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Amazon's 'The Man in the High Castle' S2 |OT| Alt-Right History

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Anon67

Member
I dropped the show with about 2 episodes left in season 1. Meandering is a little too kind of an adjective for it.

Yeah I could see why someone would think this. I will say that you should start watching it again since it straightens out towards middle and end of the season.
 

LoveCake

Member
I watched the first season, it was pretty good, the cliffhanger at the end though made me a little disappointed in regards to it's potential meaning, but I will watch this second season over Christmas.
 
So is this no longer available in Ultra HD/HDR? I watched all of S1 that way and now neither season appears to support it.:(

Edit: Nevermind. Found it.
 

Xando

Member
Finished S2. Started pretty mediocre but picks up towards the middle and has unexpected turns towards the end. Especially the last two episodes were pretty good imo.
 

Laz?

Neo Member
I really enjoyed season 1 despite the main characters being terrible. Smith and Tagomi made the show work. That S1 intro...Still gives me chills. Looking forward to watching this over Christmas.
 

WedgeX

Banned
Only having completed the third episode, but...

I'll just say, you know a show has fucked up BAD when the two Nazis are the most interesting and well-developed characters.

Smith is definitely one of the two highlights, with Tagomi. Blake is better this season than last.

I don't think the show has done anything to show characters who want or strive for a different world not just because its the reality we're used to but because it would be true to them. Frank has made some strides as of the second season's third episode. Wholly disappointed in the Resistance and
the Man in the High Castle who, while I love Stephen Root, seemed to have...little motivation? So he wants to save San Fransisco. That's nice. Maybe he's just doing the best he can without a time machine but who cares about small changes to the timeline when everyone but the white people and people of Japanese descent have been killed off in most of the world
The random truck driver seemed like an interesting character. Hope we get more of him.

Am intrigued at the mention of an engineering project I'd not heard of before:
The Damming of the Mediterranean (wiki)
 

SpaceWolf

Banned
Just started Season 2, two episodes in.

Really great so far. This season seems to have taken a massive upswing in quality in comparison to the first. Episode 2 was easily the best episode the show has ever produced.
 

jesu

Member
Just started Season 2, two episodes in.

Really great so far. This season seems to have taken a massive upswing in quality in comparison to the first. Episode 2 was easily the best episode the show has ever produced.

That sounds intriguing!
I really enjoyed season one as it is.
Will watch this in the new year.
 

SURGEdude

Member
Much improved over season 2 and the later episodes are actually good. They seem to have cleaned up the pacing a bit as well. The relevance is certainly pumped up too due to recent events.
 

Makonero

Member
Much improved over season 2 and the later episodes are actually good. They seem to have cleaned up the pacing a bit as well. The relevance is certainly pumped up too due to recent events.

It just feels like scenes are more focused. People have motivations and plans and conflicts aren't arbitrary or confusing but come from a realistic place. It feels like the show is actually moving somewhere instead of wandering to and fro. I'm enjoying it much more this season.
 
Much improved over season 2 and the later episodes are actually good. They seem to have cleaned up the pacing a bit as well. The relevance is certainly pumped up too due to recent events.

Yeah they really focusing more on bigger picture political intrigue and removing the love triangle thing going on in the first season. Also some pretty interesting world building, like the
hippie environmental lebensbraum Next Gen nazis? lol

The relevance is certainly pumped up too due to recent events.

Watching this series makes me glad I don't live in a country governed by racist fascists.... oh wait.
 
Okay seriously, FUCK
Juliana
. Will someone remove this asshole's Plot Armor already? Once again
she
is BY FAR the worst character in the show.
 
I haven't watched this show, but I'm curious: is the "Seig Heil" Statue of Liberty actually in the show or is it just in the promotional art?
 
Sticking with this because the world is interesting and I like alternate history but the Juliana storyline is so poorly written. There's no internal logic behind any of her decisions.

She's easily the most hateable protagonist in a TV show or movie thst I've ever watched.
 
Sticking with this because the world is interesting and I like alternate history but the Juliana storyline is so poorly written. There's no internal logic behind any of her decisions.

