Le Maître du Haut Château

An immaculate, terrifying alternate history that is accurate down to the buttons. I love period pieces, and this scary projection of a post WW2 hegemony ruled by the Japanese and German empires certainly fits the bill. Every costume, building, landscape, vehicle, street and interior room is accurate down to the woodwork and spoons - such a delight to watch. It's interesting in itself to see the crushed American psyche in the face of utter defeat, humiliation and occupation by mortal enemies. This alternate history makes the American century seem a fantasy, certainly it took tremendous courage to make this series. It's also nerve wracking watching the razor thin tightrope walked by the various protagonists on the winning side, as they try to navigate the internal dangers of their own ruthless regimes. The suffering of the common Americans reminds me of the brutal oppression we have witnessed around the world by autocratic regimes over the last 100 years - that in itself is a rich irony. The series is also a study on what it takes to bring down oppressive empires. Each of our dear protagonists - Joe, Juliana and Frank - are guided by their positive moralities on a destiny of greatness. It's particularly interesting to see how the entire arc of history can be rewritten by a single good or bad deed, by a single done or undone action. The machinations of Obergruppenfuhrer Smith, Trade Minister Togumi and Chief Inspector Kodi-Tai are particularly interesting. Both men stand on mountains of corpses built by their empires, and out of a deep sense of duty and honor, they maneuver to preserve their nations from further bloodshed and destruction, working always in the shadows. The searing images of enflamed Americans chanting Blood and soil do not seem so distant from our current epoque, nor do they seem alien and impossible. We are indeed witnessing history, with so-called freedom loving Americans flirting with fascism. It is heartening to see the universe is in balance, with the terrible personal price paid by men of previous principle, who sold their soul for survival at all costs. The arc of history does indeed bend toward justice. Ultimately this is a series about the Power of ideas to revive a forgotten dream, to restore hope and courage to the absolutely downtrodden and conquered. Symbolism is the most powerful motif, present endlessly across all domains of the various powers. Images and the ideas attached to them move people to action. It is quite interesting to see the underlying Metaphysics and laws of the universe being respected in this multiverse spanning series. As a fan of Fringe and other SciFi benders, it is nice to see a return to alternate timelines and realities, and how they interplay with each other according to 'rules'. I appreciate the 4th season in particular as it highlights the tremendous racial atrocities that these regimes are capable of, and the personal horrors of the victims. Oftentimes minorities are under-represented in such shows, and it is welcome to see the producers avoid that mistake. The humanization of minority victims was detailed and appreciated. The 4th season also does a great job of reinforcing the belief that we are who we are, even in the multiverse. There were some loose ends left that did not completely tie up the threads, especially around the multiverse. I guess I need to watch and read some analysis from smarter folks. It's normal that cerebral series like this leave some ideas for interpretation. The series finale was amazing, Hollywood level production values, astounding special effects. I am truly impressed by Amazon studios. Their offerings give HBO a run for their money.

I love the first 2 seasons. The plot was incredibly shocking. The actor Rufus Sewell (John Smith) is definitely the star of the series. A fascinating character that talks to you with his eyes. The first runner up is of course Joel de la Fuente as Inspector Kido. On the other hand, the weakness of the series is the character of Juliana Crain played by Alexa Davalos. She was ok in Season 1 but her character turned to annoying upto Season 4.

Despite some unnecessary scenes in Season 3 made just to satisfy the diversity dilemma of the West, I give this show 9 Stars for the great and unbelievable moments it provided.

I finished Season 1...A+...the production values are incredible...this must have an insanely huge budget...the characters, setting and story are also very well done...I hear people complaining that the series is too slow but I don't see it that way...to me it has a deliberate pace where the big moments have more meaning because it was slowly built up...the sequence with Hitler and Wegener in the S1 finale was a nail biter...the alternate timeline sci-fi aspect is a slow burn but presented in a really interesting way

and that opening credit sequence fits the show perfectly...creepy rendition of 'Edelweiss' from The Sound of Music...on to Season 2!

I finished up Season 2...this might make my All-Time Top 10 show list after all is said and done...absolutely amazing series...I read that this is Amazon's most watched series so I don't understand why it appears to not be getting the attention and accolades it deserves...very intelligent story...Season 2 was pretty much a direct continuation of the first season...you can tell that they plotted out the story in advance and aren't just making things up as they go...the world building and production values are second to none...a lot of great additions to the cast in S2- Tate Donovan, Bella Heathcote, Stephen Root, Sebastian Roche etc...the show also seems to have a lot of Battlestar Galactica vets (Michael Hogan, Callum Keith Rennie, Rick Worthy)

the HDR is no doubt the best implementation out of all the streaming shows I've watched across any platform...reference quality in pretty much every scene...this is the streaming show to show off your TV's HDR capability...stunning...every little detail from the shiny floors, costumes, furniture, facial detail, lighting looks amazing...I don't have an issue with the pacing but maybe that's because I'm watching all 3 seasons back-to-back...it seems they plotted out the entire story from the beginning and are taking the time they need to get there...the final few episodes of Season 2 were epic (S2 finale was a slight letdown)...some of the character motivations and constantly switching allegiances are a little confusing but overall this is Amazon's best original series.

I don't know if they cut the budget for S3 but it didn't look quite as amazing as the earlier seasons in terms of cinematography...it still looked great but a slight step down...the Dolby Vision also lacked the consistent pop it previously had...in the first 2 seasons almost every scene had amazing depth and pop...S3 had its moments but wasn't as consistently gorgeous (but the dystopian world building is still first rate)...I'm hoping that Nicole Dormer returns for Season 4 (Himmler sent her back to Berlin in the S3 finale for re-education training due to her 'perversions' aka they caught her in that lesbian club)...Bella Heathcote is very sexy and has great charisma on-screen...I'm guessing Joseph Goebbels will play a bigger role in S4 which will bring Nicole back into the story

overall I find this to be Amazon's best original series

The first two season are great, worthy of 8 or maybe even 9/10! The plot idea is simple but effective, most characters are interesting and acted well (with some exceptions), and the plot twists are very good! Some of the characters's choices are terribly stupid and annoying, but the rest is so good that you can almost forgive them.

That is, the first two seasons. Season 3 is a total mess. Few interesting moments, but for the most part it became a serie that has no idea what it is and where it wants to go, with bunch of useless story lines that start nowhere and go nowhere.

Watch the first two seasons, they are worth it! But then stop there.

After amazing 2 exciting season with brilliant acting and strong plot..season 3 went down hill by inserting story-lines that try hard to explore some gender orientation which were performed poorly and did not serve the plot or story line at any point..The thrill of those series were centered on the tapes and how they affect the future of Reich or Japan. instead the writers chose to replace it with Homosexual story lines that did not make any sense or relate to the series main actors..I never wrote a review before but because I am a big fan of the series I found season 3 as a slap on the face to the first 2 seasons, those 2 seasons in my opinion were top notch and one of the few series that had a good plot and good performance..Do not ruin it..