What I’m Watching: The Man in the High Castle

The Man in the High Castle: Season 2, Episode 6 “Kintsugi” (B-)

Who isn’t dreaming about Juliana? For someone who’s not really all that dynamic, she takes up a good portion of attention on this show. Joe hallucinating her during a major trip at a party in Berlin was definitely her wildest appearance, though the site of her as Tagomi’s daughter-in-law holding his grandson in her arms was particularly jarring. It’s strange to see Tagomi spend the entire hour in a different universe, learning about what values his family members have in an alternate America. Ending the episode with a speech by JFK was strange, and didn’t feel so appropriate since, whatever place Juliana and Joe have started to find for themselves in this world, it’s not actually headed towards any greater sense of liberty. Joe realizing who he is supposed to be in Berlin is a journey filled with paranoia about his true purpose, but I think he’s approaching an important realization that may not send him down the path he thinks it will. Both he and Juliana are infiltrating social circles in different ways, and Juliana is starting to care about the Nazis she is getting to know despite their inherent ignorance and outright xenophobia. I’m not too enthralled with John’s plan to spirit away his younger son by making him the alleged victim of a made-up kidnapping plot in South America, mainly because the idea of John being able to divert an entire investigation and fail to figure out what happened is entirely impossible to believe. I suspect a far more tragic fate will befall his son and their family before that plan can be put into action.