Man in the High Castle - Amazon

I enjoyed it but some folks will not like the ending.

 

You are right. Some will like it, others will hate it. Like any other piece of artistic work. However, before discussing it, I’ll give it the weekend.

That being said, some will notice one very distinct parallel to the book.

Spoiler: The book

The Amazon series ends in the same spirit of the book. There’s no real ending to either.

 

On episode 8 of season 3. Man, I love that trade minister! He's got some fight, hope he makes it to the end.

 

Great character development and acting from many of the people involved with the show. Good stuff.

 

Tagomi (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) is the best character in the Amazon series.

Spoiler: Don’t read my post on the previous page.

 

I won't I am trying to avoid this thread until I finish season 4!

 

I just finished season 3--very intense! The Liberty Bell and Statue of Liberty scenes were hard to watch, not to mention a decapitation.

 

I liked all but the last 10 minutes of that last episode.

 

I wouldn’t disagree. The last episode lap opened up a lot,of questions that aren’t resolved. Not that I expect a pat ending but I think the ending could have used a little more work.

 

Indeed, whether intentional or not there are a lot'of parallels politically to what is happening in the U.S. now.

 

Finished the fourth and final season. Despite strong individual performances, I think it in many ways is the more uneven and as result the weaker season. Maybe because of having to conclude the season sooner than expected. Maybe because of some directions that weren't explored or followed up. Some unexplained or absent resolutions. Still worth watching and a great series overall.

 

Saying as little as possible here, my thought was “what are those people running from?”

 

The multiverse is infinite. Take all of the issues/problems/persecutions/suffering that people would love to escape from in our universe. Now multiply that by infinity and you’ll have your answer.

Also, given the time that the series has been available, if someone is reading too page 11, they should expect spoilers by now.

 

I think that was certainly the intent.

 

There’s always some place worse than where you’re at...

 

I love the series, it's one of the best ones I've ween in years but that final season felt rushed and and the ending, ummm...

 

I thought the final season was very strong and preferred it to season 2

 

I enjoyed the series & really enjoyed the final season. I've read the book so I wasn't expecting a neatly tied up ending, but I was still hoping for a little more clarity than what the series finale provided.

 

I just finished it after playing catch up because I totally missed season 3 and the last 2 episodes of season 2. I didn't realize I was so far behind when season 4 started. An enjoyable series but I did not like the ending. Not what I was expecting I guess.

 

In many respects it is in the spirit of the novel but, yeah, it didn’t have as strong an ending as I would have liked. Sadly I think the show was hampered to a degree by being cut short of the five season arc that was planned.

 

From worlds that were even worse.

 

Ok thanks, I didn't know they planned another season. And maybe I missed something but what happened to Ed? He completely disappeared in Season 4.

Have not read the book but would like to.

 

Originally planned as a 5 season story arc, there was simply not enough room to squeeze in a story line devoted to Ed. In all fairness, while he appears somewhat throughout Philip K. Dick’s novel, the Amazon series kept in line with the spirit of the book, to where he was essentially abandoned after Frank’s fate.

Quick, relatively short, and enjoyable read. However, if you are seeking answers past the ending of the Amazon series, Spoiler Alert: you will not find them in the novel.

Dick had planned to write a sequel; however, it never materialized.

 

I think I would've have enjoy more episodes of John in "our" world. I was starting to think he would come back and stay.

 

Ultimately satisfying, but just barely.

Perhaps John Smith became too much of my focus. I don't know how it happened; perhaps the showrunners wanted it that, as John Smith, too me, was one of the most complex characters I've seen on TV in recent memory.

I kept waiting for John Smith's redemption. So many times he played the tough nut when doing his duty, yet with a softer side that seemed to question his duty.

***Spoilers***

Near the end, however, for any of us who thought that Smith could be redeemed, that all vanished when Helen finally realized that he was too far gone.

If I remember correctly, we knew that there were concentration camps in the US after Germany won the war, but not until Helen and her daughter had their big fallout did we learn that Smith headed up much of the slaughter as an SS officer. Helen made that point very clear. I don't recall them ever saying that John was SS, only that he had risen among the ranks.

There were moments in past episodes that John seemed haunted by his past. There was mention of him doing some horrible things, but nothing with that fine of a point on it.

That was the point where at least for me the audience became Helen, as we learned that John had done worse things in the name of the reich than just following orders. He may not have enjoyed it, but he did it anyway.

So, was it a form of redemption that he offed himself? After all, when he was sitting on that ledge he had taken off his Nazi armband. Perhaps he realized that it was all for nothing, that he had lost his family anyway, even after doing those terrible things to ensure their wellbeing by siding with the Nazis.

That's a helluva thing. At first I thought that killing himself was not a John Smith thing to do, but I suppose after doing the math, he knew that all he was doing was dividing by zero. He had been doing that since day-one. If he hadn't joined the Nazis, on the other hand, he would have certainly ended up the camps with the rest, along with his wife and son. That would have probably been a better fate than being responsible for all of those lives lost. But again, on the flipside, someone else would have done it in his absence.

Such a smart man, with the potential to let all of his goodness out, but that one move meant that there was no turning back. There never could have redemption, because the bed he made was irredeemable.

But they sure did a good job at pretending that he might be saved.