Season 3 of The Man in The High Castle premieres October 5th on Amazon.
Are you ready for season 3 of The Man in the High Castle? Because as prepared as you may feel, I guarantee you will be caught by surprise at the return of this riveting alternate reality drama. Let’s just say that the series has taken the story, characters, and plot to the next level and it’s bigger and better than ever before.
Season 2 of Man in the High Castle left off on a weird, contemplative note and understandably so, fans were left a bit confused as to where the story was going. However, the next ten episodes that are set to be released on October 5th are a drastic improvement providing more structure to the story and the characters within it.
There is more substance to each character and season 3 gives them more depth, emotions, and arcs that pull you into the heart of the story. I feel in the seasons before this, I wasn’t particularly attached to or cared for any character specifically, but that sentiment changed after watching season 3.
Without giving too much away, season 3 does a great job clarifying some of the confusing mystery of season 2 (not all) specifically surrounding Trade Minister Tagomi (Cary-Hiroyuke Tagawa). His ability to travel across worlds was touched upon last season but never really explored or understood. In the new season, the existence of alternate realities and worlds and the ability to travel between them is more of a focus. This aspect of the series was quickly and dramatically illustrated through Trudy’s (Conor Leslie) return in the season 2 finale, but perhaps the most exciting thing is other characters coming to know about it in season 3.
It’s thrilling to see the cliffhanger of the season 1 finale be explored in greater detail because it’s an angle of the show that brought us all in and mesmerized us with the possibilities of where the story could go. And for those of you who have been eager to learn more about the Neutral Zone will get just that in season 3 as the series goes deep into the daily lives of its residents and how it is a stark difference than the two contrasting worlds of the American Reich and Japanese-controlled west coast. While it may be an area where no one party can take control, it does come with its price which the new season dives deep into.
Secondary characters are given more screen time and their stories are embedded within the main plot of the season, which makes it all that more enjoyable to watch. Many fans will be pleased to learn that there are actual historical characters are a part of the story this season including J. Edgar Hoover, the infamous FBI director. The alternate reality places his character and others in roles that are suitable for the environment, and play a big role in John Smith’s (Rufus Sewell) position within the Reich.
Even the characters of Joe Blake (Luke Kleintank) and Juliana (Alexa Davalos) shine a bit brighter this season as the relationship between them takes on different challenges and makes for some edge-of-the-seat drama in season 3. And individually, each of them make it intriguing to question who is loyal and honest and who is not. This type of focus on their relationship is a huge improvement from last season where it was just all over the place and uneventful.
The attention to detail this season really blew me away be it the actual historical figures and pop culture icons from our past, the American Reich’s future plans for change that have zero connection to the Pre-Reich America, and each character’s development as things start to take shape within this world. I’m not sure if it’s the shift in the team the cast, or all of them collectively, but they really brought their A-game this season.
Overall, this season was extremely strong in most areas and lacked in areas such as what was going on in the Pacific States. In the pursuit to focus on more on the Reich side of things, the Pacific States story was neglected a bit and didn’t always make a whole lot of sense. It is an aspect of the series that had a lot of potential but went wasted, however, given how strong the rest of the stories were, I wasn’t too let down.
For those of you who have been fans of the series and continued to watch despite the confusion of season 2, you will be extremely delighted to know this season takes it up a few notches, ups the ante in every way, and contains more depth to its story and character than ever before. There is something wonderfully unexpected about the season that caught me off guard and I believe fans will finish season 3 with the same sentiment.
I give The Man in the High Castle‘s third season a B+.
TV and City 