The Man in the High Castle Information

The Man in the High Castle is an American dystopian alternative history television series produced by Amazon Studios, Scott Free, Headline Pictures, Electric Shepherd Productions and Big Light Productions. The series is loosely based on the 1962 novel of the same name by American science fiction author Philip K. Dick. Taking place in 1962"?in an alternate history of the world in which the Axis powers won World War II and subdivided the world, splitting the United States into two powers, the Greater Nazi Reich and the Japanese Pacific States"?the series follows characters from both sides whose destinies intertwine after coming into contact with a series of propaganda films that show a vastly different history than their own.

The pilot premiered on January 15, 2015, and was Amazon's "most-watched since the original series development program began." On February 18, 2015, the series was picked up for a ten-episode season, and the remaining nine episodes were released on November 20, 2015. A second season of ten episodes premiered on December 16, 2016. On January 3, 2017, it was announced that Amazon had renewed the series for a third season.

Synopsis

The central characters are Juliana Crain, Frank Frink, Joe Blake, John Smith, Takeshi Kido and Nobusuke Tagomi, and the series takes place in an alternate 1962.

Juliana Crain is a San Francisco woman who becomes entangled with the resistance when her half-sister Trudy is killed by the , just after giving Juliana a film reel that contains newsreel-style footage depicting an alternate history in which the Allies won World War II and Germany and Japan were defeated. The film is entitled The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, and is part of a series of similar newsreels being collected by someone referred to as "The Man in the High Castle". Juliana believes the newsreel reflects some sort of alternate reality and that it is part of some kind of larger truth about how the world should be. Her boyfriend, Frank Frink (who keeps his Jewish roots hidden in order to avoid extradition and death at the hands of the Nazis), believes that the newsreel has no relation to real-life events. Juliana learns Trudy was carrying the film to Canon City, Colorado, in the Neutral Zone, where she was going to meet someone. Juliana decides to travel there in Trudy's place to find out what her half-sister's mission was. When she arrives in Canon City, she encounters Joe Blake.

Blake is a 27-year-old New Yorker who is a double agent working for the Nazis under John Smith, a former US military officer who joined the Nazis and rose through the ranks to become governor of the Greater Nazi Reich. Blake is pretending to be a member of the resistance while he searches for the resistance contact in Canon City, which is Juliana, substituting for Trudy.

Nobusuke Tagomi is a high-ranking Japanese official in San Francisco. He meets in secret with Nazi official Rudolph Wegener, who is traveling incognito as Swedish businessman Victore Baynes. Tagomi and Wegener are concerned about the power vacuum that will exist when the Reich's Fhrer Adolf Hitler dies, or is forced to step down due to his worsening Parkinson's disease. Wegener explains that Hitler's successor will want to use the Reich's nuclear bombs against Japan to gain control of the rest of the former United States. Currently, however, Japan and the Third Reich are engaged in a cold war full of tension but no open warfare, with the Japanese lagging behind the Germans technologically.

Frank Frink ends up being arrested when the Japanese and the Nazis become suspicious of Juliana's activities. He refuses to give her up, causing the Japanese to kill Frink's sister and her two children for being Jewish. This leads Frink to plan to kill the visiting Crown Prince and Princess, but he ends up backing out.

Alternate history

The United States has been partitioned into three parts: The Japanese puppet state Japanese Pacific States, which consists of the former United States west of the Rocky Mountains; the Greater Nazi Reich, a Nazi puppet state that consists of the former United States east of the Rocky Mountains; and the Neutral Zone that roughly runs the length of the Rocky Mountains and acts as a buffer between the two.

Within the show, many keys are given to reveal the details of its alternate history setting, which is similar to that of the novel. The point where the alternate history diverges from real-life history appears to be when Franklin Roosevelt is assassinated in 1933, while attending a rally in Miami. John Nance Garner becomes the President of the United States. It is thought that the United States was not prepared for the coming war due to Garner's policies.

