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[Dre]

Binge-watched the second season over the week-end and it is so much better than the first. I'd recommend it to everyone who is on the fence after watching season 1, I had huge doubts myself, but I'm glad I carried on. It does start as slow and a bit dull as S1 though, but it constantly gains momentum until E09 and E10 which are both phenomenal.

The alternate-reality setting is great and intriguing although more often than not some of the actor's German might put a damper on the immersion, but it's not a big deal.

Also fuck

Spoiler

Frank, he is still such a shit character and I wish he'd be dead like the show wants you to believe, but unfortunately he is so obviously not dead with the way they showed the aftermath of the bombing.

It's gonna be hard to wait a year for the next season.

 

[ironmang]

Julianna reminds me of how I can't stand those type of super idealistic moral high ground characters who stand in the way of reality and the people who try to get shit done.

Currently marathoning this series (just finished S2 E1) and ya I'm really starting not to like her because of this. Pretty much just leaves chaos and havoc with every decision.

Not sure what it says about me that I'm finding the Nazi officer more likable.

 

[Makai]

I'm on season 1 episode 2. Confused that Bibles are banned, but then I remembered she lives in Japan. I assume they're still around in Nazi territory.

 

[Mascot]

MITHC fans might like to know that SS-GB starts soon on BBC.

Adapted from Len Deighton’s 1978 alternate history novel, and starring Sam Riley and Kate Bosworth, SS-GB premieres on BBC One this spring.
Produced by Sid Gentle Films Ltd and written by Bafta Award-winners Neal Purvis and Robert Wade (Spectre, Skyfall, Casino Royale), SSGB is a complex thriller focusing on British Detective Douglas Archer. Forced to work under the brutal SS in occupied London, Archer is determined to continue to do his job in the service of his country, but against impossible odds.

We first meet Archer in 1941, with the vast majority of England and Wales are under Nazi occupation after losing the Battle of Britain. Pockets of resistance continue to show their defiance against the occupying German forces, but after a German pilot is murdered by a British Resistance fighter, tensions in London could not be higher.

When investigating what appears to be a simple black market murder, Archer is dragged into a much darker and more treacherous world where the stakes are as high as the ultimate outcome of the war. The elusive American journalist Barbara Barga may hold the key - but can he trust her? And when his lover Sylvia endangers her life by bravely making a stand against the oppressive regime, Archer is forced to confront a deeper dilemma. Can he carry out his duty to defend law and order when he is working for the wrong side? What is he willing to risk in the fight against fascism?

Detective Douglas Archer is played by Sam Riley, Barbara Barga by Kate Bosworth, DS Harry Woods by James Cosmo, Sylvia Manning by Maeve Dermody, PC Jimmy Dunn by Aneurin Barnard, Fritz Kellermann by Rainer Bock, SS Standartenfuehrer Dr Oskar Huth by Lars Eidinger, Mrs Sheenan by Christina Cole, Douggie Archer by Louis Serkis, Bob Sheenan by Kit Connor and John Spode by James Northcote.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2017/08/ss-gb

There really should be a British Drama thread.

 

[Timbuktu]

There really should be a British Drama thread.

Yep. Brit dramas are scattered all over the place in the OT. I guess this one has a bit less interesting setting with the war going on, but could make for a tighter drama, without the sci-fi element with the films and stuff?

 

[blankempathy]

Finished season 2. Love the premise and overall story but hate all the actors and characters, save for the fine actor playing Smith.

Some of the Japanese and German actors are decent as well.

Is it me or the character motivations make zero sense? Anyone introduced to the concept of these films which show the future or alternate history would send shockwaves to the soul yet instead of that being the main focus of inquiry, characters are just told to accept them and they move on.

I'd get it if no one in the show's universe knew the origins and meaning of the films, but a handful of characters know. It feels cheap how they drag this mystery cause no one even seems to be working to solve it. Julianna and Frank should be hellbent to figure how in the world the movies work or why they show what they show.

And if I understood it correctly

Spoiler

the basic plot is certain people can travel between realities or dimension. In the dimension the show is set in, the Nazis dropped a bomb on DC and then took over the US.

They wiped history of the Allied forces ever winning the war. Shouldn't Smith know this? We see in Ep10 him and his wife together in a house when they are expecting their first born as the bomb is dropped.

Knowing this, how is Smith all of a sudden Nazi #1 in the US? Did they just accept and transform to true believers as Nazis?

Also The Man In The High Castle's entire motivation seems to be to risk a girl who knows nothing and looks constantly constipated to magically make her way from the Japanese territories to the Reich and by change work with George and figure out a reason to shoot him.

