When the 8th episode begins, Lem Washington (Rick Worthy) receives a encrypted note, when tells him to head for California. We see Ed (DJ Qualls) making a working gun and handing it over to Inspector Kido (Joel de la Fuente). Juliana Crain (Alexa Davalos) heads home and tells her parents about Trudy’s death. Despite it all, Anne refuses to believe it. In the meantime, Frank (Rupert Evans) works on the antique Indian necklace. He receives a knock at the door and we know who it is before he even answers. Ed enters and tells Frank about his encounter with the Inspector. Ed agrees to help obtain tickets, so the pair can flee the city.

Joe (Luke Kleintank) meets up with Juliana and they chat about the film. Joe asks for her assistance. Frank takes the completed piece to Robert Childan (Brennan Brown) and forces him to follow through with the deal. Next, Juliana meets with Karen (Camille Sullivan). Karen learns that Juliana has failed to find the traitor and is asked about the new film. Juliana tells her about Joe. Karen sends her away, without any answers. Next, we see Obergruppenfuhrer John Smith (Rufus Sewell) at home with his family. Smith agrees to take his son to the doctor, before work. Karen and Lem attempt to meet up with the man, who has the film. Unfortunately, he is found dead and the film has gone missing.

Thankfully and conveniently, a telephone booth stands right next to the man’s body. Karen answers and speaks to a Japanese man, who offers her the film for $100,000. Next, the Inspector and his Sergeant speak with the Yakuza leader, Taishi Okamura (Hiro Kanagawa), who offers them the film for $150,000. They don’t take the bait and leave, after giving out a few threats. At the doctor, John Smith learns that his son, Thomas (Quinn Lord), has a debilitating disease, which will make his invalid very soon. At work, Juliana receives a note, which says “Come”, and some flowers. She is told she is too dangerous to be employed at the Nippon building, but she hands over the flowers to Tagomi (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa).

Tagomi asks Juliana about her geography skills and tasks her with related mission, which sends her out of the building for the day. Instead of performing her duty, she heads to Karen and is told about the ransom. She leads them directly to Joe, who agrees to get the money. Meanwhile, John Smith gets a visit from Reinhard Heydrich (Ray Proscia), who sounds more like someone from Indian Summers than a Nazi. Heydrich expresses his desire to take Rudolph (Carsten Norgaard) and interrogate him properly. Smith attempts to defy the order and manages to do so temporarily. During their chat, Captain Connolly (Neal Bledsoe) enters and gives Heydrich coffee exactly as he likes it, which makes John Smith suspicious.

Afterwards, John Smith meets up with Rudolph and attempts to offer him a way out. Rudolph refuses and insists he is prepared for death. Robert Childan visits Betty (Tao Okamoto) and Paul (Louis Ozawa Changchien). After a little hesitancy, the couple hand over the money for the antique forgery. Lem, Karen, Joe, and Juliana come up with their plan for the transaction. Afterwards, Joe asks Juliana when he’ll see her again and she insists that he will not. Childan witnesses a suspicious cop outside of Frank’s house, but still enters and hands over the money. That night, John returns home and learns that Thomas worked harder than previously, so he remains skeptical of the illness.

Afterwards, Joe calls John and manages to convince him to give up the money. Juliana returns home and prepares to flee with Frank. However, they decide to visit Juliana’s parent’s house first. That night, Joe agrees to head inside and make the transaction, while the others wait outside. Frank and Juliana have dinner with Anne and Arnold (Daniel Roebuck). In private, Arnold confronts Juliana and tells her that they overheard the conversation. He confirms the Japanese are set to raid the transaction point and kill those involved. With that, she decides to rush to the brothel. Joe heads inside and secures the tape. The Japanese appear outside, before Juliana enters and warns Joe. The pair makes their escape, but gets apprehended by several men in a black vehicle outside.

 

The Man in the High Castle Review

At this point, it seemed as though The Man in the High Castle could do nothing right. However, this episode wasn’t nearly as bad as the previous. The last five or ten minutes were fairly interesting and somewhat intense. Now, we can only hope Juliana and Joe will be brutally punished for their crimes of stupidity. A 6 out of 10 is deserved. Catch up with previous recaps of The Man in the High Castle right now!