1.1 The Man In The High Castle (Pilot) The Man In The High Castle has an instantly gripping premise. It’s a world in which the United States lost World War II and now finds itself divided up into three portions: The Pacific States of America, the Nazi-dominated United States of America, and a vast, rocky neutral zone separating the world’s two remaining powers from one another’s American holdings. It’s 1962, and the world is in a fragile peace held together by one dying dictator in Berlin. Ironically, when Hitler goes, so goes the peace between the two old allies, or so the rumour mill says. One of the best things about the pilot episode is that it doesn’t belabour the point. Rather than cramming a lot of exposition into the viewer’s face to set the universe, it starts instead with characters, and fills the universe in as the plot progresses. The opening credits, which are phenomenal, do a great deal of the heavy lifting, and little incidental moments, like Hirohito Airport in San Francisco or the signs in German for the U-bahn in New York, serve as the glue to press all the elements together. It feels immediately like this is a world that people live in, and that it’s been this way for long enough that everyone, save a hardcore group of American freedom fighters, has accepted it. Of course, this is only the microplot; the macroplot is incredibly interesting. With Hitler dying, both sides of the line are beset by possibilities. The Japanese Empire’s representatives see only bad things during a consultation of the I Ching while Nobusuke Tagomi (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) tries to work out a secret agreement with his German counterpart Rudolph Wegener (Carsten Norgaard) to avoid the war. Meanwhile, in New York, dedicated fascist John Smith (Rufus Sewell) continues tirelessly in his effort to weed out and kill all traitors to the party. That’s the gist of the characters thus far, and they cross paths in a very organic way. There are a lot of elements coming together in the pilot, but at no point does it become overwhelming. There’s a focus on Joe and on Juliana, as they’re our entry into this universe. Other characters serve mostly as colour, though Rufus Sewell’s Nazi will play a very big role in future episodes assuming the series gets picked up. The premise is great, and the script from Frank Spotnitz and Howard Brenton doesn’t get in its way while still including some of Dick’s more metaphysical and conspiratorial elements. It’s propulsive and twists expertly at the end, making it the sort of pilot that really makes audiences want to come back for more. US Correspondent Ron Hogan loves some alternate history, especially if it involves World War II. This particular pilot is right in his wheelhouse, and definitely worth checking out if you’re into that sort of thing. Find more by Ron daily at Shaktronics and PopFi. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