Or did he know Smith's son would be ill and the only way to prevent all out war would be to prevent the knowledge of his illness bringing down Smith? Its so far fetched. He set up this elaborate plan in the hopes that Julianna finds a way to let Smith go to Germany to stop the war. Well why Julianna? He could have explained that to George and told him to just keep shut about it.

And in the end her sister is alive. So she took dumped this massive responsibility on her sister who could have been killed 30 different times until the very moment she served her true purpose.

Am I not getting the overall plot or is it best not to think about it?

Smith.

Spoiler

He likely did something that turned heads in order to earn the trust of the Nazi's. He's pretty good at making big moves and earning trust. I'm banking on his main motivation being his family and that he'll do anything to protect them. Also he's not Nazi #1. The old school Nazi's obviously don't like him seeing as they tried to have him killed. Didn't seem like he had a place in a post Hitler world. Maybe its due to his status that he's disliked so much. Hitler seemed to trust him and that may have fast tracked her career which would have planted seeds of jealousy among his peers.

The man in the high castle.

Spoiler

He explained this in the final episode of season 2. He knows Juliana's character because in the films she's always the same no matter how other people around her change in personality in the alternate histories. He understands what drives her and from there can anticipate her actions. I also doubt he knew Thomas would get sick. I don't think that would ever make it onto film. As for why he has Juliana do everything she likely still has a big part to play. Even if the threat of nuclear war is over for now the Nazi/Japanese occupancy still exists and she's gotten pretty close to certain key figures. Why he didn't have george/trudy act in Juliana's place may be because he doesn't fully trust them as their personalities may alter significantly between time lines. Remember that the footage of George dead had him dressed as a Nazi. How was he supposed to guess it was just a ploy? One could assume he was a traitor. Is theorized that Trudy can travel between timelines seeing as Juliana confirms her death. Also they alluded to this when Juliana and Trudy's mom falls ill saying she think something happened to Trudy and recovers just around the time Juliana thinks she's seen Trudy.

I'm assuming that TMIHC character is trying to keep events as close to the "good" timelines as he can since one small change can fuck up everything. That would require some elaborate planning. In theory killing George saves Smith so he stops the war but maybe killing him too early or just stopping him from killing Smith causes another unforeseen tragedy.

Currently marathoning this series (just finished S2 E1) and ya I'm really starting not to like her because of this. Pretty much just leaves chaos and havoc with every decision.

Not sure what it says about me that I'm finding the Nazi officer more likable.

You could argue thats the point of her character considering how the Nazi's and Japanese love their "order" so much.

Spoiler

Shes not compelling because her actions don't really have consequences. Even with her killing George I doubt Trudy is going to make a fuss. Her initial trip which leads to Frank's sister and her kids getting killed in her place the show treats as more Frank's fault than Julianna's.

 

[thefil]

Binge watched both season over the last week and change. I read the book, but the show is so different that I don't think it is even a point of comparison.

Oof. The premise and world fanfiction is great, and I was/am excited about how the macro movements of the world proceed. But otherwise, the show is just so poorly motivated, surface-level, and dishonestly teasing that I compare it with Lost and Heroes.

Here's a random sampling of problems:

Joe Blake. He

Spoiler

works for the nazis, is a apparently a believer in their ideals and the Reich, and then he meets Juliana and she "changes him". Why? They never discuss any sort of ideals or plans for the future. Furthermore, she's Aryan and him falling in love with her should have no impact on his view of what is acceptable in the world. In season two, he hates his father for very good reasons, but then because he finds out he's Lebensborn this somehow makes him conclude "I can make a difference by operating within the Reich"????

.

Heussman.

Spoiler

Head of a conspiracy to kill the Fuhrer, take power, begin war with Japan and then solidify control. Except... why bother? He is the Fuhrer's designated replacement until the Party convenes. Why does he need to risk an assassination to kill a man who will die shortly? He never expresses any urgency about this. I suppose we're meant to infer that he was worried about the Japanese getting the bomb? But he was willing to proceed anyway. So he risked everything when he could have just waited for a frail old man to die (which he maybe did anyway, it's not clear Hitler was actually poisoned).

The Man in the High Castle.

Spoiler

So Juliana has to go to the Neutral Zone, to deliver a tape to Washington, who will give it to the Man in the High Castle. Except later she is delivered to TMitHC inside the Pacific States, and the Resistance goes directly there to deliver her, so clearly they could have just taken the video to him themselves? And why does he live in such a dangerous area except for the obvious reason that it makes him accessible in season 2?

Literally every character outside Joe, Frank and Juliana

Spoiler

is required to constantly make bad unbelievable decisions in order to keep interacting with the main characters. None of these people should ever be trusted by any of those around them. They constantly fuck people over and get given infinite second chances because they are the main characters, not for any in-universe reason.

