So not only am I a sci-fi nerd, but I’m an even bigger history nerd. That makes the Amazon Original Alternative History series, The Man in the High Castle, based on the book by renowned Science Fiction author Philip K. Dick, pretty much one of my favorite things ever put to film.
MitHC is set in America post WW2 and has been re-imagined as if the Axis Powers had won. We join the story in alternate 1962. The east coast of the US is controlled by Adolf Hitler and known as the Greater Nazi Reich, and Japan’s Emperor rules over the west coast, known as the Japanese Pacific States. The Rockies are known as the Neutral Zone; the only law there is to speak of are bounty hunters seeking undesirables attempting to escape the harsh rule of the Axis Powers. These undesirables are often Resistance members, their motive being a bit self-explanatory.
The imagery in the show takes some getting used to; Amazon does a shockingly good job of making it look as though the Nazis and the Japanese Empire have truly occupied the United States. From the fashion, to the advertising, and even the music, every aspect of the lives of the former United States’ citizens are controlled and enforced by their occupiers. Jewish people and African Americans have either evacuated or been wiped out from the American coasts, and on the Japanese controlled west coast, many Jewish people hide their heritage or practice Judaism in secret.
Even with the buffer of the Neutral Zone, it’s clear that the relationship between the Reich and the Empire is strained and it looks likely that the states may find themselves the battleground between its two occupying rulers. This tension is often exploited by the Resistance.
The main characters come from a variety of backgrounds. They are ultimately brought together around the existence of film reels, said to be made by the Man in the High Castle.
Our main heroine, Juliana Crain, a resident of San Francisco, is given a film reel by her sister and asked to keep it safe and then Juliana witnesses, unable to help, as the Japanese Kempeitai *secret police* kills her sister. Distraught, Juliana brings the film home and sets it up to watch. Juliana, whose father died fighting the Japanese, is confused and amazed by the footage showing the American defeating the Axis powers and she shows her boyfriend, Frank Frink, who is keeping his Jewish heritage secret from the Japanese government.
Frank is convinced she should get rid of the film and turn it into the Japanese authorities, but Juliana is driven to find the source of the baffling film that her sister died trying to protect. She knew her sister was getting ready to take the film to the Neutral Zone, so Juliana boards a bus and heads east. But she doesn’t tell Frank, and he is taken by the Kempeitai looking for the film.
Across the continent, Joe Blake in NYC, is a young man who’s looking to volunteer for the Resistance. The Resistance tasks him with driving a delivery truck full of *coffee makers* to the Neutral Zone. On his way, he learns from a cop the horrible truth of what the Nazis do on Tuesdays to those considered a drag on the state. He also discovers, in his truck, another copy of the same named film reel that Juliana has.
Meanwhile back in NYC, the Resistance cell that Blake is driving for is being interrogated by a high up officer in the Greater Nazi Reich, Obergruppenfurer John Smith *his rank is too much fun to make fun of-ERBERGERBERFERBER!* Smith is also clearly following the trail of the film, we soon come to find out that Blake is acting as a spy for Obergruppenfurer.
Lots of supporting characters in the three rivaling forces, mystery around the films from all sides, and tension between the two colossal forces drives the story along really well.
The second season was released in Dec of last year, and they really dialed up the forward progression of the story this time. Most of the first season dealt with building the story, forming the setting and meeting the characters. Season 2 got to take everything to a new level, Joe Blake spends most of the season in Germany and we learn about his unusual family history, Juliana is fleeing from everyone after her and ends up in the Greater Nazi Reich, Frank seems to be getting heavily involved with the Resistance, and Obergruppenfurer Smith’s family has some serious Nazi rule related issues.
As with most alternative-history and time travel stories, there’s this subplot that you have to work at to suspend belief to make the story possible. Whether it’s the Animus in Assassin’s Creed, the 3-D fax machine in Crichton’s Timeline, a TARDIS in the shape of a blue police box or film reels depiction contrary evidence to your reality, there’s often this whole weird subplot. So far, despite the title, we still seem to know very little about the source of the films, but a decent guess might be multi-dimensional; but either way, the story outside of that subplot is enough to keep me watching.
TL;DR If you like Alt-Hist and Canadian Sci-fi *btw, this show has a lot of BSG actors*, you should check this one out.
*****Side Note: Amazon did a promotion for the new season that they called Resistance Radio in March that was a collection of artists both from that era and today doing music from that time. You may have seen it in the news, apparently some were mistaking the messages of Resistance for being against the non-fictional administration of today instead of toward the occupying forces of the show. In addition to being a neat little tid-bit, the music is worth checking out.
-Morgan@1063RL