Little is known about how the war itself began or progressed compared to real-life history. Smith and Kido reminisce about fighting in their timeline's version of the Solomon Islands campaign, and Smith keeps a campaign medal as a memento. Unlike real-life, however, the Nazis succeeded in developing the atomic bomb, while the United States failed. This culminated in the atomic bombing of Washington, D.C. late in the evening on December 11, 1945, which wiped out the US government and much of its military leadership, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Afterwards, both the Japanese and the Germans mounted conventional bombing campaigns on coastal cities, followed by ground invasions and occupations; what remained of the US military retreated inland, but was eventually cornered and eliminated. The Nazis declared victory in the war in 1947.

Following America's defeat, Germany launched another major war where Africa was occupied and the native populations were subjected to mass extermination. It is also mentioned that Stalin was executed in 1949. By 1962, due to its faster technological advances and economic growth, Nazi Germany has become more powerful than the Japanese Empire, which has yet to develop its own nuclear weapons and adheres more closely to its traditional culture. The two erstwhile allies maintain an uneasy peace, with hardliners in both governments pushing for another, final war for global dominance.

There is strict censorship, including a ban on the Bible in both the Nazi and Japanese puppet states, and while not strictly illegal in the Neutral Zone, it is not legal either. The Nazi state outlaws listening to Blues music because of its 'negro' origins. A major national holiday is VA Day: Victory in America Day.

Cast

Main

• Alexa Davalos as Juliana Crain, a young woman from San Francisco who is outwardly happy living under Japanese control; she has become an expert in and is friendly with Japanese people living in San Francisco. Her mother harbors hatred of the Japanese, as they killed Juliana's father during the war.
• Rupert Evans as Frank Frink, Juliana's boyfriend. He works in a factory creating replicas of pre-war American pistols that are prized by the Japanese, while on his own time he creates original jewelry and sketches. When Juliana vanishes just after the police kill her sister, Frank is taken into custody, which is particularly dangerous since he had a Jewish grandfather and would face execution if this fact were exposed. His experience with the Japanese causes him to turn against the state.
• Luke Kleintank as Joe Blake, a new recruit to the underground American resistance who is actually an agent working for the SS under John Smith. He transports a copy of a reel of the forbidden film The Grasshopper Lies Heavy to the neutral Rocky Mountain States as part of his mission to infiltrate the American resistance.
• DJ Qualls as Ed McCarthy, Frank's co-worker and friend. He closely follows politics and cares very much about Frank's well being.
• Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Nobusuke Tagomi, the Trade Minister of the Pacific States of America. His true loyalties are ambiguous throughout the first season.
• Rufus Sewell as John Smith, an SS investigating the Resistance in New York. He is a natural-born American who previously served in the U.S. Army Intelligence Corps and lives a comfortable suburban life with a wife and three children. It is implied that he embraced Nazism because he grew up in poverty as a result of the Great Depression.
• Joel de la Fuente as Chief Inspector Takeshi Kido, the ruthless head of the stationed in San Francisco.
• Brennan Brown as Robert Childan, an antique store owner who makes secret deals with Frank. (recurring, season 1; main, season 2)
• Callum Keith Rennie as Gary Connell, leader of the West Coast Resistance movement and enforcer for Abendsen. (season 2)
• Bella Heathcote as Nicole Becker, young, Berlin-born filmmaker who will cross paths with Joe. (season 2)

