‘The Man in the High Castle’ Recap: ‘For Want of a Nail’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

​The more time I’ve had to think about the back half of season four of The Man in the High Castle, the more impressed with it I’ve been. Because in many ways, the gigantic twist involving the Pacific States resolved a major plotline that’s hung over the entirety of the series, and that’s bold, and I think it is safe to say that we all expected this final season to show us a grander battle against evil than this. But in many ways the exodus from the Pacific States is a genius stroke of storytelling. For it reminds us how quick evil is to retreat when people stand up to it, and it’s also opened the door for a grandiose finale that focuses heavily on the Greater Nazi Reich, and whether or not John Smith will give into the good within.
 
For that too is a plot thread that the series has been toying with since day one and it would seem that the final two episodes of this series are indeed going to focus heavily upon that. Because ‘For Want of a Nail’ spent a lot of time in the Reich, examining the perilous situation that John and his family now found themselves embroiled within. But before we dive too deeply into that, let’s take a moment and recognize the fact that this particular tale didn’t completely forget about the Pacific States. For we did get to see Kido begin to reconcile his past while being trapped in the very room where he poisoned so many, and we did see how the BCR is working to keep everyone safe with the impending invasion coming from the GNR and it was nice to see where these characters are at with trouble on the horizon.
 
But what happened in the Reich matters since it set the stage for the series finale and my goodness, did our journey there offer up some powerful moments, several of which involved Helen Smith. For she took Juliana’s message about how her husband is keeping secrets to heart and discovered the films in his office, which in turn led to a tense meeting at a nearby hospital, wherein Juliana tasked her with quite the mission; to give the Resistance a time when John would be on the bullet train to the Poconos Facility so they could finally bring him down and save lives in the process. Because Juliana made it clear, that the invasion of the West would result in more concentration camps and the wholesale slaughter of the innocent and while Helen really didn’t commit to the cause, thanks to an interruption from the lethal nursemaid at her side, the seeds were planted and hopefully the revelation uncovered at the Smith home will help her make a decision. Because Helen came to learn from Bridget that her home was bugged by Hoover and well, that led to one stunning twist.
 
Because Hoover passed along everything that John and his wife have discussed to the Führer and that made John’s trip to Berlin… awkward to say the least. For he was more or less shunned upon his arrival and removed from key invasion meetings, and when he was finally presented with the plans to conquer the West, his input was instantly disregarded and mocked, and it quickly became clear that Himmler was behind this. Because he doubted John’s loyalty to the cause, and wanted to see how he would handle himself under incredible pressure, something that he cranked up to the Nth degree by having tapes from his home played at the meeting and well, how John responded was fascinating to say the least. For on the plane ride over, he made a deal with Goertzmann that would ensure safety and security for both men, and in a stunning twist of events, John killed Himmler (and eventually Hoover) while his buddy handled the rest of the Reich’s senior leadership, all so that both men could seize power, and have exactly what they wanted. For now, Goertzmann would be the new Führer and John would control North America as he saw fit and just like that, a new dawn arrived for this twisted empire.
 
But despite this stunning turn of events, a few big questions remain. Specifically, was this power play designed to help John free America or the Reich’s iron grasp? Or did he do this to finally get the power that part of him craves? Time will tell of course, but make no mistake about it, this was one hell of a move on John’s part. Because I honestly didn’t think he had this kind of ruthlessness within him, and honestly, I have to applaud him, despite his constant waffling. For he just rid the world of some of history’s greatest monsters and while the end of the Reich would have been far more satisfying, you take the wins you get, I suppose. Either way though, the stage is now set, and the fate of America is in John’s hands and it should be interesting to see what he does with it as this powerful series comes to a close. Until next time. 

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