"The Man in the High Castle" Recap: "Kindness"

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

I have to say that this was a special episode of The Man in the High Castle for me for several reasons. Finding out how Joe and Juliana get out of their pickle with the Yakuza was at the top of that list, but also because it was clear in the last episode that the show was about to unleash the storytelling floodgates, and with this being the penultimate episode before the season finale, I expected nothing less than one hell of an episode...and I got one. 

After all, this is an episode that gave us quite a few answers while bringing forth some terrifying revelations. Case in point, the mystery of who tried to assassinate Obergruppenführer John Smith in episode two finally came to light and wow, it was a doozy since it turned out to be SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich. Yes, this powerful man in the Nazi regime gave the order to Smith's assistant to leak the info to the resistance in the hopes of seeing Smith out of the way. Why exactly isn't clear at first but it does give John the chance to exact a little justice/revenge of his own by pushing his assistant off of the roof of a building. But John's struggle doesn't end there since Heydrich makes a personal visit to his home to entertain his family and to request that John accompany him on a hunting trip come dawn. It's an ominous offer to say the least after what John discoveres.

That little twist only adds to the mystery of Heydrich in this episode and thankfully the show is happy to peel back more layers of this historical monster. As the episode progressed we spent a few other important moments with him and in the process got a solid idea of what he is up to and well, his plans are outright terrifying to say the least and I give the show credit for revealing them to us in slow and steady fashion since it turns out he needs Rudolph Wegener's help to carry out something important and if Rudolph declines, things will be bad for his family and friends back home. So naturally, Wegener agrees to help Reinhard to keep his friends and family safe and that's when the big reveal falls into our lap when Rudolph asks exactly what he is supposed to do for Heydrich and it turns out he is to return home to Berlin and meet with the Führer...and kill him.

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But the fun doesn't end there. In San Francisco plenty of other wheels are turning. Thankfully Juliana is freed from the Yakuza by the Resistance, who pay a hefty price for her and can no longer afford the film. But Joe is left behind and in order to get him free, she has to convince Frank to pay the Yakuza the 46,000 yen he earned in the deal with Robert. Frank reluctantly agrees and quickly comes to regret his decision since Joe decides to up the ante and take out a few of the Yakuza to get his hands on the film, putting himself, Frank and Juliana on the run.  

While they try and regroup, Trade Minister Tagomi's plan to keep war at bay completely blows up in his face. While his plan to get the schematic for a nuclear bomb to the Science Minister was a rousing success, his hopes that it would put the Japanese Empire on a level playing field disappear when the military shows up demanding information on uranium deposits because the Crown Prince is ready to make his own nuclear bombs and use them on the Reich. That little moment right there manages to only sink your spirits further in an already bleak episode but of all the surprises we've talked about today...nothing beats the final moments when Frank and Juliana get their hands on the new film at last and view it...only to be treated to visions of horror. This film doesn't feature parades or victory over the Nazi's, no, instead this film provides our intrepid heroes with a view of a San Francisco devastated by nuclear war and Frank being gunned down by a familiar SS Officer...Joe. 

So, needless to say, this particular chapter in the story left me on the edge of my seat because holy cow, it was not messing around. This was more or less one powerful moment after another and it seems like neither the audience nor our characters can catch a break this go round. But while the episode remains devastating on so many levels, it also ignites the imagination with this new film because questions abound come after seeing it. First and foremost, what the hell are these films? One minute they're a window into a better world, the next they show a world worse than the one we are currently in and the fact that they can change like this only deepens the mystery. But that issue I'm not sure will get resolved in the season finale unfortunately, but I am looking forward to seeing what happens when Joe runs into Frank and Juliana again and well, this whole mess with Heydrich and John and the sneaky plan to deal with Hitler is no doubt going to be a focus as well. So once again, I'm sorry to leave you all, but it's high time to find out how season one comes to an end. Until next time.

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