The Man in the High Castle

[Brock Beauchamp]

Has anyone else watched this yet? I watched the pilot during Amazon's pilot run but then forgot to follow up on it (largely thanks to the wife who wasn't into the idea of watching it at all).

 

****ing hell. The show got me to side with Hitler. ****ing hell.

 

It's really good. The show is only superficially based on the book but I'm surprisingly okay with that. The world they've built on top of Dick's novel is complicated, the characters intriguing, and I'm dying to see what comes next.

 

It reminded me a lot of the good parts of Game of Thrones except it occasionally pays off and the viewer is rewarded with genuinely noble characters whom you want to see succeed.

 

I wasn't that impressed after three episodes but once I got through 5-6 episodes, there was no stopping me until I finished. The show continues to ramp up through the season.

[USMCTwin]

I was enthralled with it. It's too intense for my wife, but it is easily one of my favorite shows. Amazon badly needed to get a good original and I think they finally got it right with this one. I do agree with you the first couple of episodes were a little slow, but once that snowball starts rolling downhill there was no stopping me. I don't even enjoy binge watching, but I was forced to with this show.

[Brock Beauchamp]

To be fair, Amazon had Transparent in 2014, which was/is a pretty fabulous show... Obviously, entirely different than The Man in the High Castle, though.

[Craig Arko]

I've been meaning to get to this. With a couple of long weekends coming up will give it a go.

[Badsmerf]

I watched it right away. Loved it. I desperately need complexity in shows. Hopefully they take what was done well and continue it into the next season. Can't wait for it.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I desperately need complexity in shows.

I was really impressed how intricately they wove the politics into the show and how complex (and surprising) many of the characters' actions were as it progressed and everyone became more embroiled into the situation.

 

The one flaw of the show - and I don't think this is very uncommon in this type of show - is that the main characters are the least interesting. They're flitting around on the outskirts of society and the really interesting stuff involves the characters knee-deep in the system. The Japanese Trade Minister is easily my favorite character but the New York Nazi is also very interesting.

[Badsmerf]

Completely agree. The trade minister is easily the best. I don't care for the girl very much.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Completely agree. The trade minister is easily the best. I don't care for the girl very much.

I don't really care for any of the "rebels", faux or otherwise, to tell the truth. I think they're a mix of whiny and annoying most of the time. Each character has their moments but they're not frequent enough for me to really latch onto them as a viewer.

 

For example, I was much more interested in the Japanese police officer storyline (the one routinely at odds with the Trade Minister) than any of the rebel storylines.

 

And the police officer storyline was maybe my third or fourth favorite storyline of the show.

[ashbury]

Super-late to the party on this one, but my child with an Amazon Prime account allowed us to binge watch Season 1 during the holidays. I was more curious how they mapped out the alternate history (well, the one we were being shown ) than about whether this character or that character survived or got what they wanted, but at least the characters weren't so cringe-worthy that I bailed on the arc. It helped that I looked up enough spoilers, to know that the show was leading somewhere interesting, to be able to sit through what seemed like routine people-in-peril drama.

 

We concocted the outline of a drinking game. For instance, drink every time someone evades the authorities by simply exiting via the back door. (Maybe the US Navy should have adopted that strategy when Pearl Harbor was attacked.) Drink every time someone should get on the damn bus but then finds a reason not to.

 

Of course there are now 3 additional seasons, since the above discussion went on, and I'm at least interested enough to want to follow up if I get another chance sometime. That many hours is kind of a big investment, though.

[Mike Sixel]

 

Super-late to the party on this one, but my child with an Amazon Prime account allowed us to binge watch Season 1 during the holidays. I was more curious how they mapped out the alternate history (well, the one we were being shown ) than about whether this character or that character survived or got what they wanted, but at least the characters weren't so cringe-worthy that I bailed on the arc. It helped that I looked up enough spoilers, to know that the show was leading somewhere interesting, to be able to sit through what seemed like routine people-in-peril drama.

 

We concocted the outline of a drinking game. For instance, drink every time someone evades the authorities by simply exiting via the back door. (Maybe the US Navy should have adopted that strategy when Pearl Harbor was attacked.) Drink every time someone should get on the damn bus but then finds a reason not to.

