Ranking the seasons of The Man in the High Castle from worst to best

Over the course of four seasons, we watched a story that involved sci-fi and alternate history. The Man in the High Castle took us through some twisty roads, and we couldn’t wait to see how it would all come together.

Then the fourth season fell flat. It just didn’t work as a final season, and we have to blame Amazon for that. The show got the news that it was being final seasoned while filming, meaning there wasn’t time to deal with the storylines set up. They were supposed to have more time.

But was it all bad? Here’s our ranking of the four seasons of The Man in the High Castle from worst to best.

The Man in the High Castle Season 3

This season changed Joe’s character far too much. He was a man who didn’t want Nazi rule. He had some hope when he saw the tape that showed the Allies winning the war. And yes, the third season changed everything. He completely forgot about who he was.

Sure, he was brainwashed. This does happen, but it seemed to happen too quickly for Joe. He wasn’t as weak as the show made him out to be.

On top of that, a lot of storylines didn’t make sense for the individual characters. It was like they had forgotten who they were at the start of the season, or who they even were before the series began. Frank, John Smith, and Julianna all made some questionable decisions.

Overall, the season was the most forgettable as well.

The Man in the High Castle Season 4

I know many people would have put this as the worst due to too much being packed into it considering it became the final season. This isn’t the fault of the series, though. It’s clear that many storylines were going to go much further. If this hadn’t been the final season, it had a great buildup, except for that final episode.

One of the most intriguing storylines was the Black people joining together to take out the Japanese and Germans. They focused mostly on the Japanese front, but it was clear they were going after more. I wish we could have seen that fight continue.

The ending brought up more questions than answers, though. Amazon needs to learn from this mistake.

The Man in the High Castle Season 2

This season had the trouble of picking up off the back of the first season. There was no source material to work with, and so the writers had their work cut out for them. At points, the storylines were slow, but they were believable. They made us want more.

Seeing Tagomi spend time in the world where the Allies won was intriguing. I wanted to know more about the Tagomi of that world, and I wanted to see him react to more. He loved that his family was back, but hated that the Japanese lost.

We also saw some humanity in John Smith. With an ill son, he knew what he needed to do. That didn’t mean he could. There was this opportunity to show us the man that he once was, making it clear he did what he needed to do for his and his family’s survival.

The Man in the High Castle Season 1

The first season is, by far, my favorite. This does have the source material to work with, but it also helped to open the door to the alternate world. I love the Sliding Door style of shows, where we see what could have been.

We get to know the characters, and while we want Frank and Julianna to be on the same side, it’s clear that they have different opinions on the way they are forced to live. Frank just wants to do his job and survive, and Julianna’s actions lead to heartbreak for him.

We see these flawed characters, and we get to know some of their motivations. However, we don’t always see who they really are, and it’s hard to tell who we can trust.

One of the best things is seeing that while Japan and Germany worked together during World War II, it didn’t mean they would ever get along. The Nazis did not want to work with those they viewed as inferior, and the Japanese were inferior people to them.