Recurring

• Carsten Norgaard as Rudolph Wegener, a disillusioned high-ranking Nazi official who trades secrets with Tagomi.
• Rick Worthy as Lemuel "Lem" Washington, owner of the Sunrise diner in Canon City and a member of the Resistance.
• Camille Sullivan as Karen Vecchione, a leader of the Pacific States branch of the Resistance.
• Lee Shorten as Sergeant Hiroyuki Yoshida, Inspector Kido's right-hand man.
• Arnold Chun as Kotomichi, Tagomi's assistant.
• Hank Harris as Randall Becker, a member of the Pacific States branch of the Resistance
• Christine Chatelain as Laura Crothers, Frank's sister.
• Allan Havey as the Origami Man, a Nazi spy sent to Canon City to eliminate members of the Resistance.
• Burn Gorman as the Marshal, a bounty hunter searching for concentration camp escapees.
• Shaun Ross as the Shoe Shine Boy, a young albino man living in Canon City.
• Rob LaBelle as Carl, a bookstore clerk in Canon City who is revealed to be a concentration camp escapee named David P. Frees.
• Geoffrey Blake as Jason Meyer, a Jewish member of the Resistance.
• Michael Gaston as Mark Sampson, Frank's friend and a Jew living in the Pacific States.
• Louis Ozawa Changchien as Paul Kasoura, a wealthy lawyer who collects pre-war American memorabilia.
• Tao Okamoto as Betty, Paul's wife.
• Daisuke Tsui as the Crown Prince of Japan
• Mayumi Yoshida as the Crown Princess of Japan
• Amy Okuda as Christine Tanaka, an office worker in the Nippon building.
• Hiro Kanagawa as Taishi Okamura, the leader of a based in the Pacific States.
• Stephen Root as Hawthorne Abendsen / The Man in the High Castle (season 2)
• Sebastian Roch as Martin Heusmann, Joe Blake's estranged father and a high-ranking member of the Reich. (season 2)
• Cara Mitsuko as Sarah, a Japanese American Resistance member, confidante of Frank and a survivor of Manzanar (season 2).
• Tate Donovan as George Dixon, a mysterious friend of the Crains (season 2).
• Michael Hogan as Hagan, an ex-preacher and leader in the San Francisco resistance (season 2).
• Tzi Ma as General Onoda, a leading member of the Japanese military (season 2).

John Smith's family

• Chelah Horsdal as Helen Smith, John's wife.
• Quinn Lord as Thomas Smith, John and Helen's son and the eldest child. A member of the Hitler Youth, it is later revealed that he has inherited a form of muscular dystrophy from his father's side of the family.
• Gracyn Shinyei as Amy Smith, John and Helen's daughter.
• Genea Charpentier as Jennifer Smith, John and Helen's daughter.

Juliana Crain's family

• Daniel Roebuck as Arnold Walker, Juliana's stepfather and Trudy's father.
• Macall Gordon as Anne Crain Walker, Juliana's mother who is still bitter about losing her husband in World War II.

Nobusuke Tagomi's family

• Yukari Komatsu as Michiko Tagomi, Nobusuke's wife (season 2).
• Eddie Shin as Noriyuke Tagomi, Nobusuke and Michiko's son (season 2).

Historical figures

• Wolf Muser as Adolf Hitler.
• Ray Proscia as Reinhard Heydrich.
• Kenneth Tigar as Heinrich Himmler (season 2)

Episodes

Season 1 (2015)

The pilot and the second episode were screened at a special Comic-Con event. The season premiered on November 20, 2015.

