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In 2015, The Man in the High Castle was one of the first original series on Prime Video. As of this week, it’s got a new streaming home on Netflix.
The show is based on the 1962 sci-fi novel by Philip K. Dick, the writer whose work inspired Blade Runner and other hits.
This series is set in an alternate timeline where the German and Japanese forces defeated the United States during World War II and carved up America in its wake.
Now, Watch With Us shares three reasons why you need to watch The Man in the High Castle on Netflix in March.
The Premise Is Dark and Intriguing
The world of The Man in the High Castle isn’t one we’d want to live in, but there is something fascinating about the way the world changed on the show. Japan controls most of the West Coast of the United States, while Germany took the majority of the East Coast and the central states. Only a small neutral zone separates the two empires in the Rocky Mountains.
Not every citizen accepts the world as it is. The late Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa — who had such a famously menacing role as the villain in Mortal Kombat — has an affecting turn as Japanese Trade Minister Nobusuke Tagomi. His people are seemingly in control of their own fate, but Tagomi sees that becoming masters of America has led to more harm than good. His acts of resistance are less overt than others, but he has a key part to play in the story. However, most of the show’s spotlight goes to Juliana Crain (FBI: Most Wanted‘s Alexa Davalos), one of the Americans living under the Japanese occupation.
Alexa Davalos Gives a Standout Performance
Although Davalos has worked regularly as an actress for over two decades, she’s rarely received the spotlight that she had on this show. That’s unfortunate because Davalos is magnetic and compelling in this role. She initially portrays Juliana as a loyal citizen who has embraced Japanese culture. It’s only when she witnesses the cruelty of the regime firsthand that she rebels. Juliana is also one of the handful of characters who become aware of newsreels from other worlds that depict the defeat of the Nazis.
Over time, Juliana takes on bigger risks to bring down the Nazis, even when it may cost her the love of her boyfriend, Frank Frink (Bridgerton‘s Rupert Evans). She also captures the romantic attention of Joe Blake (Luke Kleintank), a man with his own dubious loyalties.
The Characters Exist in Morally Ambiguous Territory
Ironically, Frank’s acts of rebellion go even further than Julianna’s, and without spoiling early events in the show, the Japanese regime brought that on itself through its own acts of cruelty. To attack the Japanese controlling his home, Frank has to morally compromise himself.
Regardless, Frank looks like a saint compared to John Smith (Rufus Sewell), a former American soldier turned Nazi collaborator. Thanks to his ruthlessness, Smith has become an SS Obergruppenführer and one of the leaders of the Nazi regime in America. Smith isn’t some cartoonish villain, even though he routinely does things that are evil. Sewell gives Smith an underlying humanity that lets him acknowledge the cost of his betrayal and his ideology. Smith even risks his life and standing to protect one of his family members from his fellow Nazis, only to see it backfire. Smith pays a high price for his power, and his story is one of the most interesting aspects of the show’s four-season run.
The Man in the High Castle is streaming on Netflix.
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