At the beginning of the episode, Joe Blake (Luke Kleintank) manages to track down The Marshal (Burn Gorman) and save Juliana Crain (Alexa Davalos). They retreat outside and take shelter in the bookstore. The shoe shine boy (Shaun Ross) sends Marshal in the other direction, so Joe and Juliana can escape. Meanwhile, Frank Frink (Rupert Evans) prepares his gun and scouts out the site of the Prince’s speech. When he returns home, he gets a visit from a worried Ed McCarthy (DJ Qualls). Ed attempts to convince Frank to hand over the gun, but he insists he will take care of it himself. Ed also tries to convince Frank that Juliana will return, but Frank refuses to believe it.

After learning Lem’s whereabouts from the shoe shine boy, Juliana pays him a visit. Lem (Rick Worthy) forces Joe to remain outside, while they go inside to chat. They catch one another up, before Lem asks for the film. When Juliana refuses to give it up, Lem sets up a meeting and agrees to take Juliana to see the Man in the High Castle. That night, Joe places a call to Obergruppenfuhrer John Smith (Rufus Sewell) and updates him. When asked about his next mission, John Smith tells Joe to kill the Man in the High Castle, even if he gets himself killed in the process. Later, Tagomi (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) pays a visit to the Prince and Princess (Mayumi Yoshida). The Princess tells Tagomi about her concerns regarding the Prince.

Tagomi admits he is also fearful, since the Nazis covet the Pacific States. The Princess reveals the general want her husband to send out a war cry and scare off the Nazis, but the Prince has shunned the threats and desires to seek peace. Tagomi insists doing that would be taken as a weakness and could end in doom. Next, Lem closes down his shop, before getting a visit from The Marshal. Marshal attempts to intimidate Lem, before Lem heads out and meets up with Joe and Juliana. Joe grabs his bag and gun, before the group heads up the mountain. It turns out to be a trap. Joe and Juliana are placed on the ground at gunpoint, by Lem and some followers.

 Meanwhile, Tagomi pays Rudolph (Carsten Norgaard) a visit and gives him orders to place a bullet in the science minister’s pocket, during the speech. Next, Joe manages to save his own life, by giving up his film reel and pretending to work with the resistance. Lem and the others leave and tell them to cross the mountain to escape The Marshal. Frank heads out to the antique shop and attempts to purchase some antique bullets for his weapon. During the visit, the Prince and Princess enter. They pair finally leaves, before Frank seals the deal and purchases the bullets, which were previously owned by Satoshi Matsuda. Frank’s name is taken down, before he heads back to his home. He finds Anne (Macall Gordon), who seems very worried about Frank and Juliana.

Back in the woods, Juliana hounds Joe and attempts to learn about his time with the resistance. She also questions him about watching the film, but he insists he wasn’t allowed to and didn’t. John Smith gets a visit from the captain, who tells him nothing suspicious was found, when checking out the phone records of their fellow Nazis. Smith tells him to go back to work and continue digging. That night, Juliana attempts to discover Joe’s motives and eventually comes to the conclusion that he is attempting to fulfill his father’s legacy. They contemplate their next move and Joe offers to distract Marshal, so she can escape to California. Meanwhile, Frank gets another visit from Ed, who attempts to talk him out of his decision.

Eventually, Ed gets the gun and shoots Frank in the arm. He freaks and gets locked in a closet, before Frank makes his escape. Meanwhile, Joe controls the Marshal and tells him he is a Nazi agent. The Marshal doesn’t care and still vows to track down Juliana. She escapes in the S.D. Agent’s vehicle, with The Marshal close behind her. The Marshal runs across a burned car with a body inside. Juliana hides in the nearby trees. Joe arrives moments later and picks up Juliana. We see that the speech is getting closer, before Joe and Juliana arrive back in town. Joe continues trying to convince Juliana to jump on the bus and leave, but she refuses. Joe insists he is going to check and make sure they didn’t leave any evidence behind.

The Nazis arrive at the speech site and everyone begins taking their seats, while Joe returns to the building from the beginning of the episode and reacquires the illustration of Juliana. Ed breaks out of the closet just in time to answer a call from Juliana. He warns her about Frank and encourages her to return home. We see Frank stroll right into the speech, without any difficulty. Joe returns in time to see Juliana leaving on the bus. Rudolph continues trying to stick the envelope in the Science Minister’s pocket, while Frank pulls out his gun. He sees a little boy and refuses to fire. Instead, the Price (Daisuke Tsuji) is shot by someone else.

 

The Man in the High Castle Review

Although this should’ve been the most impactful and intense episode of the season, it was really dulled down by repetitive scenes. Frank’s character is becoming unbearable and this episode pushed it to the extreme. In the neutral zone, the show has an abundance of coincidences, which are difficult to ignore. Among these were the black car sitting around for hours, Joe leaving his gun in the truck and Juliana magically having enough time to find a body to burn in the vehicle.

Sadly, in order to truly follow and enjoy the show, the viewer must suspend reality. Also, the characters are so incredibly unlikable that their outcomes are irrelevant. A 6.5 out of 10 is deserved. Catch up with more recaps of The Man in the High Castle right now.