Amazon’s The Man in the High Castle is an alternate history story in which the Axis Powers won World War II and have divided up the United States. The western states are now known as the Japanese Pacific States, the east is the Greater Nazi Reich, and the Rocky Mountain States are a Neutral Zone between them.
The main characters are Joe Blake, a double agent for the Nazis, who lives in New York City, Juliana Crain of San Francisco, who gets drawn into the Resistance after her sister Trudy is killed, and Juliana’s boyfriend Frank Frink.
Shortly before her death, Trudy gives Juliana a film of (what to them is) alternate history, i.e., newsreels of the Allies winning the war. After she sees her sister gunned down in the street, Juliana takes off for the Neutral Zone to meet her sister’s contact and (ultimately) get the film to “the man in the high castle.” That is where she meets Ben on a mission of his own. Meanwhile, back in San Francisco, suspecting Juliana and her sister of subversive activity, the Japanese Secret Police Kempeitank arrest and torture Frank. They even pick up Frank’s sister and her children and threaten to kill them because they are part Jewish.
This is an interesting concept. I’ve read alternative histories like this before and enjoyed them. Unfortunately, I have mixed feelings about this show, largely due to the main characters’ motives and actions. Juliana’s whole reason for getting involved seems to be finding out more about the film. She’s putting her life and that of her family in danger, not for freedom, not for philosophy, but for what? Curiosity? Up to this point, she seems to have accepted the Japanese culture — taking martial arts classes, buying Japanese tea — and she’s putting all this on the line. In addition, many of the choices she makes are, to put it simply, unwise. Said another way, she has no idea what’s she’s doing and goes off half-cocked with no thought whatsoever.
The men also have some problems. Like Juliana, Ben has mixed motives. He wants to be a good Nazi but helps Juliana in the Neutral Zone, even saving her life. He then has to report back to his superior Obergruppenfuhrer John Smith (an American who has embraced the Nazi way and risen through the ranks) and explain his actions. Frank’s motives are clearer — he hates the Japanese for what they did to him and his family and although he may sometimes be seen as rash, he is more careful in his planning and his actions than the other two. The only problem there is his relationship with Juliana — they seem to have trouble being honest with each other.
Despite all these issues, The Man in the High Castle does have an intricate plot and is worth watching. There are some excellent actors playing the Nazi and Japanese officials, including the American John Smith, who is very scary, and Japanese Chief Inspector Kido, who administers Frank’s torture. There are also a Japanese and a Nazi official who meet in secret to discuss what happens to their countries once an aging Hitler dies.
Overall, The Man in the High Castle is an intriguing, suspenseful show, and I will keep watching it to see what happens. I just hope the main characters decide what they want, stop lying to each other, and use a little common sense to get what they want.