The End of the Worlds: High Castle at SDCC19

 “The ending is epic, it is conclusive, yet ambiguous, and delicately done.” – Daniel Percival *

They released a clip from the opening of Season 4, which you can watch here:

I’m going to paraphrase the quotes from the panel that intrigued me the most, and then I’ll dive right into my thoughts. Here’s the link to the recap video on the official @HighCastleAmazon Facebook page.

“At one point we see Helen at her happiest. We see the true Helen.” 

“As you know, Kido has a wife and two sons. We get to meet one of his sons briefly.” 

“Before the war she and her family were in segregated Alabama. After the Axis won, they were sent to a labor camp which became an extermination camp. She escapes and flees to the neutral zone.”

The official synopsis:

In the climactic final season, America will witness rebellion on both coasts as Juliana and Wyatt join forces with an emerging Black insurgency led by Bell Mallory. Takeshi Kido will be forced to reckon with the demons of his past, and John and Helen Smith’s lives will be forever changed after Smith steps through the Die Nebenwelt portal and travels the path not taken.

I’ll begin with saying that I have no idea what to expect. These aren’t exactly theories and are more like questions, hopes, and dreams. I mean, this is High Castle, after all!

Now that we know Smith steps through the portal, will he try to take a living Thomas? What world does he end up in? It can’t be “our” world because his other self is alive and well—blasting the Beach Boys. I have so many questions about that Smith. Is he a good guy? Or is the footage of him misleading? I can’t wait to see what the writers have come up with for him!

I hope Juliana finds another Joe in that world. The Joe in the nuclear war world knew, and he shot that world’s Juliana so that the one in the primary universe can traverse between as many worlds as possible. And this makes me wonder if more Joes know the stakes.

I hope we get to see the utopian world mentioned in the book. I hope some of our favorite characters end up there after everything they’ve suffered through.

That’s it for now! I am sure I’ll have more theories and questions as we get closer to November.

What are your hopes for Season 4?

* Paraphrase, but that’s the summery of what he said.