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

The Man in the High Castle: Season 2, Episode 3 “Travelers” (B)

This episode sent things back in a more compelling direction, though I’m still not sure that everything is equally interesting. The drama happening in the Greater Nazi Reich and in Germany itself is definitely superior to what’s going on in the Pacific States, and that’s largely because the characters in the former are better than those in the latter. To start with the inferior, Frank is keeping very busy as he now enlists Ed to be the latest thorn in Robert’s side as their operation heats up and moves its base into Robert’s home, something the antiques salesman really doesn’t like. Much as he tried not to, he’s also getting very cozy with the resistance, and now he’s in it whether he wants to be or not. Arnold was surprisingly forthcoming with Inspector Kido, but Juliana is far enough away from all this that it shouldn’t matter. Her chilly arrival to New York showed that the political asylum she thought she was requesting was a far more systematic and unforgiving operation, where she has to be examined for purity and evaluated based on her child-bearing potential. John made a very personal and direct approach, and he did that in the midst of having to deal with his son’s unfitness to remain alive in this world, something he chose to prevent by killing the doctor who was following up on John’s inaction. Joe’s time in Berlin has not been too pleasant, and I’m looking forward to seeing the surprise he’s going to experience when he returns home and finds that Juliana is much closer than he ever expected.