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Man in the High Castle (Season 2)

I watched season 1... excellent show... looking forward to season 2.
 
I bingewatched it when it came out. Great season. Can't wait for next season.
 
I read Philip K. Dick's novel of the same name when I was a teenager. This series is only a loose adaptation and the story line is a bit confusing for someone like me. But it's still a well-made and engaging show and I'm looking forward to the next season.
 
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Mycroft said:
I read Philip K. Dick's novel of the same name when I was a teenager. This series is only a loose adaptation and the story line is a bit confusing for someone like me. But it's still a well-made and engaging show and I'm looking forward to the next season.
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The second season has been released, everybody! I'm binge watching right now. :mrgreen:

The adaptation is actually pretty good, imo. There's only been minor changes to the overall characters. The book didn't have much of a plot anyway so the added storyline of the resistance, plus new characters like John Smith and Inspector Kido is a great addition to what the book had.
 
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PoS said:
The Man in the High Castle (TV Series 2015– ) - IMDb



Anybody watching this? Next to Westworld, this is my favorite sci-fi TV show right now.
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In the quiet of this holiday season, I finally decided to give "this High Castle" thing a look.

Dang, what great show! I've been doing a bit of binge watching to get through Season 1 and I'm working my way into Season 2.

Ok, a bit dark and unpleasant, but man, does it hook you in.

Great writing, great characters, amazing production value/quality, twists, turns, who do you trust, and a large dose of WTH.

Highly recommend a go if "what if", nail biting, and "WTH" are what floats your boat.
 
Should begin season 2 tonight. Didn't seem the most Christmas-y thing to watch in high season, so I can catch up with it now. First season was excellent, even if the stuff in Canon City was ultimately pointless.
 
Harshaw said:
Should begin season 2 tonight. Didn't seem the most Christmas-y thing to watch in high season, so I can catch up with it now. First season was excellent, even if the stuff in Canon City was ultimately pointless.
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My biggest problem with the "Canon City" part is that, for any Coloradan who is familiar with the town, that was obviously NOT the real Canon City...not even back in the '60's.
 
Mycroft said:
My biggest problem with the "Canon City" part is that, for any Coloradan who is familiar with the town, that was obviously NOT the real Canon City...not even back in the '60's.
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Worse than that, in the pilot, it was shot in Roslyn, WA, a town I know well, where Northern Exposure was filmed.

For the rest of the episodes, it was some town in British Columbia which looked nothing like Roslyn. The difference was obvious.
 
Harshaw said:
Worse than that, in the pilot, it was shot in Roslyn, WA, a town I know well, where Northern Exposure was filmed.

For the rest of the episodes, it was some town in British Columbia which looked nothing like Roslyn. The difference was obvious.
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Well considering that it takes place in an alternate universe, you might want to give the locations a bit of slack. :2razz:

What I enjoy most about this show is the subtlety of it. In most dystopian shows and movies like The Hunger Games for example, its so blatant to the point of parody. In the case of this show, it creeps up on you. It's certainly depressing, which is why my favorite character is Robert Childan, he brings a much needed levity to the whole dreary point of existence in a world like that.
 
I enjoy the complexity of the villains. They each have their own sense of integrity and honor, even if they're doing horrible things. You get it, even when you're horrified. That takes great writing, direction, and acting.
 
I just finished binging on the 2nd season. Great ending. Can't wait for more.
 
PoS said:
Well considering that it takes place in an alternate universe, you might want to give the locations a bit of slack. :2razz:

What I enjoy most about this show is the subtlety of it. In most dystopian shows and movies like The Hunger Games for example, its so blatant to the point of parody. In the case of this show, it creeps up on you. It's certainly depressing, which is why my favorite character is Robert Childan, he brings a much needed levity to the whole dreary point of existence in a world like that.
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Yes, one of the early moments where this hits me, in season one, where Joe has a flat, and the cop comes up and helps him. His actions are the typical, 50's stereotype friendly middle America cop. Yet, he's wearing a swastika, and then the ashes start raining down from the "hospital." ****ing creepy.
 
Mycroft said:
I just finished binging on the 2nd season. Great ending. Can't wait for more.
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The way John Smith comes in at the end, is just ****ing brilliant. Then to have his son turn himself in to be executed. I can't wait to see how he deals with that emotionally. Outside of Juliana, he's the most fascinating character to me.
 
Your Star said:
The way John Smith comes in at the end, is just ****ing brilliant. Then to have his son turn himself in to be executed. I can't wait to see how he deals with that emotionally. Outside of Juliana, he's the most fascinating character to me.
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Wow. I just finished it. This is the best TV show I've seen this year. There were plenty of excellent shows, but this one is just ... amazing.

The characters are so complex you can't hate any of them.

John Smith is such a badass, he's like Littlefinger, Ramsay Bolton, Tyrion and Tywin Lannister all rolled into one. Just an outstanding character.

Is Frank Frink dead?

LOL the Nazi war room reminded me of the war room in Dr. Strangelove, that surely wasnt a coincidence...
 
Season 2 was not as tight as season 1. It seemed to take a while to find its stride, and by "a while," I mean 7 episodes. The ending was also not as strong.