She's easily the most hateable protagonist in a TV show or movie thst I've ever watched.

This. So much this.

And now they cranked it up EVEN WORSE and made her into some bullshit chosen one or something!
 

SpaceWolf

Banned
Episode 4: (Mild Spoiler) LOVED how
Julianna's use of the old "Snog a complete stranger" ploy failed spectacularly.
I always hated that in films.
 

SpaceWolf

Banned
Episode 5 ending:

giphy.gif


Also, Frank is really starting to piss me off.
He decides by himself to cut a deal with the Yakuza, enslaving himself, Ed and Robert to the organization, and now he's straight-up refusing to do any of the work that'll get their first payment in on time. He's putting Ed's life in danger (a guy who he literally owes his life to), and he doesn't even seem to give a single fuck. He's a fucking awful friend.
 

Plum

Member
Just finished the Season. Whilst it's still as flawed as ever I definitely enjoyed it season a lot more than the last. More focus being put on side characters is great and overall things just felt more impactful. Definitely give it a watch if you saw Season 1.

Thank fuck Frank is dead. The fucker was a bastard all Season, when you're sympathizing with a literal Nazi over a rebellion member you know something's gone wrong.
 
anyone else find the audio to be bad compared to other amazon shows?

i only watch red oaks and this show but the audio on this is quite poor for some reason.
 

Grizzlyjin

Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that
anyone else find the audio to be bad compared to other amazon shows?

i only watch red oaks and this show but the audio on this is quite poor for some reason.

I've been watching the end of Season 1 today and constantly have to adjust the volume.
 

NolbertoS

Member
Binge watched the entire 2 seasons over the weekend. Three questions

#1
Is Frank dead or did he make it out on time. I'm guessing the writers left it to us if they are dead or not, but my gut tells me they're alive after seeing Trudy in the season finale

#2
this concept of travelling between alternate realities has my brain confused. First, I'm guessing Tagomi?? When travelling to "our" realm of reality and seeing his family, its like his family knew what he does based on his constant disappearance. Secondly that Nazi friend of his, Wegener I think, did he travel to our world and this became convinced that A bombs are dangerous

#3
that Heisenburg device, I'm guessing its an actual device that lets us travel between worlds, but seems we can travel to our reality, using our mind. I wonder if such a device exisits, just curious

I can't wait for Season 3 :D
 

EYEL1NER

Member
I just started episode one of season two. I'll continue with it until I'm done but man, these impressions aren't making it sound very good. I liked season one but mainly for the political intrigue and the clashing between Japan and Germany. I loved everything about Obergruppenführer Smith and his family, and him trying to find out who attempted to assassinate him, and I loved trying to figure out Tagomi's loyalties and seeing him butt heads with Inspector Kido. I didn't hate the parts with Julianna, Joe, and Frank, but they weren't exactly my favorite parts; I didn't really care about the mystery of the films either. I guess I didn't mine Julianna interacting with Tagomi, Joe interacting with John Smith, and Frank interacting with Kido, but when the story that connects those three characters just doesn't interest me. I'll keep watching for sure, but I'm not as eager to watch as I was after a couple episodes of S1.
 
Why is this seasom not in 4k/hdr like season 1 or other Amazon original shows?

It is. I had to click on the banner ad at the top of the Amazon app to get the Ultra HD/HDR version of the show. Just selecting it in the standard menu ribbon gave me the standard HD version.
 
Is there a "previously on..." before the first episode?

I loved the first season but don't remember where all the chess pieces were by the end of it (besides of course the big Tagomi moment).
 
Is there a "previously on..." before the first episode?

I loved the first season but don't remember where all the chess pieces were by the end of it (besides of course the big Tagomi moment).

Couldn't find any, had to go watch the last 2 episode of the 1st season to get a refresher.
 

SpaceWolf

Banned
So I just got around to finishing Season 2. Overall, I thought this season was a significant step-up from Season One, whixh although I enjoyed at the time...suffered greatly at the hands of the fairly bland leads and some dire pacing problems. Season 2 definitely made great strides in fixing a lot of that, with tighter, more focused plot-lines and a willingness to spend more time on the character stories which really work (John Smith and Tagomi) as opposed to the ones that don't. So overall I thought Season 2 really stepped up its game...delivering some really great television whereas before, I just sort of found the show pleasingly watchable. A big upgrade!

