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

The Man in the High Castle: Season 2, Episode 9 “Detonation” (B+)

And here we have it, nineteen episodes into this show’s run. This was the best episode this show has produced yet, and a sign that this has all been worth it. After spending nearly the whole season in New York cozying up to the Smith family, Juliana has definitely created a useful pipeline with Thomas coming directly to her to ask what’s wrong with him, but I think she’s crossed a line that she won’t be able to uncross. Helping to blackmail Henry for George accelerated events in a major way, with Henry announcing Hitler’s death on live TV and then being shot on camera seconds later. While it seemed that the Nazis weren’t prepared for that, it turns out that it was their plan all along to use Hitler’s death to start a war with the Japanese, which presents enormous uncertainty for whatever comes next for the American people with their two conquerors preparing for the next world war. Frank shooting Inspector Kido and detonating an explosive was interestingly-timed because it weakens the Japanese when they’ve already been caught by surprise. Flashing back to Frank first introducing Ed to Juliana was effective since it framed him in the most positive light he’s ever been in since the start of the show, and made him seem like a real hero. Robert and Ed made it out of San Francisco just in time, and I’m now looking forward to an episode of this more than I ever have before. The season finale is sure to be impactful and eventful, and hopefully it can redirect season three to be much more engaging.