Man in the High Castle: The Conclusion Commences

The final season of Amazon's "The Man in the High Castle" is scheduled for Nov 15. Where it takes Philip K. Dick's concept in these concluding throes is yet to be seen (unless one is some lofty critic who's gotten an advanced view), but based on its previous chapters, a fitting finale looks likely.

With that said, (and pardon me for sounding like a broken record), I still find it troubling that some viewers overlook the series' reverberating point. They claim to cringe at the show's parallel-history depiction (the idea that Germany and Japan won WWII), and yet accept (vote for, time and again) the stifling confines that unfold along the enemies' lines: the destruction of freedom in the name of suffocating, government control. 

Freedom is a precious, if not flawed, but despite its endless hills and dales, it's worth sustaining. "Man in the High Castle" has driven this notion home with its absorbing allegory and chilling subplots, as Rebels and Reich do the freedom tug of war in succinct ways. (Oh,  how the current "Star Wars" string could pull from this saga's focus.) 

To ensure its profound execution, Season 5 reintroduces us to Alexa Davalos as Juliana Crain; Cary-Hiroyuki Taggawa as Tagomi (though perhaps more in memory than the long haul, if rumors are true), Joel de La Fuente as Inspector Kido; Brennan Brown as Robert Childan; Chelah Horsdal as Helen Smith; Rufus Sewell as the tenacious and lethal (at least in one troubling realm) John Smith; and of course, Stephen Root as the Man in the High Castle.

The ensemble has made this uncanny adventure identifiable, disturbing and deserving of awards it hasn't received, but its adapters also deserve applause for adhering to Dick's mythology and subsequent warning, with colliding memories to savor and contemplate. (Nothing ever just comes and goes in this saga without there being infinite ripples.)

I desired more than four seasons for "Man in the High Castle", but there's nothing wrong with ditching the run while one is ahead. The series' meaning will prevail beyond its departure, in spite of those who've watched yet choose not to see. 

Netflix's Punisher 2: The Beginning of the End?

Now that Netflix has axed "Daredevil", "Luke Cage", "Iron Fist" and "The Defenders", one would presume the same fate awaits "Jessica Jones" and (you guessed it) "The Punisher". So much for that fruitful, adult-based, Marvel miniverse...

It's remarkable, therefore, that the latter received a 13-episode sequel, premiering Friday, Jan 18. I'm particularly pleased that Jon Bernthal is back as Frank Castle. He's a riveting actor and one of the huge reasons why "The Walking Dead" earned our devotion. 

On the other hand, I wasn't as pleased with the solo series' concept. My heart went out to its beleaguered veterans, but the theme's execution (making them look so stressed, fickle and unstable) felt wrong...unpatriotic. 

Nevertheless, we at least witnessed the creation of Castle's main antagonist, Billy Russo, aka Jigsaw, played by Ben Barnes, who's back for Season 2. That can only be good. Alas, Ebon Moss Bachrach's Micro has bowed out, but (thank goodness) Jason R. Moore's empathetic Curtis Hoyle re-enters, and there's Deborah Ann Woll, Amber Rose Revah, Floriana Lima, Giorgia Whingham and Alexa "Man in the High Castle" Davalos (who was also Bernthal's "Mob City" costar) to compensate with some hardy, feminist eye candy.  

Season 2 also presents John Pilgrim, the Mennonite, played by Josh Stewart. The Mennonite is culled from veritable Marvel sources and for this track, acts as its wacky, Christian fundamentalist. That probably means ample Christian bashing. If so, I'd rather pass. Then again, the character does appear to exude an intriguing air of anguish, which should play well off Castle and Russo's. We'll see...

Unfortunately, with there being little or no chance of a Season 3, it's hard to get excited about this one. Whether good, bad or somewhere in the middle, "The Punisher: Season 2" should've been something to embrace for its long-term prospects. Sure, it's still worth a watch (how could any Marvel fan turn a blind eye to it?), but no matter how one slices it, this follow-up feels like a misconceived title steered solely by default. Bloody shame...

Man in the High Castle: A Warning Unheeded?

I get a quirky kick out of thugs who go to the movies and cheer on heroes and hiss at villains, even though the former would likely pound such hypocritical supporters into the ground for any number of their habitual, underhanded deeds. 

