'The Man in the High Castle' Recap: 'Land O' Smiles'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

After spending the last couple of episodes digging deep into what life is like in the Greater Nazi Reich and the Japanese Pacific States, and for that matter, life in 1962 in the United States of America we know and love, The Man in the High Castle pulled us back into the thick of things. After all, the Japanese are still planning to assemble a nuclear bomb, and Juliana still has a mission to complete in New York making 'Land O' Smiles' an ironic moniker for this episode, because this particular tale was fast paced, bleak, engaging, and one filled to the brim with some big time surprises.

Case in point, the Yakuza storyline. This is one that's been brewing for weeks, specifically the trouble that Childan and Frank might be in if they don't find a way to pay back the dangerous group of gangsters and well, the first surprise in this storyline is the fact that Ed stepped in to save the day. Not only did he do a fantastic job creating the replica without Frank's help, he also managed to find a way to sell it to a weary buyer. But the surprises didn't end there, because as it turns out...everyone is now off the hook when it comes to the Yakuza, because Inspector Kido was finally able to find the connection that proves the Yakuza are working with the Nazis...and he dealt with their traitorous activity in the most efficient manner possible...with the muzzle of a gun. 

But while there was a sense of relief to be found around the fact that the Yakuza won't be chasing after Frank, Childan or Ed anytime soon...there's still a greater threat brewing in the city of San Francisco. Because while Childan and Ed came to learn of their freedom, Frank was busy working a reconnaissance mission for the Resistance, wherein the Resistance had hoped to find the perfect place to plant a bomb made from the explosive material they recovered some time ago and potentially take out General Onada, who just so happens to show up at this particular place at the same time everyday. But upon spotting a strange radiation badge on a worker, Frank's curiosity got the better of him and while he blew his cover, he uncovered the sobering fact that this is where the Japanese are beginning the early stages of building an atomic bomb...and that discovery means everything will have to change for the resistance.

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Meanwhile, on the East Coast, Juliana was continuing to acclimate to life in the Reich, this time finding herself invited to a funeral, one for Doctor Adler in fact and well...once more the show did what it does best, bring us a strange and familiar parallel that is so twisted from our own world that chills of discomfort are sent cascading down our spine and it accomplished that, by showing us how churches have changed under Nazi rule. Not a trace of modern religion can be found in these once holy places. There are no priests or crosses or Bibles or even the word of the Lord for that matter...just the Reich and imagery of its redeemer, the Führer himself, and whether or not you practice religion or attend church, these images were downright frightening and served as a solid reminder of just how deeply the evil of the Reich has entrenched itself into American life.  

But aside from this episode providing us with chills, there were some important complications that arose from the funeral. For starters, Adler's widow was fully prepared to have an autopsy performed on her husband's corpse, something that clearly unsettled John Smith when he heard her speak it aloud...and Thomas' condition is starting to worsen, since he experienced a seizure at the church, and Juliana was there to see it happen. It leads Helen to make a big request of Juliana, to keep her son's seizure a secret, and while Juliana was more than happy to comply, it's clear that this is something quite damning for the Smiths, and it is no doubt information that will find its way back to the Resistance. But the biggest shocker of the story came in its final moments, when John received one important phone call from another historical monster come to life in SS-Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler, who informs John that the Führer has collapsed, and the doctors have little hope he will recover...

So in a nutshell...wow, this episode was full of big time revelations and surprises, and truthfully the biggest one of all is the health of Hitler. Because the show has been focused for some time on the fact that he is the glue that holds the Reich together and ironically enough, keeps it civil, while his lieutenants/monsters are ready, willing and fully able to fire up the German War Machine once again and that's a scary thing. Because with the Japanese working to make their own atomic bomb, the window to save San Francisco just became all that much smaller and it will be a race against time from here on out to figure out how Dixon plays into all of this, and how on earth our characters will manage to save the day. Until next time.

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