General impressions:

Pros:

-As always, the subtle yet endlessly sinister world-building continues to be the central highlight of the show for me, with endlessly subtle little touches which help complete a picture about just how quietly horrifying this universe really is.
-John Smith and Trade Minister Tagomi's storylines really were just firing at all cylinders this season. Two really great actors putting in some amazing work. Loved Smith's internal struggles regarding what to do with his son, in addition to Tagomi's strange new adventures within the TwinkieVerse. I hope Rufus Sewell and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa work on this show for as long as humanely possible, they're both great and their characters have been serviced by some of the show's best writing so far.
-Additionally, I was actually invested in Frank and Julianna's plot-lines this season, although Frank continues to feel like a bit of a wasted character who the writers don't know what to do with. Julianna struggling to adapt to life within Nazified New York was a really compelling plot-line for me, as was her rather strange new relationship with the Smith family.
-A lot of really interesting new characters this season, although I'm uncertain if we'll see any of them ever again. Sarah, the man from the truck and of course Abdensen. I was actually most intrigued by Lucy (Julianna's new housewife friend), given how interesting it was to consider the amount of pressure an American housewife would have been under in the 1960s, let alone a housewife living in a Nazified America who has to deal with so many strident expectations in regards to constantly bearing children. Really liked the actress too. Certainly wouldn't object if we got to see more from that character, but I suspect her storyline is done.
-As has already been mentioned in this thread, the music for this show continues to be really great.

Cons:

-
Joe really needs to go, much like in Season One...the character is just a total bore and I continue to find the character totally charmless and uncharacteristic in the role. I initially thought they were making good strides with the character at the beginning of the season when it appeared that he was starting to turn against the Nazi Regime (which I would have actually been really interested to see continue) but instead the character pretty much snaps back to his old ways, meandering pointlessly around Berlin whilst managing to pick up another dull love interest along the way. Again, like with Season One, I found myself actively hoping they would kill him off so we wouldn't have to spend any more time with him. The character is just totally holding the show back. No idea where his story is heading, but once again, I don't really care.
-I don't give a shit about Nicole. Not really enjoying her character.

So yeah, overall I thought Season 2 did a really great job of building on the strengths of the first season whilst jettisoning a lot of its weaknesses. Definitely looking forward to more.

Episode 9 spoilers:
I'm glad Frank is dead.

Ep 10:
We didn't see a body, did we? Kido looked over a big crater where they were, but they weren't there.

He's dead, Jim. Ed's our hero now.

Frank obviously isn't dead. Inspector Kido never noticed a body and his body wasn't brought out among the rest of the dead afterwards. If the show was going to kill off one of its main characters in the episode like that, they would absolutely have milked his death for all the drama it would have been worth. He's definitely still out there.
 

nOoblet16

Member
Why are people saying "You've fucked up if a Nazi is more interesting than XYZ characters"?

We are not just talking about a moustache twirling one dimensional character. Instead that Nazi happens to be one of the leads with pretty much the highest screen time or atleast the 2nd highest screen time out of any character, so naturally he gets a lot of character development. He also happens to be a Nazi who was originally not one and first and foremost an American, that gives him depth. And then not to mention the actor is fantastic. So there's no point feeling guilty for liking that character because of his association with the Nazi since at the core of it he is a well written and well acted multi dimensional character. If they didn't want the viewers to find him interesting they wouldn't have made him a lead in the first place.

Remember that Hans Landa was the best character in Inglourious Basterds and he was a Nazi.
 

antonz

Member
Smith being a compelling character just means they have nailed the characterization laid out for him. You could argue his story is cliché if you wanted to get down to it Big baddie who has his belief's challenged by circumstances beyond his control and that struggle.

But its done well so it really isn't an issue. Frank on the other hand is badly done. The bad guys have the most compelling story to tell and some of that I suspect is the fact being an alternate reality they are the ones who can be so different as needed. The good guys are the same as if they were in normal reality. fighting the bad.
 
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