'The Man in the High Castle' Recap: 'Fallout'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

You know that a television show has done an incredible job of telling its story when you feel butterflies in your stomach fluttering away mere moments before tuning in for the season finale, and that's precisely what I felt when I started the season two finale of The Man in the High Castle, because so much needed to be resolved in this finale. Would World War III be averted? Or was the series about to plunge us into its darkest storyline yet? Thankfully...'Fallout' addressed every single one of these mysteries, and also had an unlikely hero emerge in the process. So with that in mind, let's get right down to it and break down this stunning conclusion to season two.

Now what immediately made this finale special and different from every other episode in the series to date, is that it just so happened to start with a cold open, taking us back to December the 11th, 1945...a night when John Smith and his lovely wife Helen checked into a hotel just outside of Washington D.C., mere moments before the city was destroyed by a nuclear attack and well, while this was a short and sweet scene to add into the mix, it was one that served quite an important purpose. For starters, we finally saw the titular moment when the Nazis turned the tide of the war in their favor and because John Smith, wearing the American flag for a change...witnessed first hand the power of the atomic bomb and the devastation it can create and that would prove to be a huge deal as the episode wore on.

In fact, this was really John Smith's story through and through, despite a couple of breaks away from him in the overall story, and after that bone chilling introduction that set the somber tone for this episode we immediately returned to San Francisco right after the bombing of Kempaitai HQ, wherein Tagomi thankfully discovered that Kido survived the explosion and he quickly wasted no time in showing Kido the footage he had discovered in the alternate reality he found peace and solace within and the two came up with a plan to do something, anything to try and prevent the forthcoming war that was looming between the Pacific States and the Reich, prompting Kido to head to New York City. 

As Kido took to the skies with the film in hand, the Reich was preparing for war. The grand plan to put an end to the Japanese Pacific States was coming together in Berlin, in a chilling scene where the discussion of using their nuclear stockpile was treated as though it was everyday business and despite Joe's efforts to talk his father out of the attack...Martin simply wasn't listening. As the march to war continued, John Smith found himself facing further pressure from Berlin regarding the sudden resurgence of the Resistance, and an envoy from Berlin, made the chilling suggestion that John begin to firebomb American cities in the hopes of quelling the insurgency. Of course, John kept that option off the table...and found himself pulled away from the matter at hand, to deal with an unexpected guest in Kido. ​

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While John waited for the Inspector to arrive at his home, a long awaited moment finally came to fruition by way of Juliana, who was waiting to be moved to the Neutral Zone after fulfilling her part in the deal she made with the Resistance, but that deal was changed yet again for one glaring reason...the fact that she didn't come to Dixon to inform him about Thomas Smith's illness. It's the kind of information that the Resistance has been searching for in order to bring down John Smith and armed with a tape of Juliana and Thomas' conversation, they can ruin him at last. But before Juliana can talk Dixon out of destroying Smith's family, once again she finds her life in danger over her actions with Joe, forcing her to fight her way out...and endure a final confrontation with Dixon, one where she shoots him dead and takes the tape before disappearing into the heart of the city. 

As Juliana fought for her life, Kido arrived at the Smith residence and showed him the footage from another world, giving Smith one heck of an idea, one that he could only execute in Berlin. So after pulling a few strings, and gathering up some important paperwork, John Smith disobeyed orders and abandoned his post to head to Berlin, wherein he pleaded with Joe to gain an audience with his father and was granted his wish and showed to the top officials of the Reich, the footage given to him by Kido, footage that John claimed to be irrefutable proof that the Japanese Pacific States had crafted a bomb more powerful than anything the Reich had in its arsenal. It led many of Heusmann's advisors to question the forthcoming war, but the Chancellor was unmoved by the footage and continued his preparations for war...something John was ready for...and he called for a private meeting with SS-Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler.

It was in this meeting that John Smith dropped the conspiracy bombshell, revealing Heydrich's actions against the late Hitler and the fact that Heusmann was behind the whole mess to begin with and armed with this knowledge, Himmler had the new Chancellor, and his son, arrested for treason against the state before addressing the Reich from the Volkshalle to inform its people of the conspiracy that cost Hitler his life and to thank John Smith for his dedication to the Reich and its ideals, and he became the first American to be saluted by the Iron Guard. But more importantly, John had finally become a true hero. The angry and determined man we met a year ago has been replaced by a good man, one who now believes in the value of life and one who saved millions from ever seeing the horror he witnessed on December 11, 1945.  

So it would seem then, that a happy ending was finally in order for this show, but that's just not its style. If anything John's actions became a pyrrhic victory. For by going the extra mile to save nations, and his son from certain doom, Thomas saw the value of the Reich and its ideals...and turned himself in to be euthanized in one heartbreaking moment...but there was some bright spots to end this dark season. Juliana did make it to the Neutral Zone and she burned the tape she took from Dixon regardless shortly before meeting with Hawthorne once again to discuss the fact she helped save the world at a great cost, and to thank her for her sacrifice, Hawthorne gave her quite the gift...a reunion with Trudy and how she has returned to life...is a question for season three to answer. But in the meantime, we can bask in the wonder of one top notch season finale, one that was riveting, fascinating and downright thrilling and I cannot wait to see what surprises this series has in store for us come season three. Until then.

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