Binge On This - The Man In the High Castle: What if the Nazis Had Won?

Today I would like to recommend another TV show that I think is still binge-worthy in spite of a few shortcomings. It's titled The Man in the High Castle, and appeared first on Amazon Prime between 2015 and 2019. The series is based on an equally interesting book from 1962 by Philip K. Dick, but in my opinion the connection between the two works is so loose that I would see it as a mere inspiration. The setting, however, is the same: an alternative world of the 1960's, where the Axis powers have won WWII.

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Alternate History in a Parallel Universe

As one would expect, the spoils go to the winners, so the Allies are pretty much dissolved: Europe (all the way into Asia) goes to Germany, while the Pacific rim becomes Japanese. North America is divided, where the West coast is a satellite of Japan, the East all the way to the Rockies part of the Greater Nazi Reich, leaving a neutral strip between the two in the Rocky Mountains.

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While occasionally we get to see glimpses of Germany and Japan, most of the story takes place in these three areas of North America. What goes on there is pretty much what you would expect: Nazi doctrine of racial purity, genetic hygiene, as well as compulsive spying on each other among the populace. In the Pacific States there's a greater emphasis on deference to the Japanese masters, and more arbitrary enforcement of police control. The Neutral Zone is characterized by general wild-west-like lawlessness.

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The show offers an insight not only into the everyday life of its people, but also a good look at the geopolitical situation. Hitler by now is an old man, on the brink of dying, and it is feared that his death would also be the end of the German - Japanese alliance. And yes, there are a number of influential faces on both sides who are working for this, while others against it.

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A Connection to Our World

If all this wasn't enough to create an interesting setting, there is also a group of people dealing in film footage... These clips are original recordings from World War II and the time after, according the history of our reality. How did those films get into that parallel world? That is one of the mysteries of this show. Just like in the book, at some point certain characters make the transition themselves. Unlike in the book, however, they not only notice this, they try using this dimensional jump for their own purposes.

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Not For Germanophiles!

After posting my reviews of Babylon Berlin and Das Boot I think I should really emphasize: This series is nothing like that! Those two were made by Germans, for Germans (and others), so the language is not only authentic, it is as original as you can get. The Man in the High Castle on the other hand, is brim full of scenes where the actor not only is clearly not a native speaker, but doesn't even speak ANY German, whatsoever.

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This would be acceptable for occasional supporting cast members, who may have a two-word line in total. But for the role of Heinrich Himmler's wife (played by Gwynyth Walsh) this is unforgivable! If you speak German, you'll be cringing in your seat at her failing attempts of pronouncing simple phrases. To make up for this, I have to comment on the excellent German skills of Kenneth Tigar playing the role of Himmler himself. Not only is his German virtually indistinguishable from that of a native speaker, his speeches actually resemble the dynamic pronunciation favored by the Nazis. He is perfectly chosen for his role, the only pity is that he remains the exception. Whether the same thing is true for the Japanese I can't say, though at least the cast has mostly Japanese names.

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Expanded Plot Line and Discarded Characters

During its four seasons The Man in the High Castle goes through a number of changes. Given the setting, it's not surprising that certain characters will be killed off. But getting rid of one of the protagonists halfway before it's through, still felt weird. Also, it kinda seemed like with each season new turns were introduced, which however didn't alter the entire story development that much.

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One thing I appreciated about the ending, was how all lose ends were tied up in a more-or-less elegant way. While the first three seasons gave the impression that they were tacked onto the first one, once it was decided to renew the show for another season, in the last one this option was clearly not open. So they wrote a neat and rounded ending, bringing all story lines to a close. This may not be everyone's cup of tea, but after the twists in previous seasons I was kinda glad to see this.

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Is There Really That Much Difference to Our World?

Even together with all the things they could have done better, I still enjoyed watching this series, and can recommend it to others. Whether it's for the supernatural mysteries of parallel universes, or the suspenseful story development, this show was worth watching. However, the main reason why I liked it, was its many allusions to our present reality, and all the similarities to our world, especially back in the 60's.

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Sure, if you were a white middle-class American, a Nazi victory may seem devastating, and a Japanese one even more so. But for black people, espcially from the South, it makes very little difference, which is made abundantly clear in the show. Also, when it comes to law enforcement, the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover in the Greater Nazi Reich doesn't seem any different from its counterpart in our reality. Recognizing these, and many other parallels to our world is what made this series highly enjoyable for me.

If you have become curious about this TV show, check out the trailer of the first season:

Take a Look at the Previous Posts in my Binge On This Series:

Lost: Mystery With Addictive Potential
Babylon Berlin: Sociopolitical Tremmors in the Weimar Republic
Rome: A Realistic Sandal Series
Carnivàle: A Throw-back to the Thirties
Weeds: The Hillarious Alternative to Breaking Bad
Mr. Robot: Hackers, Freedom, and Mental Issues
Das Boot: A Real German WWII Series
Black Sails: Pirate Lore Galore
Twelve Monkeys: Time Travel and Pandemic
The DocsMX 2020 Film Festival