That's just a quick selection. Personally, I think pretty much every character and plot thread falls apart like this.

Then the show also leans heavily on

Spoiler

prophecy (TMitHC's prediction that Juliana was important)

and supernatural teases, which come across as cheap attempts to win the viewer's anticipation or "blow their mind". Instead of centering any of the conflict or resolution in the actually interesting setting and politics, it is instead reduced to

Spoiler

mystical plane-hopping

which could happen in any story.

Will probably watch season 3 just to see how their world progresses but think this show is super disappointing as (I suspect) Amazon's attempt at breaking into drama.

 

[Frankfurter]

Just finished watching season 2. While I understand some of the criticism, I had tons of fun with this season. Yes, some of the decisions of the characters are... interesting, to say the least. But for me it works.
One of the biggest issue for me is actually that the supposed to be Germans can't speak proper German lol. I know it's probably difficult to find so many actors that are German natives or atleast very close to it. But nevertheless, it's definitely an annoyance for native German speakers. Sometimes, it's not even the pronounciation, but the whole sentence structure just doesn't make sense.

 

[Grinchy]

Trying to get into this because the plot is very interesting. However, I find Alexa Davalos to be a horrible actress on the show.

You didn't like that single facial expression she had through the whole thing?

Yeah, I kinda only like a couple of the white people (non-nazi) and then loved the Japanese and Nazi actors/characters.

 

[Reckless Abandon]

Just finished watching season 2. While I understand some of the criticism, I had tons of fun with this season. Yes, some of the decisions of the characters are... interesting, to say the least. But for me it works.

I just finished up yesterday and agree. Pretty much the only intolerable character for me is Frank, and Julia is annoying at times, but it isn't enough to detract from the show.

Rufus Sewell as John Smith is sublime. Kido and Tagomi are both solid, and most of the supporting cast does well. Any my man Childan? He needs a spinoff series (joking, but only kind of). Perfect comedic relief from him, and his growing affection for Ed (and likewise) was believable and a nice change to the dark, brooding overall storyline.

Special props to Mrs Smith this season, you could feel the pain in her but she was still a strong, effective presence. Best husband/wife tandem in recent TV, if you ask me.

I like how the show blurs the line between good and bad. The resistance look like assholes through most of this season, yet Kido and John Smith, though ostensibly evil, are trying to

Spoiler

prevent nuclear war

, and you can't really hate on that.

Hats off to them all. I liked season 1 but felt that it dragged, especially towards the end, but I couldn't get enough of season 2. I'll be all over 3 when it comes out.

 

[jerry113]

Rufus Sewell is a Brit?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-q0X_e3xe0&feature=share

 

[PlayALLtheGames]

Fiancee and I didn't know anything about the show until we started watching last week.

Now we're obsessed.

Last night she stayed over at a girlfriend's house and I watched episodes 2, 3 and 4 of Season 2 without her. You snooze you lose.

The production is top-notch. The writing is excellent. The casting is fucking brilliant minus maybe Joe Blake who I think could have found his role in a slightly older, more mature actor. Also I think they could have found someone who looks more like Hitler and has less hair. Where did he get all that hair?

Can't wait to finish this season and get a release date for 3.

 

[MysticX]

wow...what a season! the first one was a complete wreck! but this one is much better

kinda ironic though that I or most of us root more with the nazis/japs instead of the resistance...feels like those are nothing but fools and arrogant pricks...glad juliana made it...glad that asshole dieded or I hope he did (juliana´s boyfriend)

glad tagomi san and kido san are still with us....loved their performance...

very good planing on overgruppenführer john´s smith behalf...genius..

and why do I get the distinct feeling that tmithc is a complete douché?

can´t wait for S3! hope they do even better!

 

[depward]

Enjoyed season 2 quite a bit more than season 1.

Fav character is Smith. Dude owns his role.

Would recommend a watch if you thought s1 was eh.

 

[Freshmaker]

Joe Blake. He

Spoiler

works for the nazis, is a apparently a believer in their ideals and the Reich, and then he meets Juliana and she "changes him". Why? They never discuss any sort of ideals or plans for the future. Furthermore, she's Aryan and him falling in love with her should have no impact on his view of what is acceptable in the world. In season two, he hates his father for very good reasons, but then because he finds out he's Lebensborn this somehow makes him conclude "I can make a difference by operating within the Reich"????

.