|ShortSummary = The series starts in 1962. The first episode follows the lives of three people: Joe Blake, a young man in the Greater Nazi Reich, who is later revealed to be an SS covert agent working for  John Smith, tracking the transportation of a subversive banned newsreel in which the Allies won World War II; Frank Frink, a jewelry designer who lives in the Japanese Pacific States and conceals his Jewish roots, and Juliana Crain, a young aikido student who also lives in the Japanese Pacific States and a former fiance of Frank. A Japanese trade minister named Tagomi, meets with a Nazi official from Berlin, Rudolph Wegener. Juliana witnesses the death of her half-sister, Trudy, at the hands of the Kempeitai. She then receives the film about the allies winning World War II and discovers that Trudy was a member of the resistance. She then makes her way to the Neutral Zone to deliver the film as part of a mission that Trudy was supposed to be on. Along the way, her bag gets stolen leaving her with no money. Blake and Crain eventually meet in the Neutral Zone, while Frank is apprehended by Inspector Kido of the Kempeitai, and may be extradited to Nazi America, where as a Jew he will be summarily executed.
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|ShortSummary = While working in the Canon City diner, owned by a man named Lemuel Washington, Juliana meets a man folding a paper crane and assumes he is the contact. Joe watches his own copy of the film. Joe finds out from Smith that the contact is a  agent trying to stop the resistance, and is ordered not to intervene. When Juliana meets the origami man at the nearby dam to pass on the film, he attacks her. Joe arrives to try to save her, but she uses her knowledge of  to throw the SD agent over a dam railing to his death. Smith himself is ambushed on his way to work, narrowly fending off his attackers. Meanwhile, in the Pacific States, Frank's sister and her two children are taken into custody by the  and Frank is told they will be killed along with him for being Jewish if he does not cooperate. A prisoner in a neighboring cell convinces Frank to stand defiant. Just as Frank is about to be shot, the  arrest the woman who stole Juliana's luggage. Frank is released. However, Kido informs Frank that this news came too late to save his sister and her children. Frank is enraged.
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|ShortSummary = Joe and Juliana try to act as quickly as they can to get out of Canon City, just as a vicious Nazi bounty hunter arrives in town, called the 'Marshal'. They then surmise that Lemuel Washington is a member of the Resistance, and that he was Trudy's contact, because his name appeared on a list of resistance members. Meanwhile, back in the Pacific States, Frank plots revenge against the Japanese by preparing to kill the Crown Prince of Japan. The Marshal suspects that Juliana killed the SD officer. The episode ends with the Marshal attacking Juliana, and chasing her in a warehouse.
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|ShortSummary = Joe quickly saves Juliana from the Marshal. Joe and Julia confront Lemuel who leads them into the woods, where they are surrounded by resistance fighters, who force them to give them the films and leave. Joe and Julia are attacked again by the Marshal, causing Joe to reveal to the Marshal that he's a Nazi agent. The Marshal pursues Juliana on the highway. When Juliana gets far enough, she burns her car and hides. When the Marshal reaches the car, he assumes that she has died. Back in the Reich, SS captain Conley is suspected by Smith for telling the resistance members who attacked him, which route he was taking to work. In the Pacific States, Frank heads to the Crown Prince's speech with a gun to assassinate him, but hesitates to do so. The Crown Prince is then shot by an unseen gunman.
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|ShortSummary = The Crown Prince is rushed to the hospital after the attack, and the captain of the Imperial Guard is ordered to commit seppuku, for not protecting the Crown Prince. Kido then states that if he can't find the gunman, he will do the same. Meanwhile, Juliana returns home to find an angry Frank, who tells her about his time in prison. Joe is kidnapped from the Neutral Zone by Gestapo agents, and returned to New York. He is then forced to tell Smith what happened in Canon City. Smith believes him, and invites Joe over for VA day (Victory in America day).
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|ShortSummary = Joe celebrates VA day at Smith's house. Juliana accepts a job working for Tagomi as she continues her search for answers. Smith, who has received intelligence about Wegener's activities but also happens to be an old friend, intercepts him at the airport and invites him for dinner hoping to probe Wegener for answers. Smith has Wegener arrested. Smith catches Joe sneaking through his files.
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|ShortSummary = Juliana makes a startling discovery about her sister's death. Frank reflects on recent events and makes an important decision about his future, and Tagomi gains greater insight into Juliana's past. Smith catches Joe in his home office and interrogates him about Juliana and Canon City.
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|ShortSummary = Juliana and Frank make plans to escape the Pacific States, only to be dragged back into danger by Joe as he tries to retrieve a new film, and walks directly into the Kempeitai's ambush. Meanwhile, Smith's loyalty is put to the ultimate test when confronted with a startling family discovery. The episode is named after the song of the same name, which is performed by Lini Evans during the episode with Japanese lyrics she co-wrote.
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|ShortSummary = With time running out, a desperate Frank is forced to put his life on the line to help Joe. The pieces finally fall into place for Smith as he uncovers who was behind the assassination attempt. Tagomi is devastated when he is confronted with the consequences of his scheming, and Kido's investigation takes a dramatic turn when he makes an important discovery. Meanwhile, Frank and Juliana, after taking possession of the new film, decide to watch it, but they are shocked to find out that the film describes, apparently in the near future, a nuclear-bombed San Francisco where the SS are rounding up and executing survivors; Frank is shown being executed by Joe, who is wearing an SS uniform.
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|ShortSummary = Frank and Juliana angrily confront Joe as a Nazi agent. He goes to the Nazi embassy with the film. Joe learns that Heydrich is preparing a trap. Kido acts on the information from the  and kills the Nazi sniper that shot the Crown Prince. Ed is caught with Frank's gun and is used as a scapegoat for the attempted assassination of the Crown Prince, averting the need for Kido to commit . Heydrich demands Smith's loyalty ahead of Wegener assassinating Hitler. Wegener says goodbye to his family and travels to Hitler's alpine castle (filmed at Hohenwerfen Castle), but after confronting Hitler (who is watching the alternate newsreels in his huge film vault saying that he learns something every time he watches), kills himself instead. Smith captures the traitor Heydrich and reports such to Hitler. Joe evades Lem's ambush and boards a boat to Mexico in Juliana's place. Frank finds out that Ed has been arrested and returns to the  headquarters to find him being detained. Tagomi goes to Union Square to meditate with Juliana's charm and opens his eyes to find himself in an alternate 1962 where the Allies won World War II and America is in the midst of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
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Season 2 (2016)

