Review: The Man in the High Castle

(Skip to the second paragraph if you're already familiar with the show!)

The Man in the High Castle is a new show available exclusively for Amazon streaming subscribers. The concept is fairly simple: What would have happened if we lost World War II? The United States is taken over jointly by the Nazis and Japan, splitting the country down the middle for each political power to control. What would result is a general sense of political unease between the two super powers as we focus on an ensemble of key players, both significant and seemingly not. This all takes place in 1962, twenty years after the Axis Powers win the war.

I had high hopes for this show because of the concept alone. I feel that there's considerably more promise to an idea like this than the advertising would lead you to believe, though you could hardly blame them for taking the easy route: "What if we lost to the Nazis?!" It's almost too obvious a starting point and makes it automatically seem unoriginal... And when I first started watching the pilot, I almost let myself believe that this show was just another generic "what if" type of scenario... until the twist at the end.

That twist would set the tone for the rest of the show in that nothing is quite as it appears to be. This pertains to the characters as well as the overarching plot of the show. The plot involves the obtaining and transit of a film reel (of which there are more than one) to its intended destination. Joe Blake, a spy from the Greater Nazi Reich (East Coast US), is ordered to deliver one of the film reels across the country to meet a rebel contact from the Japanese-controlled Pacific States (West Coast US, but the show focuses mostly on San Francisco). What is on these film reels is of great importance to both the underground rebellion as well as to Hitler himself.

The Man in the High Castle is a very tightly written show, meaning it's heavy on plot, and it sticks to that more often than not. This isn't Lost or Battlestar Galactica where they veer off into characterization for an entire episode. Furthermore, it doesn't try to titillate you by showing you a scandalous sex scene for no reason. No, this show keeps focused on immediate problems the characters face and thus keeps us, the audience, invested in everything happening. Believe me when I say this show feels appropriately tense and perilous as you would hope from any story involving Nazis and authoritarian Japanese.

There is great attention to detail in this show. Some examples require your ability to pay attention to those details, such as the soundtrack. Hearing alternate versions of famous songs like Mr. Sandman and Mack the Knife is eerie and unsettling. The clues are all there if you sit and think about it for a second. A famous song sung by a black musician in our timeline probably wouldn't have come to be in the new American Nazi Reich. You come up with your own conclusions. They drop little hints that spur your imagination to fill in the gaps. Like a Horror film, what you don't see is often scarier than what you do see.

There's also something to be said for the culture clash in a world like this, where White people are now seen as the undesirable minority in the Pacific States. It's a truly bizarre and eye-opening display to see a proper white antiques seller being treated like the help by an affluent Japanese couple. Japanese cartoons and comics are the new normal, while our classic signs of Americana are nowhere to be seen. Japanese flags and signs reign supreme in this new society, and there's a strange connection I drew while watching this: San Fransokyo from Big Hero 6. This new San Francisco is sort of like a nightmarish version of that same concept, though I'm curious why people keep mashing up these two cities.

As for the Greater Nazi Reich? Well, strangely enough, it feels mostly unchanged from our own reality, except for the fact that swastikas and other Nazi imagery stain their uniforms and buildings. These are ordinary American people who fought along with the Nazis, either through force or by their own volition, and thus were placed in positions of power to run this new regime. It's uncomfortable to see these normal people acting... normal. The main difference is they have an unconditional dedication to their country, stand tall with diehard patriotism, and do whatever it takes to take down a perceived evil threat... Er, um... The main difference is... America is the best! God bless America!

The Man in the High Castle could have failed in a number of ways, but the ways in which it succeeds are many: a finely crafted attention to detail, intriguing storytelling, relatable characters, provocative imagery, and an amazing cast. Really, you could not ask for more with a show like this. There are 10 episodes available to watch, and the cliffhanger from the finale already has me itching to watch another full season. Go and watch it.

I've also heard a few complaints that the show is "slow" or people lose interest early on. How to tell if this is a show for you? Well, I think a good rubric is whether or not you enjoy the Transformers movies. If so, you might want to stay away from this subtle and intellectually alarming masterpiece. It's not for those without imagination and patience.