The Man in the High Castle: Speculation for Season 3 (That Will Obviously Turn Out to Be Wrong)

Here are our predictions for season 3 and beyond of The Man in the High Castle. (Or, probably more accurately, our hopes and dreams.) This is what we would do if we were writing the show:

Childan and Ed will be running their antiques business in the Neutral Zone, which will obviously also be a front for some less legitimate side business, and for the new and improved Resistance as well, once Juliana finds them.

Childan and Ed will be having an affair, both finally having admitted they’re either bi or gay. It’s clear Ed’s been in love with Frank since childhood, but he thinks Frank’s dead, so it’s time to move on. They may have him try to act on his crush on Juliana, but I think he knows she’s out of his league, and she’s emotionally unavailable anyway. Statistically, this show needs some queer characters. I’m going with the idea that same sex relations are forbidden in the Empire and the Reich, so no one is out, but things are looser in the Neutral Zone.

Abendsen will help Juliana and Trudy find Ed and Childan. Juliana will be in mourning for everything she’s lost. Tagomi may make his way to her at some point in this reality to make sure she is okay. She and Trudy might set off to find their parents and get them to the Neutral Zone. Eventually Trudy, Sarah, and Arnold will run the Western Resistance.

Frank and Sarah survived the bomb in the same way Kido did. Kido is holding them in some dungeon somewhere for leverage and interrogation. Connell’s not going to bother to try to rescue them. He’ll be overthrown as leader because of that. Lem will go find Juliana to let her know Frank’s alive and being held. Between Juliana and Lem’s people, and the Japanese still being distracted from the bomb and near war with the Reich, they’ll pull off a rescue. Ed gets his family back. There’s awkwardness because of Sarah and Joe though. Frank and Juliana have to decide if they’ve changed so much that they aren’t right for each other any more.

There’s an off chance that Thomas hasn’t been put down yet. If so, Smith will try to save him, but Thomas will refuse. Smith and Helen will be broken over Thomas’ death. Helen will be done with Smith and the Reich. She’ll take her girls and her friend Lucy and head off to the Neutral Zone to find Juliana so that she doesn’t have to worry about her daughters’ safety as they grow up. Helen will join the Resistance and end up in charge of the American Reich side of things. She eventually convinces her husband to work with her from within the Reich. With her leadership skills and contacts, they will become very, very effective, and bring down the Reich within five years. Smith will work to bring his family back together and gain Helen’s forgiveness.

Smith is devastated at the loss of his son, but puts on a good face and soldiers on. Himmler is so grateful for Smith’s help that he puts Smith in charge of the entire American Reich. Smith is in the perfect position to slowly undermine what the Reich stands for. He also becomes the new Man in the High Castle for the Reich, since he has inherited Hitler’s film collection. Eventually, he uses the knowledge from the films to help the Resistance, so that the world can be safe for his two remaining children.

Lucy Collins has many reasons to hate the Reich, since they shot her husband for doing something he was being forced to do, and made her feel worthless for not getting pregnant. She was still being held by the Resistance, last we knew. The Resistance will turn her to their side, and she’ll head off to the Neutral Zone with Helen. She might meet a nice woman, realize she’s attracted to her, and fall in love again. She’ll also help out with Childan and Ed’s various business dealings, since she has a knack for charming clients.

Juliana, Trudy, Helen, and the girls will be running the Resistance secretly out of Ed and Childan’s back room or basement. Helen and Childan end up running the Neutral Zone black market. There’s a smuggling business waiting to be started, given how many simple Western items Juliana had never seen in the Pacific States. Juliana trains the girls in aikido and spying techniques, so that they can grow up knowing how to take care of themselves.

Kido and Tagomi will remain in their positions in San Francisco. Tagomi will also take regular trips to visit his family in the alternate world. Tagomi will have a new mystery to pursue, based on the films Abendsen had Lem give to him. Kido will get to know the prostitute better, and find himself falling for her despite his disdain for the gaijin and loyalty to his family. His marriage is strained, and his children are angry with him. Even someone as strong as Kido has to break eventually, and having a building collapse around him, then narrowly preventing nuclear war, without anyone close to him to share the burden with, should do it.

Joe is in prison with his father, awaiting execution. Nicole and Smith work to get him out. They prove that he barely knew his father, and that Joe talked him out of dropping the bombs. Joe still has more soul searching to do, now that he’s seen how evil his father was. They had long talks about his father’s draconian philosophy in prison. Joe finds a way to help other people for a while, maybe traveling to a part of the world we haven’t seen yet, figuring that giving back will cleanse his soul. Joe will realize that he is grateful to Smith for saving Juliana’s life. He is a fatherless child once again, and Smith is now a sonless father. Both men are loyal to people, rather than causes. They need each other. It will never be an easy relationship, but this experience will finally bond them. Joe will work with Smith from within the Reich to bring about its downfall. He will continue to pine for Juliana. At some point, they will find a way to see each other again, and their chemistry will be as strong as ever, but their situation will also be as impossible as ever.

What do you think of our predictions? What are yours? Let us know in the comments!