The second season was released on December 16, 2016.

|ShortSummary = Joe returns to New York to hand over the film to Smith and request for his resignation, but Smith denies his request before delivering the film to Hitler. Karen and Lem confront Juliana for not shooting Joe before she is tranquilized. She wakes up in the home of Hawthorne Abendsen, The Man in the High Castle, and his vast film collection. Meanwhile, General Onoda reveals to Tagomi and his staff that the capsule Science Minister Shimada found in his pocket contains the plans for a nuclear weapon that the Empire intends to use to crush the Nazis, much to Tagomi's dismay. Frank confronts Arnold about spying over his own family. Desperate to clear Ed's name, Frank goes to Childan and asks for his help. Juliana attempts to get answers from an evasive Abendsen and receives a clue which may help to avert nuclear war. Gary Connell, leader of the West Coast Resistance, goes against orders and tries to kill Juliana, but she escapes at a Kempeitai checkpoint. A gunfight ensues between the Resistance members and the Japanese soldiers. Karen is killed in the crossfire.
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|ShortSummary = Kido investigates the shootout at the checkpoint and suspects Juliana is involved. Frank decides to get Paul Kasoura, who is a defense lawyer, to help Ed. In desperation, he reveals to Kasoura that the antique goods he and Childan sold him are fake, leading the pair to be imprisoned by the Yakuza, whom Kasoura has a connection. Frank is almost killed by Okamura, the Yakuza leader, in the previous incident with Joe. However, he manages to convince Okamura to allow him to repay his debt for the forgery, with a condition that Ed is to work with him as his assistant. Kido is forced by Okamura to release Ed. He later pins the assassination of the Crown Prince on the deceased Karen. Joe is ordered by Smith to visit his father, a Reichminister named Heusmann, in Berlin. Smith tells Joe that Juliana is possibly dead. Meanwhile, Juliana evades Gary and Lem and tries to convince her parents to leave San Francisco, to no avail. Using the clue on a mysterious man that Abendsen is fixated on, Juliana discovers the man is a family friend named George Dixon, who is Trudy's real father. Learning he may be in Brooklyn, Juliana risks her life to reach the Nazi embassy and request asylum, while leaving a letter to Frank.
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|ShortSummary = Smith is warned by Dr. Adler, the family physician, to end his son Thomas's life, as the boy's incurable illness prevents him from being accepted in the Reich. Juliana makes it to New York and is questioned by Smith, who is notified of her arrival and arranges her stay. He keeps this a secret from Joe. Frank learns of Juliana's defection to the Nazi states, though he does not believe Gary on her betrayal. While he works with Ed and Childan to create forgeries for the Yakuza to repay his debt, Frank is convinced by the Resistance to help them liberate innocent citizens from the Kempeitai in retaliation for the checkpoint murders. While saving a Resistance member named Sarah, Frank commits his first kill against the Japanese. Juliana looks for Joe but is told by his ex-lover that he has rejoined the Nazis, leading her to think he may have betrayed her. Joe travels to Berlin and meets with his father but is distant due to the latter's treatment of his mother. He crosses paths with Nicole Becker, a filmmaker. Smith is unable to kill his son when given the chance to do so. He meets with Dr. Adler and kills him to ensure his silence. 
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|ShortSummary = Juliana adjusts to life in the Reich under the tutelage of Smith's wife Helen and Thomas. While looking for George Dixon at his old apartment, she is pursued by two unknown agents and almost killed. General Onoda has the Kempeitai execute numerous citizens for the murder of the Japanese soldiers during the Resistance rescue. Enraged, Frank starts to neglect his debt with the Yakuza and accepts a risky assignment to siphon materials from an unexploded Japanese bomb for a Resistance mission, much to Ed's dismay. Frank begins to get close with Sarah during the assignment. Smith reveals to a suspecting Helen that he killed Dr. Adler to keep their son's illness a secret. Kido gets Onoda drunk and tricks him into approving an unknown order. After escaping from her pursuers, Juliana is approached by Dixon. Tagomi travels to the alternate timeline once again and sees his still living wife Michiko, who is deceased in his own timeline. 
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|ShortSummary = Dixon is revealed to be a Resistance leader and meets up with Juliana after she tells him that the Man in the High Castle sent her. Juliana tells him he may be somehow involved in the possible San Francisco bombing as he has appeared several times in the films. Dixon forces Juliana to spy on Smith and his family to redeem her betrayal when she allowed Joe to escape with the film. Joe is upset when his father brings him to his place of birth and reveals he is one of the Lebensborn, an experiment to perfect racial purity. Despite this, he takes up his father's offer to remain in Berlin for a few more days. Kido attempts to use Onoda's approval to extradite Juliana from the Nazi states, though he fails and reveals his motive for visiting Smith for an unknown reason. Frank becomes further involved with the Resistance while Ed is revealed to be under the control of the Kempeitai to report on the Yakuza's counterfeiting activities in exchange for his and Frank's lives. Lem assists Abendsen in moving to a new location under the possibility the location of the High Castle is compromised and Abendsen destroys most of the films before leaving. Tagomi reveals himself to the alternate Michiko and his son Noriyuke, but discovers the alternate Tagomi's relationship with them is estranged. He is shocked to see Noriyuke married to an alternate Juliana with their son.