 

Of course there are now 3 additional seasons, since the above discussion went on, and I'm at least interested enough to want to follow up if I get another chance sometime. That many hours is kind of a big investment, though.

 

Season 1 is the weakest by far. Not even close.

[Mike Sixel]

I thought season 3 was good, and we've now watched the first couple of season 4. I think I know what is going to happen, but there were serious surprises after season 1 (where the rebels were idiots).

[Richie the Rally Goat]

I thought season 3 was good, and we've now watched the first couple of season 4. I think I know what is going to happen, but there were serious surprises after season 1 (where the rebels were idiots).

I liked season two then three best. 4 I had to power through....

[Badsmerf]

It lost my interest in season 2. I highly doubt I'll finish it.

[ashbury]

It lost my interest in season 2. I highly doubt I'll finish it.

We watched the first two episodes of season two, and one of my sons wasn't interested in continuing, given the end of vacation was near and there were other things to do.

[stringer bell]

I watched the entire series in the last month--my primary entertainment on airplanes and down time when on vacation--and enjoyed it. The secondary characters and villain were well-portrayed, I thought, and the alternate reality of the US divided between the Axis conquerors was interesting to me, especially as presented in the series.

 

The fourth season was weaker, I thought, and the ending was not quite what I was hoping for, but overall I really liked the series. 

[diehardtwinsfan]

I really enjoyed it, but the last season was a big WTF moment... looked a lot like they had planned on running it longer and then forced an ending GoT style with an obvious far left agenda. I probably would have enjoyed it more had they had an extra season or two to build it out. 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

I really enjoyed it, but the last season was a big WTF moment... looked a lot like they had planned on running it longer and then forced an ending GoT style with an obvious far left agenda. I probably would have enjoyed it more had they had an extra season or two to build it out.

one more season, maybe... it would require a big step up from 4.

 

Yeah, the ending was clearly an “oops, we need a tidy bow on this right now” moment.

[Mike Sixel]

Obvious far left agenda? Like freedom? Sigh.

 

Anyway. What was the point of the portal? Other than smithy becoming obsessed with his son, did it advance the plot at all? Not the film's, the portal.

 

I was glad Smith was not redeemed, but I had a fleeting moment where I hoped he sent the bombers to Berlin....

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

Obvious far left agenda? Like freedom? Sigh.

Anyway. What was the point of the portal? Other than smithy becoming obsessed with his son, did it advance the plot at all? Not the film's, the portal.

I was glad Smith was not redeemed, but I had a fleeting moment where I hoped he sent the bombers to Berlin....

 

That's a bit of an oversimplification and I think you know that. I was referring mainly to the mass immigration scene at the end which had zero buildup and made no sense at all in accordance to the entire plot of the show. There were a few others things too, but that was the big one. When it makes no sense from the overall plot, I just get annoyed (and that's coming from someone who is not a fan of the current direction our country is headed on this matter).

 

As I said, I didn't mind the show, but that last season was so clearly forced and the whole thing would have much more enjoyable had they had a chance to actually develop some of the new characters that were added in season 4 as well as not skipping the character progression of some of the existing ones. That was my main criticism of GoT, and I saw a lot of that here too. It was forced. They really needed another season or two to flush out the development of those characters. It's unfortunate that this didn't happen.

[Mike Sixel]

I have no idea the point of that last scene, nor was that what I thought you meant at all. That last scene was stupid and added nothing to the story. To my question, what was the point of the portal?

 

The BCR should have been there from the beginning. I didn't like everything about therm, but they were more effective rebels than the people in season one.

 

I do think there was room for more character growth, agreed, but that wasn't my biggest issue. And yes, it tied up pretty fast there at the end......

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

I have no idea the point of that last scene, nor was that what I thought you meant at all. That last scene was stupid and added nothing to the story. To my question, what was the point of the portal?

The BCR should have been there from the beginning. I didn't like everything about therm, but they were more effective rebels than the people in season one.

I do think there was room for more character growth, agreed, but that wasn't my biggest issue. And yes, it tied up pretty fast there at the end......

 

That was my other big complaint... where the heck was the BCR during the first 3 seasons... enemy of my enemy is my friend and all... they'd have been allies with the resistance.. uncomfortable sure.. but they came out of nowhere for an org that was supposedly as powerful as they were.