TV Thread - beware, [expletive] can get spoilery

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

Why is there so little conversation about The Man in the High Castle? Is ther too much good television?

I really like it. But, I've spent a lot of time studying that time period and love the alternate reality type scenarios anyway, so not much of a critic here.

Have you read Philip Roth's novel The Plot Against America?

Btw I'm only just now wrapping up Season 1.

I have not, should I?

[lukethedrifter]

Why is there so little conversation about The Man in the High Castle? Is ther too much good television?

I really like it. But, I've spent a lot of time studying that time period and love the alternate reality type scenarios anyway, so not much of a critic here.

Have you read Philip Roth's novel The Plot Against America?

Btw I'm only just now wrapping up Season 1.

I have not, should I?

Yes. It's Roth so fairly dense. But damn is it timely.

[ghostrunner]

spoiler from the end of season 2

[SHOW]

the plot is what it is, and it definitely doesn't lack in suspense or drama. But, the character development and the depth is superb, imo. Outside Juliana, everyone is extremely flawed and and extremely easy to root for. John Smith goes from super villain to savior of the world. All while his son is so brainwashed that he chooses to be exterminated instead of living a life in hiding. Joe...has morals, I guess, who also doesn't want to nuke the world over, but is easily sucked into the power vacuum and throws his child/family to the wind for his own selfish reasons. And, those are the Nazis that we end up rooting for.

The purest of the evil are obviously reinhardt and heusmann. But, in order to do so, they are portrayed as even more evil than Hitler. And, even Heusman comes off as likeable until the end possibly because he's just thrown through the light of a scientist....but not really.

The resistance is so crude and violent, obviously for necessary reasons, that they're willing to kill their own people and innocent others. It's tough to root for them even though they're the 'good guys'. But, they're only the good guys to those that want America to win.

There's certainly no black/white in the post-war era which I have always found interesting and appreciate. Even in the post war era as it happened, the power vaccum created an arms race between the allied powers that came extremely close to nuclear war and in a lot of ways mirrors the Japanese/German plots in the movie.

Like I said, maybe it's just because I'm a sucker for this sort of thing, but it's tough to imagine anyone watching and not being, at a minimum, impressed with the complexity of the characters and their plights.

Joe is an annoying character. As is Frank, though at least I understand his motives.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

spoiler from the end of season 2

[SHOW]

the plot is what it is, and it definitely doesn't lack in suspense or drama. But, the character development and the depth is superb, imo. Outside Juliana, everyone is extremely flawed and and extremely easy to root for. John Smith goes from super villain to savior of the world. All while his son is so brainwashed that he chooses to be exterminated instead of living a life in hiding. Joe...has morals, I guess, who also doesn't want to nuke the world over, but is easily sucked into the power vacuum and throws his child/family to the wind for his own selfish reasons. And, those are the Nazis that we end up rooting for.

The purest of the evil are obviously reinhardt and heusmann. But, in order to do so, they are portrayed as even more evil than Hitler. And, even Heusman comes off as likeable until the end possibly because he's just thrown through the light of a scientist....but not really.

The resistance is so crude and violent, obviously for necessary reasons, that they're willing to kill their own people and innocent others. It's tough to root for them even though they're the 'good guys'. But, they're only the good guys to those that want America to win.

There's certainly no black/white in the post-war era which I have always found interesting and appreciate. Even in the post war era as it happened, the power vaccum created an arms race between the allied powers that came extremely close to nuclear war and in a lot of ways mirrors the Japanese/German plots in the movie.

Like I said, maybe it's just because I'm a sucker for this sort of thing, but it's tough to imagine anyone watching and not being, at a minimum, impressed with the complexity of the characters and their plights.

Joe is an annoying character. As is Frank, though at least I understand his motives.

Both are certainly frustrating at times.

[SHOW]

But it's easy to empathize with them even while being annoyed, no? I mean, Joe just kind of drifts (as much as one can drift while being driven) through life clueless as to how to make a difference but certainly capable of being a chameleon and forging connections wherever he goes. He has a wife and child, a strong enough connection with Juliana to let her let him live and take the film, and then starts sleeping with the hottest chick in Germany. Of course, she's probably on a mission to keep him around and in the process becomes a member of the worse-than-Hitler-party of the reich (albeit without knowing their end goal or real truth behind it).

But, I say all tha tto say this: looking at his plight, it's difficult to see where a common person would have made any different choices even starting with his first mission in season 1. I suppose he could have just said no, though I can't remember what led John Smith to finding him. But given that...where would most people have done anything differently than he did? He makes it back to NY successful. Then John Smith tells him his father wants him in Germany. He goes to Germany and wants to go back but ends up staying. Dude is just manipulated to no end wherever he goes.

[Famous Mortimer]

Why is there so little conversation about The Man in the High Castle? Is ther too much good television?

Honestly, yes. Every website has one or two quality shows like this, and then there's the networks and cable channels...there's too much to keep up with for any reasonable person.

[thrill]

Legion took a very long time to pay off, but it definitely did last night. Some incredibly unique TV.

[Swirls]

Legion took a very long time to pay off, but it definitely did last night. Some incredibly unique TV.

I'm a few episodes behind. Need to get caught back up.

Just finished Iron Fist last night - the ending was kinda dumb and disappointing. Still looking forward to The Defenders later this year.

[go birds]

Legion took a very long time to pay off, but it definitely did last night. Some incredibly unique TV.

i was going to post about how incredibly frustrating that show was. I liked every bit of it, but man it would piss me off because it was so damn confusing at times. But yea the payoff was worth it.

All the characters were fantastic and the music was on point, especially the big sequence last night.

Great TV all around

ETA:

[JL21]

When that scene started, I said "Oooh, that's Ravel!" and then I felt like a fancy smart guy because I knew a single piece of classical music.

I've enjoyed it all the way through, really, including this week's episode. But totally agree that it can be frustrating to watch. And I get the feeling that's just what the show is- that we're probably always going to be dealing with this "Is it or isn't it real?" thing.

[thrill]

When that scene started, I said "Oooh, that's Ravel!" and then I felt like a fancy smart guy because I knew a single piece of classical music..

Haha me too. My dog was v impressed. I remembered it was called Bolero, but not who the composer is.

I get the feeling that's just what the show is- that we're probably always going to be dealing with this "Is it or isn't it real?" thing.

I'm not a comic book guy so when the show came out, I wiki'd the Legion character. Seems like a really frustrating, [expletive] character. Just bounces from god mode to helpless, mentally unstable/ill basket case. If the show wasn't so visually interesting and well acted, I'd be out.