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|ShortSummary = Juliana starts to socialize with the Ladies Committee as planned and gains the support of one of the members, Lucy. Helen discovers Thomas has been selected by the Hitler Youth group to go for an expedition in South America. She forbids her son to go until she finds out that Smith arranged to have their son disappear from society by staging a fake abduction and live a life of anonymity. Joe starts to get closer to Nicole, who reveals herself as one of the Lebensborn and brings him to meet with some of the others. After spending the night with Nicole, Joe begins to embrace his real heritage. Sarah brings Frank to a secret prayer gathering with Hagan, a leader of the Resistance. Tagomi attempts to mend his alternate self's relationship with his family, and is dismayed by the alternate Noriyuke's foregoing of the Japanese culture. Kido is informed by his right hand man, Yoshida, that they have found Abendsen's burnt hideout and learns the Yakuza is also looking for the films.
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|ShortSummary = Ed and Childan go to Okamura to repay their debt with the sale from Frank's forgery but are locked up in a storage room when Kido and his men pay a visit. Kido kills Okamura and the Yakuza members present for treason as he has deduced the Yakuza are working with the Nazis. Yoshida discovers Ed and Childan but lets them go. Frank is tasked to plant a bomb at the harbor where General Onoda is visiting. However, Frank aborts the mission when he discovers that the Japanese are secretly building an atomic bomb there and alerts the Resistance of this information. While at Adler's funeral, Smith is dismayed when Adler's wife Alice raises her suspicion on her husband's sudden death and plans to have an autopsy performed. Juliana also attends the funeral and while talking to Thomas, she notices he has a seizure and covers for him. Later, she promises Helen not to speak of Thomas's condition. Smith has further troubles when Heinrich Himmler informs him that Hitler has suffered a collapse.
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|ShortSummary = Smith questions Juliana about Joe's film and learns of San Francisco's impending destruction. Lucy tells Juliana she knows that supposedly live footage of Hitler is actually archival because her husband manages the TV broadcast. Juliana shares with Dixon her belief that Hitler may be dead. The Resistance decide it is time to stage an uprising, leaving Juliana concerned that she may have caused the nuclear catastrophe she is trying to prevent. Heusmann is made Acting Chancellor while Joe decides to support his father. Frank learns from Arnold that Juliana has warned them to leave San Francisco and has not betrayed him. Enraged, he confronts Gary but the Resistance is determined to go ahead with the uprising. Armed with the knowledge from Juliana and Kido, Smith misleads a secretly imprisoned Heydrich into thinking Germany and Japan are already at war, leading Heydrich to confirm what Smith has suspected: a conspiracy to create a pretext for war with the Japanese exists among the Nazi ranks. Smith executes Heydrich, but not before learning he is not the mastermind behind the rush to war. Hitler passes away, leaving Heusmann in charge, and the new Chancellor is revealed to have orchestrated the looming conflict.
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|ShortSummary = Tagomi watches a film with his alternate family showing the recent test detonation of a hydrogen bomb. Finally resolved to stop war between Japan and the Nazis, Tagomi takes the film and returns to his reality. Thomas confronts Juliana about his condition, unaware that their conversation is being recorded. Smith later learns of the tape and takes it to protect Thomas' secret. In a televised address, Heusmann frames the Japanese for Hitler's death by poison and promises retaliation much to Joe's horror. Frank decides to assist the Resistance in assassinating Onoda using their homemade bombs. Before the operation, he convinces Ed and Childan to leave San Francisco. Frank and Sarah infiltrate a car bomb into the Kempeitai HQ underground parking garage. They set the bomb timer and attempt to leave the building, but are spotted by Kido, which starts a gunfight in the lobby. Just as Tagomi arrives, the bomb detonates, killing General Onoda and his staff and collapsing most of the building, seemingly killing Frank and Sarah in the process.
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|ShortSummary = Tagomi and Kido, who survived the bombing, deal with the aftermath of the destruction of the Kempeitai HQ. Afterwards, Kido travels to New York and plays the film for Smith appearing to provide evidence that the Japanese possess a hydrogen bomb. The resistance attempts to avenge Karen's death by killing Juliana, but she escapes and kills Susan in the process. She then confronts and kills Dixon, who was threatening to expose Smith by broadcasting the tape of her conversation with Thomas. Smith travels to Berlin with the film to convince the Nazi higher ups not to attack Japan out of fear of nuclear retaliation and meets privately with Himmler, exposing Heusmann as the traitor. After arresting Heusmann and Joe, Himmler addresses the worldwide public from the Volkshalle, possibly assuming control of the Reich, and rewards Smith for his service. The recognition Smith receives inspires Thomas to turn himself over to the Public Health Department to be euthanized. After traveling to the Neutral Zone, a bereft Juliana learns from Abendsen that hope remains and that her sister is alive. Finally, Lem hands over Abendsen's tapes to Tagomi. 
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Background

