When the second episode begins, Frank Frink (Rupert Evans) is taken into a cell, beaten and stripped naked. In Colorado, Juliana Crain (Alexa Davalos) is unable to sleep, so she gets up, heads outside and rendezvous with Joe Blake (Luke Kleintank). Together, the pair decide to go watch the sunrise. They do and enjoy the experience, before returning back into town. There, they chat about one another’s life and Juliana asks Joe what he would do, if he was able to do anything in the world. He admits it would be anything other than driving. Afterwards, Juliana heads into the restaurant and obtains a job from Lem Washington (Rick Worthy).

Meanwhile, we switch to Obergruppenfuhrer John Smith’s (Rufus Sewell) home and meet his family. He instills the importance of bettering the country into his son, before getting a phone call from Joe, who insists he hasn’t met his contact yet. John Smith believes it and suggests the contact is suspicious. Inspector Kide (Joel de la Fuente) pays a visit to Frank and attempt to extract information from him. He fails in his endeavor. Back at the restaurant, Juliana continues working and watching the clock. She still seems to believe she will meet someone. Juliana approaches a man and sees that he is reading the Bible.

During this time, Joe sits around and watches television. He pulls out the film reel and contemplates its purpose. Meanwhile, Tagomi (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) meets with Ambassador Hugh Reiss (Bernhard Forcher). The Nazis attempt to acquire information about the films from Tagomi. He admits they’re dealing with it, but he refuses to give up anymore intel. When the appropriate time rolls around, a man from the previous episode calls for his bill. Juliana rushes over and gives it to him. It is the man with the Bible from earlier. He tells her about a line from the Bible and tells her to pick one up to see what it entails. Meanwhile, John Smith and a colleague ride around and speak about the films and the man in the high castle. Their vehicle travels down an alleyway, they get blocked in and gunfire rings out. John’s colleague is shot and debilitated, while John escapes from the car and fires back.

John manages to take down all of his enemies, before backup arrives. At work, Ed McCarthy (DJ Qualls) asks his boss, if he can leave and check on Frank, who has failed to show up and isn’t answering his phone. Meanwhile, Randall (Hank Harris) tries to convince Frank to hold his tongue, when questioned by the Japanese. Frank admits he doesn’t want to hear it. Meanwhile, Juliana takes a break and heads to a book store. There, she meets with a Jeff Bezos lookalike, Carl (Rob LaBelle), and purchases a Bible. John Smith returns to headquarters and questions how his location could’ve been discovered, when he has changed his route consistently. He vows to track down the potential traitor.

Meanwhile, Frank attempts to break his chains, but Randall reminds him that an escape attempt would be futile. Ed McCarthy visits Frank’s place and finds it a total mess. Joe Blake visits the bookstore and purchases the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He also attempts to obtain information about Juliana’s purchase, but fails to do so. Juliana returns to the motel and reads the portion of the Bible, which the man was speaking about. It speaks about a grasshopper and she connects it to the high castle man’s film. She rushes to the pay phone and attempts to call Frank. Surprisingly, a man with a Japanese accent answers the phone. Meanwhile, Tagomi attempts to get secrets out of Rudolph Wegener (Carsten Norgaard).

Next, Inspector Kido meets with Frank’s sister and her family. He takes a picture of them and puts them into a waiting room. He takes the picture to Frank and admits they’re going to be gassed to death, if Frank doesn’t provide him with the information demanded. Randall pleads with him to remain quiet, as Japanese guards rush in and beat Randall. Frank remains tightlipped and says nothing. Juliana and the Bible man setup a meeting. Joe enters the restaurant and remains suspicious. He returns to the motel room and phones John Smith. He questions him about the Bible man and John agrees to find out who he is. Juliana visits Joe and gives him a letter to take back to California, before leaving to meet with Bible man.

Joe agrees to do so. Meanwhile, Frank’s family continue waiting, while Randall attempts to convince Frank that the Japanese are afraid of film. He goes nuts and screams a bit, before he is taken away by guards. Joe opens the letter and finds out that Juliana is not Trudy. He also learns about her backstory and her connection to the film. He heads to a local theater, breaks in and watches the film. At the same time, Frank pleads with the Inspector to kill him and spare his family. Joe returns to the motel and receives a phone call from John Smith. He learns that the Bible man is a a dangerous undercover S.D. agent. Joe is told to steer clear of the man, but he doesn’t. Instead, he heads out and attempts to find him and Juliana.

Back at the lockup, Katie Owens (Shannon Day) is brought in and Trudy’s belongings are found on her. This leads the Inspector to believe that Frank is telling the truth and that Juliana has nothing important. Meanwhile, the S.D. agent attempts to get the film from Juliana. They begin to fight, while Frank is led outside to be shot and killed. Joe arrives in the knick of time and distract the S.D. agent. Juliana uses her hapkido the throw him over the bridge to his death. Meanwhile, Frank is saved and released into Ed McCarthy’s care. He learns that his family has been gassed to death. He tells the Inspector he knows where to find him, when he desires to kill another Jew. The Inspector agrees that he knows Frank’s whereabouts.

 

The Man in the High Castle Review

The second episode of The Man in the High Castle was pretty good and started to build the intensity. Joe is obviously starting to question his career, while Frank was brought back to reality and will probably try to avenge the death of his family. Although the episode was better, it was hard not to cringe, when Juliana threw the agent off of the bridge. Also, Frank seems like a real idiot. His jail stint drug out far too long and he failed to save his family.

Although the show is very intense, it is hard to find anyone to cheer for. At this point, Ed McCarthy is the only likable character and he has been shown all, but 5 minutes. Hopefully, more depth is given to each, so we can actually care out their futures. A 7 out of 10 is deserved. Be sure to catch up with previous recaps of The Man in the High Castle right now.