The Man in the High Castle was one of 2015’s most successful new shows. Telling the story of a brewing rebellion in alternate history where the Axis powers won World War II, the show’s first season became an immediate success with amongst viewers and critics. But even with its massive, engrossing plot, TMITHC still had some issues that had to be addressed. The writers did a great job of taking cues from viewers’ response, resolving these flaws, and delivered a second season that was an improvement over its debut season in several ways.
Season two of The Man in the High Castle picked up a little while after the first season’s ending and put its characters on paths where they faced greater odds than ever before, separated from each other. While Frank joined an extremist group of rebels and plotted the downfall of the Japanese-German empire and Joe takes off on a trip to Germany to discover more about his past, Juliana has a fateful meeting with the titular Man in the High Castle who sends her on a crucial undercover mission that could turn the tides of the rebellion. The plot also followed up on the first season’s cliffhanger involving Trade Minister Tagomi as he explored the new world to which he was transported.
Alexa Davalos as Juliana Crain
When a show’s canvas is as large and complex as High Castle’s, it is essential that the show has a roster of characters just as intriguing as the plot. This was a major issue with the first season of TMITHC. With the exception of Rupert Evans’s Frank Frink, none of the show’s characters were compelling enough for the viewers to be invested in. In the second season, however, the writers took care of this issue by focusing enough on transforming many of the show’s insipid characters into people worth caring. The season, as a whole, concentrated on developing its main characters by presenting them with greater conflicts relevant to the main plot and their personal arcs.
This does not mean that the writers gave more significance to character development over plot progression. Rather, both aspects of the show were handled in a way that balanced each other. Season two was packed with tension from the very beginning. The plot mainly dealt with Japan and Germany’s preparation for the impending Third World War while trying to thwart the rising rebellion against the Reich and the Pacific States with Juliana, Frank, and Joe turning out to be key pieces in the conflict. The show builds its pressure throughout the season, exploring life in the dystopia from multiple perspectives, concluding in an eventful couple of episodes that offer plenty of thrills, shocks, and drama that leaves the viewers craving for more.
Trade Minister Tagomi(Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) had a stronger presence in season two
There has also been a noticeable improvement in the cast’s performances. While Rupert Evans and Rufus Sewell were the only actors who stood out in the first season, almost all of the show’s actors delivered spectacular performances. It might as well be that in season two, the characters were written in a way that utilized the cast’s talent well. Among the main cast, Alexa Davalos(Juliana Crain) and Rupert Evans handled their roles brilliantly while Luke Kleintank(Joe Blake) still has a fair deal to improve. DJ Qualls(Ed McCarthy) and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa(Nobusuke Tagomi) had a stronger and more consequential presence in the show this season.
Rupert Evans continued to be brilliant as Frank Frink who remained one of the best characters in the show
TMITHC’s technical sides of the show also stood better than that of season one, possibly owing to an increase in budget. The visual effects used in portraying a Nazi occupied America were more convincing in season two and the show’s background score remained just as poignant as it used to be. Episode nine(“Detonation”) which had a perfect balance between drama, action, and suspense turned out to be one of the show’s best episodes yet.
In conclusion, The Man in the High Castle’s second season was a major improvement over its first. A riveting and moving story combined with a set of intriguing subplots revolving around an equally intriguing set of characters helped the show set a higher bar for itself. Although the show still had some flaws and clichés, they were nothing unforgivable. It would be very interesting to see how Juliana, Frank, Joe, and Tagomi’s tale will progress when the show returns next time for its third season.
Tags: The Man in the High Castle The Man in the High Castle Season 2 TMITHC