The show has been in development for a number of years at a number of venues.

In 2010, it was announced that the BBC would co-produce a four-part TV adaptation of The Man in the High Castle for BBC One together with Headline Pictures, FremantleMedia Enterprises and Scott Free Films. Director Ridley Scott was to act as executive producer of the adaptation by Howard Brenton.

On February 11, 2013, Variety reported that SyFy was adapting the book as a four-part miniseries, with Ridley Scott and Frank Spotnitz as executive producers, co-produced with Scott Free Prods., Headline Pictures and Electric Shepherd Prods.

On October 1, 2014, Amazon.com began filming the pilot episode in Roslyn, Washington, for a new television drama to be aired on their Prime web video streaming service. This has been adapted by Frank Spotnitz and is being produced for Amazon by Ridley Scott, David Zucker and Jordan Sheehan for Scott Free, Stewart Mackinnon and Christian Baute for Headline Pictures, Isa Hackett and Kalen Egan for Electric Shepherd and Spotnitz's Big Light Productions. The pilot episode was released by Amazon Studios on January 15, 2015. Amazon Studios' production process is somewhat different from those of other conventional television channels. They produce pilot episodes of a number of different prospective programs, then release them and gather data on their success. The most promising shows are then picked up as regular series. On February 18, 2015, Amazon.com announced that The Man in the High Castle was given the green-light along with four other series, and a full season would be produced.

Production

Production for the pilot episode began in October 2014. Principal filming took place in Seattle, with the city standing in for San Francisco and locations in New York City, as well as Roslyn, Washington, which was the long-time shooting location for Northern Exposure. Sites used in Seattle include the Seattle Center Monorail, the Paramount Theatre, a newspaper office in the Pike Place Market area, as well as various buildings in the city's Capitol Hill, International District, and Georgetown neighborhoods. In Roslyn, the production used external shots of the Roslyn Cafe which featured prominently in Northern Exposure along with several local businesses and scenery.

