismic changes were given short shrift, and could have carried a whole season. The Japanese leaving and power vacuum filled by a force of displaced African Americans? American Nazis starting a coup against Berlin, wielding their nukes as leverage? Show me more Amazon! Don't tell me the show is over when THAT happens.