Review by C.J. Bunce
How often does a television series stay powerfully compelling for the entirety of its run? Most series, especially science fiction series, have a freshman and sophomore season full of bad episodes and clunky storylines. With a fourth season now one for the books, Amazon Studios’ The Man in the High Castle is the exception, and nothing short of cinema magic that the final season of the series didn’t miss a beat in its final ten episodes. The series has been a slow burn from the first season, but if you enjoy the idea of an alternate universe that doubles as an alternate history story–and nobody made them better than author Philip K. Dick–then this is the series for you, waiting for you to stream its 40 episodes right now. It all began with a first-rate pilot (first previewed here at borg) set in a gut-wrenching world where the Axis beat the Allies in World War II, created five years ago for Amazon’s first run at a series format. From the meticulously re-created sets, buildings, landscapes, costumes, props, and vehicles, to a script that may very well reflect the smartest and most tense science fiction ever to hit television sets, The Man in the High Castle proves Amazon Studios can match (and beat) the quality of programming of any of its competitors.
The themes are unfortunately current, grand and weighty like the best science fiction should be, and Santayana’s warning was probably never better illustrated in fiction form, asking the question: Could Nazi leadership of the homegrown American variety be worse than a threat from foreign invaders? The show also explores other big ideas, like the idea that you may not be the very best possible version of yourself (and what you could do about it). Most series are top-heavy, relying too much on the lead characters to drive the story. The writers of The Man in the High Castle took the time to completely flesh out dozens of key supporting characters, each one critical to the story, and all an example of world-building detail that every writer should take notes on. Every thread they created gets nicely tied up by the final episode. The very best, most complex and creative character arcs on any series this decade happened here. And the series’ climactic scene is simply goosebump-inducing. The pool of candidates for anyone’s best TV actor and actress this year? They should begin with this series.
Back again is Alexa Davalos as the world-bending, judo teacher-turned resistance strategist. She was joined by last year’s new suave, rogue soldier, played by Jason O’Mara. They have the knowledge to potentially save their world and infinite others, but how do they decide what is the right way to do it? Leading the bad guys on the American front again is Rufus Sewell′s Reichsmarshall John Smith, whose performance as the rising Nazi leader is so convincing viewers will never see what’s coming next, and his wife Helen, played by Chelah Horsdal, gets to step into the spotlight in nerve-wracking ways this season. Joel de la Fuerte, as Japan’s Emperor’s leader in San Francisco, is so versatile he should be the most sought-after actor on the planet. This year they are joined by new good guys played by Frances Turner and Clé Bennett, who bring a welcome, late-breaking twist to the outcome of the world, plus the return of Quinn Lord as the alt world’s Thomas Smith. Even the kids playing the daughters–Genea Charpentier and Gracyn Shinyei–are scary good (meriting inclusion on our ever-growing horror film “creepy little girls” list).
In the huge surprises department, Star Trek, G.I. Joe., and Continuum’s Rachel Nichols returns to sci-fi as a ruthless Nazi bodyguard. Brennan Brown′s Robert Childan brings the series back to Philip K. Dick’s source material beautifully, and the writers make room to add the lovely Mayumi Yoshida and Chika Kanamoto for fascinating sub-plots.
And we shouldn’t forget to mention the makeup may be TV’s best, too, thanks to a legion of series makeup artists. Kenneth Tigar and William Forsythe are brilliant and nearly unrecognizable as the horrifically vile Fuhrer Heinrich Himmler and Nazi henchman J. Edgar Hoover.
If you’re looking for the year’s best single episodes, you should begin here, too, including the episode “Hitler Has Only Got One Ball,” which will have you laughing in the middle of high drama over a classic British war tune.
The series fits so many genres, it’s crafted to appeal to fans of any of them, whether alternate history science fiction (including a Steven Spielberg-inspired finale), historical drama, suspense mystery, or dystopian horror. It should be in every avid TV watcher’s Top 5 series in 2019. The complete four-season series The Man from High Castle is streaming now here on Amazon.
