'The Man in the High Castle' Recap: 'Loose Lips'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

One of the things that made the first season of The Man in the High Castle so incredibly memorable was the fact that it was a season filled to the brim with jaw dropping moments that left us in complete and utter shock and oddly enough...the second season of this show has featured far less stunning moments. Just think about it for a second, we've had plenty of compelling storylines this year, but those scenes that force you to jump out of your chair in sheer surprise have been far and few between. 

It doesn't make the show any less impressive storytelling wise because this second season has been downright fascinating to watch, but it would seem that there has been a rhyme and reason for this decision all along...because as it turns out that the show was saving all of its breathtaking moments for the final three episodes of season two since 'Loose Lips' is an absolute tour de force of an episode, one that quite frankly left this reviewer sitting in silence over everything that happened in the story, because this is the episode that tied together the conspiracy plot line introduced late last year, while upping the stakes in deadly fashion and surprisingly a vast majority of this episode revolved around John Smith. 

Because with the Führer falling into a coma, Smith knew that trouble was brewing, prompting him to visit Juliana off the books to finally confront her about what he already knew; that she had met the Man in the High Castle and that she had seen the films, something she did indeed confirm with a few gentle pushes from John, and she even took the time to give him the exact details of what she saw in the most recent film. Yet, while this admission seemed like bad news for Juliana, Smith brought forth no punishments or threats, merely an appreciation for her candor, and that sly grin we've come to know and love because clearly, Smith had big plans for this newfound information, but what exactly...well we will get to that in just a moment, since Smith was not alone in experiencing a sense of panic when it came to Hitler's illness...there was fear growing in Germany as well.

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In fact, concern over Hitler's health managed to interrupt a beautiful moment between father and son, since Joe and Martin were actually bonding for a change before Martin was summoned to speak with SS-Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler regarding the succession plan now in place...and as it turns out, Martin was the prime candidate to become the Acting Chancellor because his current role kept him far away from the usual politics of the Reich allowing for him to be free from an agenda. But Martin is fully aware of the fact that there are sharks in the water, looking for weakness, prompting him to send Joe home for his own safety, but his son was having none of that, instead opting to finally back a cause and stand at his father's side. 

As Heusmann  dealt with his newfound role, John Smith made use of the information he gathered from Juliana by staging an emergency at the prison holding former SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich. It was in this moment that Smith informed his Heydrich that he had received the order to extradite him to Berlin immediately due to the fact that the Reich was now at war with the Japanese Pacific States, following the death of Hitler and the installment of a new Führer. The only request that Smith had for Heydrich before sending him to Berlin, was that he show mercy on his family for doing his part in keeping the Reich safe when Hitler was in power. Heydrich was of course non committal, informing Smith that any notions of mercy would have to come from the new Führer...Heusmann; and now that he had the truth, Smith executed Heydrich, sour in the knowledge that the Acting Chancellor was a traitor and the brains behind the coup against Hitler all along.

Unfortunately, that revelation came at the worst possible time...because not long after that, Adolf Hitler passed away, making Martin Heusmann the new Führer, and war would follow with him and when all is said and done, this is another episode that flat out took my breath away because holy cow...everything fell to pieces just like that. We always knew that Hitler was ironically the last thread holding the Reich together in peaceful fashion...but to see that even keeled Martin, someone far removed from the day to day bull of the Reich has had machinations all along to become the top dog and no doubt return the Reich to its ethnic cleansing and war fueled ways is just terrifying. His motivations speak to the darkest parts of the Reich and of Hitler's vision and one has to wonder...if Hitler's illness was legitimate, or orchestrated by Heusmann all along. Either way, dark days are ahead for the Reich and the world and there seems to be few options on the table to save the planet from the World War III...

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