The Man In The High Castle Season 3 Review: Still Compelling But Needs A Tighter Plot

I must confess to having lost my way during season 3. Don't get my wrong. The set designs are like nothing else on television. The actors are great. The premise is truly horrifying. The show's pacing is slow for my taste though. There are long periods during the 10 episodes where nothing much seems to go on.

Quick refresher: "The Man In The High Castle" exists in an alternate timeline. In this version of history, the Axis won WWII. Nazis occupy the eastern 2/3rds of the United States. The Japanese occupy the west coast. The citizens in both areas are ruled with an iron fist. There is a neutral zone between the two from the Rocky Mountain range extending south. The Japanese and Nazis do not trust each other and are continually planning war.

The show has TONS of characters (too many). The main ones are:

Juliana Crain- Escaped from the West Coast to the East and eventually escaped to the neutral zone. She discovers several film reels which show the US winning WWII. She then goes off in search of the person who made them-- The Man In The High Castle. She later joins the resistance and teams up with Wyatt.
Japanese Trade Minister Nobusuke Tagomi- in season 2 he travels to an alternate reality in which the Allies win WWII and Juliana is his daughter in law.
Joe Blake- When Julia first meets him, she thinks Joe is working for the Resistance. Instead he is working for the Nazi's and John Smith. It turns out Joe's father is a high ranking Nazi officer (who wants to assassinate Hitler and take over the Reich). Joe is pulled into this scheme and tortured when it doesnt work.
Frank Frink- Julia's boyfriend back in San Franicsco- he is tortured, joins the Resistance and tries to blow up a government building. He is feared dead but if found alive and badly burned. He eventually escapes to neutral territory and embraces his Jewish heritage.
Reichsmarschall John Smith- Rufus Sewell plays one of the most compelling characters in the series. Smith is an American who rises through the Nazi ranks due to his smarts and ruthlessness. All the while he and wife Helen struggle to hid their son's medical condition so he will not be exterminated. They eventually take in Juliana Crain (not knowing that she is working for the Resistance). But Smith is just using her for intel. When John and Helen plan to smuggle Thomas out of the country, he turns himself in and thus becomes a Nazi hero. Later, the couple's marriage hits the skids. Helen leaves with the girls.
Nicole Dormer- makes propaganda films for the Reich. She also had a past history with Joe. Nicole has a same sex relationship and is sent back to Berlin for re-education. Nicole seems to think she doesnt have to play by the same rules as everyone else. Obviously she was wrong.
Ed McCarthy- Frank's bestie- They eventually reconnect in the neutral zone and Ed gets a boyfriend-- Jake.
Robert Childan- runs an antique store. Eventually joins forces with Ed and Frank. He can never be trusted and is more interested in profit than resistance.
Kempeitai Chief Inspector Takeshi Kido- he works for the Japanese secret police and has done some horrible things. Is he just a man trapped by his circumstances though?
Fuehrer Heinrich Himmler- becomes Fuehrer after Hitler dies by getting rid of Joe's dad. Himmler instates "Year Zero" in the US. This will eradicate all previous American history. All monuments will be destroyed (including the Statue of Liberty) and only Nazi history will be taught to children.
Hawthorne Abendsen- he is the Man In The High Castle. He believes Juliana is the key to everything (since she is the only person that appears in all versions of history). His real name is Abe Hawkes and he served in the US army with John Smith (before John switched sides).

There were several shocking deaths this year. Gone are Joe and Frank. Himmler looks like he's a goner too (but that may be a fake out).

The third season expands the idea of the multiverse. The Nazis begin experimenting with sending prisoners through a portal (with a small amount of success). In the finale both Julia and TMITHC are captured by Smith. Abendsen explains the rules of traveling between realities. Someone can cross over IF a duplicate of that person does not exist in the other universe (ie they were never born or they are dead). Is he telling the truth? Who knows?

As they talk, the lights flicker. John runs to Juliana's cell. She begins to vibrate. John tries to stop this by shooting her but she disappears. Only a blood splatter from her shoulder wound is left on the back wall. We'll have to wait till next season (the show has already been renewed) to see where Juliana went. If Abendsen told the truth, anyone from another world who is dead in our world can return. This means Joe, Frank, and John's son Thomas could come back. My guess is Juliana went to Trudy's world. She cant go to the one Tagomi visited since she was alive there the last time we saw her.

Grade: 3 3/4 Monsters (out of 5). Despite a truly frightening premise, excellent actors, and stellar production values, "The Man In The High Castle" continues to be weighed down by too many plots and too many characters. I'm hoping season 4 (the show has already been renewed) will delve more heavily into the alternate universes. That is really what I have been waiting for all this time.