‘The Man in the High Castle’ Recap: ‘Hexagram 64’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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It seems that over the last year or so, we’ve said farewell to quite a few of our favorite television shows. Sadly, some are fading away simply because the network that once hosted them no longer sees the value in keeping them on the air, while others, are getting the opportunity to walk away from the creative world on their own terms. Which is always a wonderful thing since it means we are treated to a proper finale and goodbye, but that doesn’t make said goodbye, any easier since it involves a story that we genuinely love and sadly, the time has come to once again begin the farewell tour for another incredible television series.
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Because the final season for The Man in the High Castle is upon us on at last and I am truly going to miss this series. For it has been bold and timely and uncomfortable with its presentation of an alternate world ruled by Nazis, thanks to the Allied Forces losing the Second World War, but I also applaud it for wrapping everything up in four seasons. Because it means that the audience is going to be treated to some powerful storytelling, the kind that is as risky and as brave as its overall premise and for proof, look no further than the season four premiere. For ‘Hexagram 64’ wasted no time in shocking all of us by shooting us into the future a year after Juliana escaped to what seems to be our Earth and it was quite stunning to see how much the world she left behind has changed for the worst.

After all, the Greater Nazi Reich has finally had enough when it comes to dealing with the films and the resistance that Wyatt was left in charge of with Juliana now gone, and that’s prompted them to make bold incursions into territory they’ve never touched before, even going so far as to seize Denver from the rebels, a move that leaves the Japanese Pacific States and the Empire as a whole quite nervous. But they too are facing new challenges in this tale, since a new resistance group, the Black Communist Rebellion, or BCR for short, are coming after high ranking officials in bold fashion. In fact, they even made an attempt on the Imperial Princess’ life, and killed Trade Minister Tagomi’s in the process, and to make matters worse; newfound fighting in China has the Empire spread thin and vulnerable.

Yet, while all of this is phenomenal world building, the kind that draws you in and leaves you wondering as to whether or not we will see the Empire and the Reich fall by series’ end, what’s truly impressive about this premiere is that it doesn’t lose sight of what matters most; the characters. For we get to see that Juliana is forging a new life and finding peace in our world, and that Wyatt firmly believes that anything short of a solid victory over the GNR is an outright failure, one that would leave him in disgrace. And of course, we get to learn a little more about our villains in this tale as well since we came to learn that Kido is all about baseball and properly raising his son and that John Smith hasn’t done well with having his family separated since he went the extra mile to bring his girls home from the Neutral Zone in this tale, Helen be damned.

If anything, this is a season premiere that really does a phenomenal job of setting the stage for this grand finale. Because I get the feeling that every single moment, we spent with the characters here, will carry weight and gravity as season four rolls on and I love the fact that the writer’s room still puts their journeys ahead of everything else. For that speaks volumes to the fact that we are going to be treated to a proper goodbye, one that will find a way to bring every storyline to a logical conclusion and that’s quite the relief. Because some shows rush to the finish line and hope to wow the audience in the process and it is just comforting to know that this one is going to do things the right way and I really cannot wait to see how this story grows and how this saga comes to an end, which means… it’s time for me to hop off of here and return to this disturbing world. Until next time.

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