"The Man in the High Castle" Recap: "Three Monkeys"

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

There are a lot of things that The Man in the High Castle manages to get right every single episode that I settle in to watch it. It's characters are rich and engrossing, the world we are transported to is terrifying and haunting all at the same time and here and there the show will take the time to challenge your comfort zone by ripping you out of it when you least expect it. 

The destruction of that mental comfort zone is exactly what the show managed to pull off in its sixth episode, by taking us deep inside the world of the Greater Nazi Reich and giving us a different glimpse of American life under the thumb of Adolf Hitler and well...I have to admit this particular episode left me squirming in my seat, simply for the fact that I was unprepared to see a world that oddly enough resembled our own 1962, just with a lot more Swastikas floating about, but it was all part of the show if you will, another brilliant stroke of storytelling designed to remind you how messed up this alternate world really is.

Now our glimpse of this disturbing little world comes courtesy of Joe's visit to Obergruppenführer John Smith's house for VA Day, which is essentially the Fourth of July for the Greater Nazi Reich as they celebrate Victory in America Day; complete with BBQ's and the like and even a little hint of baseball, a sport essentially forgotten now in the GNR, and even a lovely speech from Hitler himself on television about how the world has changed since the Reich won the war, and that's the stuff that leaves you uncomfortable. In a way it appears that the world never changed under Nazi rule and people go about their lives in the suburbs, but that's the trick right there. This kind of privilege is only reserved for the Reich's elite, and while they enjoy this slice of twisted Normal Rockwell Americana, the rest of the GNR is subjected to daily doses of fear.  

But outside of setting up a creepy and disturbing ambiance, there was quite the juicy plot revolving around the VA Day Celebration at the Smith Residence when John asks Joe to join him in picking up Helen's mother at the airport. But alas, her flight is delayed and they just so happen to run into Rudolph Wegener on his way back to Berlin and as luck would have it, his flight is also delayed so he's invited back to John's place for dinner and that's when things get quite interesting. It turns out dinner is a cat and mouse game between John and Rudolph as we discover they are not only old buddies, but John is clearly suspicious of what his friend was doing in San Francisco. He knows Rudolph is lying to him, he simply has no idea what to do about it and actually asks Joe for advice and well...Joe's advice is simple, have Rudolph arrested for treason, and John follows through with Joe's advice. 

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While VA Day ends in that manner at the Smith residence, Juliana is surprisingly offered a job by Trade Minister Tagomi. It's a simple gig. Be a smiling face in the office, bring water and drinks to those as needed, nothing special. But she knows it's her chance to find the mystery man Karen told her about and she begins to snoop around to find him, but finds nothing. In the meantime she tries her best to repair her fractured relationship with Frank, something that will certainly take time. 

Frank has a few things to deal with this episode as well, primarily his grief over his family being gone, something his new friend from the funeral helps with him since it turns out he's Jewish and helps say a prayer for the fallen Frinks and his other problem this go round is that the Kempeitai are curious about the weapon fired at the Crown Prince and take a few moments to speak with Robert Childan about his antiques store and the fake man who bought the bullets, leading to a brief confrontation between the two men. But the ending of the episode is where things really managed to entertain. For Juliana eventually figures out that the name she was given is not a name, but a room and it turns out in this place they monitor for the Resistance and the man in charge, is her stepfather Arnold and as for Joe...well his curiosity about a file that John brought home labeled "Grasshopper" leads him to break into the Obergruppenführer's study in the middle of the night to read it, only to discover it's blank inside placed there as a trap, for mere moments after he opens the file, the lights go on and John Smith is standing in the doorway to greet Joe.

So suffice it to say, I freaking loved this episode. It was simply fascinating through and through. From the grand world of the Greater Nazi Reich, to discovering how many Americans are willing to spy on their own people, this was quite the turning point in the series. Gone forever is the simple struggle between good and evil, it's clear this is a world that has adapted to the hand it has been dealt and now people do whatever they have to go get by. But really, the whole plot line at the Smith residence was the highlight of this episode. It was nice to finally get to know John and what kind of man he really is and I'm sure this careful look into his life will no doubt come into play later on because this series does not waste a single moment of its storytelling. But all of that aside, it should be interesting to see what happens with Juliana and her step dad now that she knows his secret...

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