Joe is

Spoiler

very plainly not happy about working with the Nazi's. All of Season 1 at the very least. He always staggers over the Heil Hitlers and you don't get a sense he has any real commitment outside of whatever deal/history he had with Smith. He felt so lousy about his time in Cali that he begged that construction guy to let him "do an honest day's work". I think the main reason he opted to stay with his father other than simply wanting to actually have a father is the gullible notion that he'd be able to do some good if he remained there.

 

[Ferd2]

It's almost like St. Hedwigs grew up.

 

[Vagabundo]

Binge watched S1 and S2. Very enjoyable. I didn't have as much of a problem with character motivations, they seemed very human to me, people dither and make illogical/emotional choices all the time.

I'm not in love with any character though, except Childan maybe. There is something I find off-putting about pretty much all of the them. Still enjoying the show though, it gives it a weird old-timey vibe.

 

[UnluckyKate]

just done with season 1.

Setting is amazing. I love Smith, the counterspying and the japaense trade minister/ kampetai. It's very compelling as a thriller...

But my fucking god the writting of the american characters... Juliana dear god...

The entire plot takes one step forward and goes two steps back... By season one, plot got NOWHERE.

Nothing was accomplished, nothing was done, characters got nowhere, they just kept running in circles... They keep teasing major things but it never happens... And dear fucking god Juliana, the fucking guy is a nazi, you got 150 proofs in the last 10 episodes and you STILL fucking forgive him every time for fuck sake he just threathened your life and your friends life 2 minutes ago... How can someone write a character so stupid and awful... She makes everybody die or miserable around her and she sees nothing... and yet she got this amazing plot armor and plot luck that make her go sneak evade anything.

Does S2 get less abyssmal with the main us cast ?

I'm so pissed at how stupid the show got by the last episode of S1...

 

[SpaceWolf]

just done with season 1.

Setting is amazing. I love Smith, the counterspying and the japaense trade minister/ kampetai. It's very compelling as a thriller...

But my fucking god the writting of the american characters... Juliana dear god...

The entire plot takes one step forward and goes two steps back... By season one, plot got NOWHERE.

Nothing was accomplished, nothing was done, characters got nowhere, they just kept running in circles... They keep teasing major things but it never happens... And dear fucking god Juliana, the fucking guy is a nazi, you got 150 proofs in the last 10 episodes and you STILL fucking forgive him every time for fuck sake he just threathened your life and your friends life 2 minutes ago... How can someone write a character so stupid and awful... She makes everybody die or miserable around her and she sees nothing... and yet she got this amazing plot armor and plot luck that make her go sneak evade anything.

Does S2 get less abyssmal with the main us cast ?

I'm so pissed at how stupid the show got by the last episode of S1...

Season 2 was a considerable step up in almost every department for me. Keep with it!

 

[kirblar]

Season 2 was a considerable step up in almost every department for me. Keep with it!

Yup. Massive improvement.

 

[Sevket-Erhat]

Season 2 was a considerable step up in almost every department for me. Keep with it!

I need tto watch this asap

 

[la_briola]

I just got a new LG OLED 4k TV with HDR and decided to check out how this looks with it.

Insane. My mind is blown away. The image quality and vibrant colors are like nothing I've ever seen before (and I didn't even calibrate the TV yet).

Amazon's 4k (+HDR) content (stream) is leagues ahead of Netflix (as far as I can tell).

 

[TheKeyPit]

Finished Season 2; loved it.

Spoiler

I guess that the Man in the High Castle can travel between worlds?

Just finished watching season 2. While I understand some of the criticism, I had tons of fun with this season. Yes, some of the decisions of the characters are... interesting, to say the least. But for me it works.
One of the biggest issue for me is actually that the supposed to be Germans can't speak proper German lol. I know it's probably difficult to find so many actors that are German natives or atleast very close to it. But nevertheless, it's definitely an annoyance for native German speakers. Sometimes, it's not even the pronounciation, but the whole sentence structure just doesn't make sense.

Is it so hard to hire german actors for such roles?

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Season 3 will not premiere until 2018.

 

[tmdorsey]

Season 3 will not premiere until 2018.

I hope it's early 2018 because it's gonna be gone over year now.

 

[Kalentan]

Season 3 will not premiere until 2018.

Seriously?

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Exclusive: New York Comic Con Sneak Peek

 

[Kalentan]

Exclusive: New York Comic Con Sneak Peek

Finally. I love the multiverse stuff so it becoming bigger part of the story is great.

 

[Flandy]

Season 3 will not premiere until 2018.

I thought this bump was because it was coming back

 

[xrnzaaas]

Just started to watch this show and goddamn I love it. I was thinking about taking my time since it's "only" 20 episodes, but I've already seen three and I want more. By the way The Marshal is such a badass character, I know he's overdone but I don't care.