I get much the same vibe from various folks who watch Amazon's "The Man in the High Castle", a series extrapolated from Philip K. Dick's eponymous novel, in which the Axis won WWII. I hear these individuals say how horrid the consequences of a German/Japanese victory would have been, but do they really hear what the series is saying?  

I know for a fact (based on my casual conversations with them) that to some degree or another, they're proponents of censorship, discrimination (often of the reversed sort) and excessive, governmental restrictions, just like the damn Nazis would endorse. But then, to these specialized "Man in the High Castle" viewers, everyone beyond their select, political scope is a Nazi.  See what I mean?

When "Man in the High Castle: Season 3" debuts Oct 5, how many will again absorb the right-vs-wrong/alternate-reality interludes with blinders on, never once catching the parallels that threaten and distinguish their own existence? This is most perplexing since the series' Neutral Zone is, in its own clever way, a roundabout imprint of what flanks us today, prompted by draconian political correctness and superfluous philosophies which contrary to propagandized promises, only fuel further suppression and warped views.

Okay, maybe I'm making too big a deal of the matter. I suppose as an eccentric entertainment, "Man in the High Castle" is as good as (if not better than) any among the current crop. Without question, its characters (whether virtuous or evil) and their performers are more than identifiable to help pass the time. 

In this respect, the upcoming ten-episode queue is guaranteed to mirror the previous with such sterling thespians as Alexa Davalos; Rupert Evans; Luke Kleintank; Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa; Brennan Brown; D.J. Quallis; Bella Heathcote; Stephen Root; Joel de la Fuente; Chelah Horsdal; and Rufus Sewell as the treacherous John Smith, who (as previews imply) should possess a larger, overlording role this season.

All this is well and good, but it matters little how engaging the actors and their characters are if viewers don't grasp their intent. We sacrifice too much of our freedom and in truth have been doing so for more than a decade now. "Man in the High Castle" depicts what happens when our freedom is torn from us per catastrophic circumstance, but to surrender liberty without protest is outright un-American. Still, many Americans remain open to the option.  If "Man in the High Castle" isn't reaching folks across the board with this seemingly axiomatic message/warning, I can't help but wonder if the saga might be in vain. 

Whatever the case, I, for one, will be watching, learning...appreciating what I still possess, while at the same time fearing what might be seized if the bad guys win, and alas, I've come to learn that far too often they--and their contradictory crusades--do. 

Man in the High Castle: Amazon Spins Reality in Series Adaptation

Based on Phillip K. Dick’s award-winning, alternate-reality novel, Amazon’s new series, “The Man in the High Castle” presents the unsettling prospect of the Axis forces having won World War II, with a down-the-line focus, circa 1962. 

The result of the Axis victory (finalized by an A-bomb on D.C.) has created a shared U.S., with Germany controlling the east and Japan the west. A Resistance opposes both forces, but there also exists an underlying friction between Germany and Japan: a prospect that the former may attack the latter upon Hitler’s demise.

Produced by Frank Spotiniz and Ridley Scott; directed by Spotiniz and written by David Semel, the series' principles are Alexa Davalos as Juliana Crain; Rupert Evans as Frank Frink; and Luke Kleintank as Joe Blake. 

Crain possesses a film strip that her sister obtained prior to her death, and Blake is a truck driver, who expresses Resistance sympathy, but he also harbors a secret. Rounding out the fine cast is Brennan Brown; Arnold Chun; Joel de la Fuente; DJ Qualls; Daniel Roebuck; Carsten Norgaard; Rufus Sewell; and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa; with other competent performers also on board. 

Crain’s film shows the Allies winning the war. Is the footage a propagandist ruse? Crain’s boyfriend (Evans) believes it is, attributing the work to the enigmatic Man in the High Castle...whomever he may be. 

Amazon premiered the series' first two episodes in late October, but the official stretch starts on November 20, with all episodes available for viewing at such time. 

From the start, the series prompts us to question what would have fallen through the cracks if the opposing forces had won. Imagine a world weighed by prevailing anti-Semitism, that's bypassed Elvis, the Beatles, Godzilla, Jack Kerouac, Martin Luther King; a world where our most basic, taken-for-granted freedoms are outlawed. It’s a chilling concept dosed in espionage, Orwellian set-ups and the profound notion that "Evil triumphs only when good men do nothing."

I’ll report on the show's progress via replies. I must say, for the long haul, this one looks most promising.