I thought they were going to do more with it after they depicted Smith and his wife witnessing the nuke over DC, especially after making a fuss over Smith's US Army medal. I thought he might find a bit of long-lost American patriotism when faced with the loss of his son and the possible destruction of his country. He did say he didn't want to burn "one of our own cities," so he does have some sense of loyalty to his homeland. Perhaps this will be something for season 3.

I was pleased to see Childan taking more of a central role, considering he's basically the main character of the book.
 
PoS said:
Wow. I just finished it. This is the best TV show I've seen this year. There were plenty of excellent shows, but this one is just ... amazing.

The characters are so complex you can't hate any of them.

John Smith is such a badass, he's like Littlefinger, Ramsay Bolton, Tyrion and Tywin Lannister all rolled into one. Just an outstanding character.

Is Frank Frink dead?

LOL the Nazi war room reminded me of the war room in Dr. Strangelove, that surely wasnt a coincidence...
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Yeah, I'm pretty sure Frank is dead. I really liked his arc this season, and his death is a pretty good end to that arc.

And yeah, I have such conflicted feelings on Smith. On one hand, every scene with him is pretty fantastic, and it's hard not to root for him, but then you're like, "wait, he's a ****ing Nazi!" :lol: There seems to be a Walter White situation going on with him.
 
In season 3, I'd like to see what Smith is like in our own timeline.
 
Harshaw said:
Season 2 was not as tight as season 1. It seemed to take a while to find its stride, and by "a while," I mean 7 episodes. The ending was also not as strong.

I thought they were going to do more with it after they depicted Smith and his wife witnessing the nuke over DC, especially after making a fuss over Smith's US Army medal. I thought he might find a bit of long-lost American patriotism when faced with the loss of his son and the possible destruction of his country. He did say he didn't want to burn "one of our own cities," so he does have some sense of loyalty to his homeland. Perhaps this will be something for season 3.

I was pleased to see Childan taking more of a central role, considering he's basically the main character of the book.
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Well Childan didnt do much in the book, so I absolutely love every scene he's in. He's practically a catharsis for the bleakness in the show. I have a feeling he might get mixed in with the Man in the High Castle since they are both in the neutral zone.

As far as John Smith, I believe that even though he won, the loss of his son is going to change him a lot. It could be the start of his fall form grace with the Nazis.

I was kind of shocked to see him as a US military veteran in that flashback scene- how he went on from being a loyal American to a total Nazi would be fascinating to see.

The only weak spot I noticed was Joe Blake's storyline, but then again he wasnt exactly an interesting character to begin with.

Your Star said:
Yeah, I'm pretty sure Frank is dead. I really liked his arc this season, and his death is a pretty good end to that arc.
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Well Frank is certainly dead in the main timeline, but he might still be very much alive in the alternate (our reality) though so I have this tingling feeling that he may show up again. ;)

Then again, I didn't like his character in season 2, he was becoming a total terrorist a-hole to everybody, even to his friends.
 
PoS said:
Wow. I just finished it. This is the best TV show I've seen this year. There were plenty of excellent shows, but this one is just ... amazing.

The characters are so complex you can't hate any of them.

John Smith is such a badass, he's like Littlefinger, Ramsay Bolton, Tyrion and Tywin Lannister all rolled into one. Just an outstanding character.

Is Frank Frink dead?

LOL the Nazi war room reminded me of the war room in Dr. Strangelove, that surely wasnt a coincidence...
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I wondered to the wife if they re-used the set.
 
By the way, I don't think MITHC was the best, per se, simply one of the many shows this year that were just unbelievably extraordinary. This has been a good year for television. Everybody already knows about Westworld and Stranger Things, but less obvious is Goliath and The Expanse which everybody really needs to check out.
 
Cardinal said:
By the way, I don't think MITHC was the best, per se, simply one of the many shows this year that were just unbelievably extraordinary. This has been a good year for television. Everybody already knows about Westworld and Stranger Things, but less obvious is Goliath and The Expanse which everybody really needs to check out.
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Ive watched all of those you mentioned- except for Goliath, and I still think MITHC was the best of 2016. Stranger Things was a bunch of 80's movies and pop culture mashed together and while entertaining, just felt derivative to me. Westworld was a little repetitive and sometimes forced, though I think it will get better next season. The Expanse was good, but not great- I thought the acting wasn't so good. GoT was good but started to feel worn out. Gomorra was awesome though the constant killing took its toll on me, same with Narcos. Better Call Saul was excellent though somewhat smaller in scale.
 
PoS said:
Ive watched all of those you mentioned- except for Goliath, and I still think MITHC was the best of 2016. Stranger Things was a bunch of 80's movies and pop culture mashed together and while entertaining, just felt derivative to me. Westworld was a little repetitive and sometimes forced, though I think it will get better next season. The Expanse was good, but not great- I thought the acting wasn't so good. GoT was good but started to feel worn out. Gomorra was awesome though the constant killing took its toll on me, same with Narcos. Better Call Saul was excellent though somewhat smaller in scale.
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I think all the ones I mentioned were excellent for the particular things they offered:

The Expanse and Stranger Things for pure fun.

Goliath and MITHC for most solid storytelling.

Better Call Saul and Goliath for best character interaction, acting and character development.

Westworld has a combination of all these things, but doesn't entirely lead in any of them. Though if you like good television you'd still have to be a complete fool to give it a miss.

Mind you, whatever order you put any of these shows in, they're all quite top shelf.
 
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