In April 2015, filming took place in Vancouver, British Columbia, in the downtown area of West Georgia Street, along the promenade of the Coast Capital Savings building. In May and June 2015 filming also took place at the University of British Columbia. Exterior shots of Hohenwerfen Castle in Werfen, Austria were filmed in September 2015 for the tenth episode of the first season.

Advertising controversy

As part of an advertising campaign for the release of the first season, one entire New York City Subway car was covered with Nazi and Imperial Japanese imagery as seen in the show, including multiple American flags with the Nazi eagle emblem in place of the 50 stars and multiple flags of the fictional Pacific States. In response to criticism of the ads, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) released a statement saying that there were no grounds to reject the ads due to neutral content subway ad standards only prohibit advertising that is a political advertisement or disparages an individual or group. MTA spokesperson Kevin Ortiz stated that, "The MTA is a government agency and can't accept or reject ads based on how we feel about them; we have to follow the standards approved by our board. Please note they're commercial ads." Spokesperson Adam Lisberg said, "This advertising, whether you find it distasteful or not, obviously they're not advertising Nazism; they're advertising a TV show." After complaints from riders as well as New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, initial reports indicated that Amazon pulled the advertisement from the subway. It was later announced that the MTA pulled the ad due to pressure from Governor Cuomo, not Amazon.

Reception

The first season of The Man in the High Castle received positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives season 1 an approval rating of 95% based on reviews from 57 critics, with an average rating of 7.6 out of 10. The site's critical consensus states, "By executive producer Ridley Scott, The Man in the High Castle is unlike anything else on TV, with an immediately engrossing plot driven by quickly developed characters in a fully realized post-WWII dystopia." Metacritic gives the first season a score of 77 out of 100, based on reviews from 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Meredith Woerner from io9 wrote, "I can honestly say I loved this pilot. It's an impressive, streamlined undertaking of a fairly complicated and very beloved novel." Matt Fowler from IGN gave 9.2 out of 10 and described the series as a "a superb, frightening experience filled with unexpected twists and (some sci-fi) turns." Brian Moylan of The Guardian was positive and praised the convincing depiction and the complex but gripping plot. The Los Angeles Times described the pilot as "provocative" and "smartly adapted by The X-Files' Frank Spotnitz." The Daily Telegraph said it was "absorbing" and Wired called it "must-see viewing." Entertainment Weekly said it was "engrossing" and "a triumph in world-building," cheering, "The Man in the High Castle is king."

After its first season, Rolling Stone included it on a list of the forty best science fiction television shows of all time.

Amazon subsequently announced it was the service's most-streamed original series and had been renewed for a second season. Season 2 was met with mixed reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gives the second season an approval rating of 65% based on reviews from 17 critics, with an average rating of 7 out of 10. The site's critical consensus states, "Although its plot is admittedly unwieldy, The Man in the High Castles second season expands its fascinating premise in powerful new directions, bolstered by stunning visuals, strong performances, and intriguing new possibilities." Metacritic gives season 2 a score of 60 out of 100, based on reviews from nine critics.

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2015	2015 SXSW Awards	Excellence in Title Design	Patrick Clair
2016	42nd Saturn Awards	Best New Media Television Series	The Man in the High Castle
	2016 ASC Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Television Movie, Mini-Series or Pilot	James Hawkinson (Episode: "The New World")
	6th Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Rufus Sewell
	2016 Monte-Carlo Television Festival	Best TV Series Drama	The Man in the High Castle
	2016 USC Scripter Awards	Best Television Script	Frank Spotnitz and Philip K. Dick
	36th Young Artist Awards	Best Performance in a TV Series - Recurring Young Actor (14-21)	Quinn Lord
	68th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards	Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series	James Hawkinson
		Outstanding Main Title Design	Patrick Clair, Paul Kim, Jose Limon, Raoul Marks
		Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More)	Drew Boughton, Linda King, Brenda Meyers-Ballard
		Outstanding Special Visual Effects	The Man in the High Castle