Let me tell you how amazing Season 2 of The Man in the High Castle was.
I originally wanted to write an in-depth review that covered every single aspect of the new season right after I saw it, but I know it would take ages and be twice as long! I knew I’d enjoy it, but what I didn’t anticipate was how much I would love it and how emotional I’d get as I followed the characters along in their different journeys.
I just want to say that I feel like THIS is the show I’ve been waiting for my entire life! I know that sounds a bit overboard, but I’m being honest. It truly is a masterpiece.
I’ll just breach the surface on a few things and drop a huge spoiler alert. If you haven’t seen it yet and want to avoid spoilers, don’t read any further.
The writers nailed everything that makes an excellent story, three dimensional characters and what I call ‘beautiful tragedies’ (just to name a few things they got right). You find yourself rooting for characters you’d never appreciate otherwise.
Here are a few highlights worth mentioning:
Juliana Crain: I know a lot of people didn’t like her in Season 1, but the beauty of it was that I thought she was perfect. You have this ordinary young woman in this alternate world who is suddenly forced to question her existence—everything. Her actions and reactions are imperfect, and, above all, human. Any one of us could be in her shoes and behave exactly the same way.
To put it best, “Imperfection can be beautiful.” ~ Juliana Crain
In season 2, there were times I rooted for her, times I cursed her, and times I wondered who she was. In the end, she chose kindness, redeeming herself for getting that news reporter killed (oh, how I loathed her that episode!).
Obergruppenführer John Smith: This is someone who appears to be the typical ruthless, Nazi villain at first glance. But beneath his black uniform is a caring husband and father who will protect his family no matter the cost.
One of the beautiful tragedies I mentioned is the relationship between Smith and his son, Thomas. Season 1 throws the powerful, confident Smith a wrench in the mix when Thomas is diagnosed with an incurable disease. In the Reich, this means death.
Throughout Season 2, you see him doing everything he can to hide his son’s illness and to protect him. But in the end, Thomas decides to turn himself in to be euthanized. Thomas’s final scene brought tears to my eyes.
The writers could have gone the cheap route and had the son killed by an accident or by an angry resistance fighter, but no. They had Thomas CHOOSE for himself—after everything his father went through to keep him safe—and that is what makes The Man in the High Castle one of the best written television shows of all time.
