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Given the almost two-year hiatus between the seasons of The man at the high castle, and the resolution of the production crisis that left the series without showrunner for much of the second season (Eric Overmyer, previously from Bosch, is now part of the executive producers), viewers may be expecting a thorough overhaul at the opening of the third season. This is not the case, because "More than ever, we care about you" is pretty much the same show we already know, with some new faces on board.
The first season of this super big size is not long to register with almost all the main characters, scattered around the world, one hour and nine minutes later. A sequence of pre-credits in which Juliana and an armed group of resistance fighters ambush us leads to an appropriately ambiguous beginning. Is this our Juliana or a version of an alternative Earth? If she is the Juliana we know when and where this happens?
We soon learn that the present is the autumn of 1962. In Berlin, a much hairier Joe is retained, as well as his father Martin Heusmann, who is awaiting execution for his role in the assassination of the Führer. In Monument Valley, Japanese occupation leaders perform a nuclear test as part of their bluff against the Nazis. Tagomi is present and extremely skeptical about its effectiveness. In the Denver Neutral Zone, Juliana receives a postcard saying "Done for Aunt Judy" and asks for help from newcomer Wyatt Price (Jason O'Mara) to find an address for Judy Bridger in Santa Fe. Not far from there, Juliana's sister, Trudy – or more exactly her doppelganger of another reality – is hidden with Abendsen and his wife Caroline (played by the actress and musician Ann Magnuson, whose members of the Bongwater group fondly remember) . John Smith returns from Berlin to New York with a promotion, but now without a son as a result of Thomas's decision to go to the Department of Public Health.
The way in which the episode (written by Wesley Strick) flies over these places and distant characters like a stone jumping on a lake is proof of mid-series bidding, but we try to rationalize things on time. Joe's time in Berlin does not last much longer as he cooperates with his captors by pulling his own father's trigger. He returns to New York freshly shorn, but he will not stay long there, because he is sent to San Francisco as an attached commercial attaché. Before leaving, he has time to have an embarrassing conversation with Smith, but the tension that reigns between them about the way things are going on in Berlin remains calm.
As always, the big question with The man at the castle high rest: who does it matter? Joe has never convinced me, but the end of this episode suggests that he is either ready to engage with the Resistance, or that he totally adheres to Himmler's plans. John Smith may have all the fits of conscience he wants at his son's memorial, but I'm no more receptive to sympathetic Nazis than he was two years ago. He will have to do a lot more than occasionally to look troubled. Juliana seems to have put aside her unfortunate act for a more proactive approach, at least in this first episode.
Maybe the new characters will support the charge. We met Nicole Dormer last season in Berlin, but she distinguished herself here as "next Leni Riefenstahl". One highlight of this week is his encounter with the alternate universe Don Draper, which gives us insight into what the Mad Men life would have been like under a fascist regime. (Although I'd like to think that Don could do better than "Fascism, it's freedom.") O'Mara makes a good first impression as a black market villain Wyatt Price, who should prove to be a more lively love interest for Juliana than for Joe. Perhaps the most interesting addition to the cast is William Forsythe in the role of J. Edgar Hoover, who enthusiastically embraced Fascism – no surprises for anyone who knows his methods in our reality. It is too early to say what role it will play in the events of this season, but an injection of fresh blood certainly can not hurt.
Observations lost
- Welcome to the TV Club coverage of The man at the castle high! We will move at a faster pace than in previous seasons, whether the show is or not. Watch my account of the second episode later today and two a day.
- Hoover is not the only real figure to make his way into the first. George Lincoln Rockwell, who spoke at the Thomas Memorial, was the founder of the American Nazi Party in our reality.
- How Abendsen became the man of the high castle: he created a fake news film about an "alternative world", and travelers from the other world began to convey the real things to him. In addition, he did not destroy all the movies – Tagomi now has a box.
- Despite the extra length of this episode, there have been unstable transitions. Joe is back in New York in the blink of an eye, and when Juliana and Trudy show up at Tagomi at the end, I have to ask myself again what reality we are watching.
- Many of today's high-profile television shows have gone overboard with dark images, but during this episode, events have unfolded in an alternative world characterized by a serious shortage of light bulbs. .
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