Mario's Musings (Quarantine Edition): The Man in the High Castle
I discovered The Man in the High Castle by accident. I was randomly browsing through a Cracked article about little things that would have completely changed the course of history. The subject of FDR’s attempted assassination was one of them, and the Philip K. Dick novel was referenced as a “what if” scenario of what the world would be like if the assassination was successful.
What would have happened? Well, apparently America would have lost World War II, with the West Coast occupied by the Japanese while the East Coast and most of the Midwest belonging to Nazi Germany, effectively starting a different kind of Cold War.
The novel focuses on mostly the West Coast and the people living there; Frank Frink, Juliana Craine, Joe Blake, Ed McCarthy, and Trade Minister Tagomi, with Nazi Germany’s actions mostly being alluded to throughout. The Man in the High Castle was a great read, so I was excited when it was announced that Ridley Scott was producing a television series.
The series however, not only focuses on those characters on the West Coast, but on both coasts while introducing fans to new characters such as ObergruppenführerJohn Smith; former United States Army Captain who joined the SS after America surrendered to Nazi Germany. His entire story throughout the series is presented as one great tragedy, and Rufus Sewell, an actor known for playing villains, is superb as one who had to sell his soul for the benefit of his family. It’s an almost perfect shade of grey character.
But the main crutch of the series focuses on “The Grasshopper Lies Heavy”, a film that shows a world in which the Axis Powers lost World War II (in the novel it’s a book with the same title), and is used to give hope to people that are openly resisting both factions on American soil. Juliana and later Frank join the resistance thanks to the contents of the film. Over the course of four seasons, you see the horrors of Nazi Germany inflicted upon America and everyone’s resistance to it.
Times Square
And it’s not all wine and roses for Nazi Germany despite being the world’s superpower. As expected, there’s plenty of backstabbing and conspiracies among the major historical figures that would have survived WWII (such as Hitler, Himmler, and Mengele), as well as the original characters created for the series. You get to dive into John Smith’s home life and how being a top American Nazi official affects his family, as while his children have no idea what life was like before WWII, John and his wife Helen know all too well.
All in all, give this series a watch if you’re interested in alternate history. Rufus Sewell’s portrayal of John Smith alone is worth the price of admission and his storyline honestly became my favorite part of the series, especially in the later seasons. That’s not to take away from the other characters on the show, as people like Juliana, Frank, and Joe bring their own storylines to the forefront and strikes a sobering tone with viewers. In today’s world, especially after events like Charlottesville, this show rings a familiar bell that is sometimes too loud to ignore.