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

The Man in the High Castle: Season 3, Episode 5 “The New Colossus” (B-)

This episode provided some definite power plays that I don’t think were all that expected, but this show still continues to be far less resounding and great both than I had hoped it would be and than most people attest it is. Hoover gathering evidence against Helen and John, including damning details of the Argentinean kidnapping plot, and then having Rockwell present it in front of Himmler felt rather juvenile, since you’d think that the leader of the Reich wouldn’t fly all the way from Berlin to hear accusations in such a dramatic way. The most interesting part, I suppose, was that Himmler wasn’t bothered by what he knew John to have done but rather by his sloppiness in allowing Rockwell to find out and not recognizing Helen for the problematic liability that she is. I didn’t know why we had to see Rockwell indulging his fantasies in Havana, merely to show John’s reach and willingness to crack down when it doesn’t involve a difficult decision. Ed talking about hiding things in his underpants to an ungrateful Robert just wasn’t necessary, and I’m not sure why we’re still following either of those characters. Frank not wanting to prepare for his Bar Mitzvah is also far less compelling than it should be. It was reassuring to see Juliana take immediate action once she saw who Joe had become, and his death is one thing that I didn’t see coming. Hopefully that will help make this show better, and, disturbing as it is, this show should also shift more of its focus to Nicole’s efforts to replace relics of “pre-Reich America” with more potent propaganda.