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With Amazon’s The Man in the High Castle returning with new episodes this weekend, I sat down with Alexa Davalos, Rupert Evans and Stephen Root (who is playing the title character) to talk about season 2. During our wide-ranging interview they talked about how the new season compares to the first, what the atmosphere was like on set, how much they knew about the arc of season 2 when filming began, what it’s like to work with a new director almost every episode, and much more.

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For those not familiar with The Man in the High Castle, the show is adapted from the novel of the same name by the late Philip K. Dick. It depicts a world in which Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany triumphed over the Allies in the Second World War. Some 20 years later, the United States and much of the world has now been split between Japan and Germany, the major hegemonic nations. But the tension between these two powers is mounting, and much of the resistance and collateral damage of the struggle can be seen in the western U.S.

Fans of Season 1 will likely be all the more wrapped up in what goes down in the second season. While I’ve only seen the first five episodes, what’s great about Season 2 is its embrace of an expanding scope, both in the living world of the series and in characters that appear in the wake of the escalating conflict. And the characters that survived Season 1 continue the good fight, though in refreshingly daring and nimble ways that divert from last season. If Season 1 efficiently set up the world of The Man in the High Castle, Season 2 burrows into the interweaving paths that looks to subvert the new world order.

Below you’ll find a listing of everything Alexa Davalos, Rupert Evans and Stephen Root talked about followed by the official synopsis for season 2. Check out the interview above and look for more interviews from Collider soon.

Alexa Davalos, Rupert Evans and Stephen Root:

  • They compare season 2 to season 1.
  • On how Stephen Root can’t say anything about being the man in the high castle excerpt that he’s the man in the high castle.
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    Image via Amazon
    How much did they tell them about the ultimate arcs of their characters?
  • What it’s like to work for Amazon.
  • Did they get all the scripts for the season 2 at the same time?
  • Would they prefer having all the scripts at once or do they like not knowing?
  • How many pages do they typically shoot a day when making the show?
  • Did they have a lot of rewrites while filming?
  • How season 2 puts the characters in all new places and situations.
  • What did they tell Stephen Root about his character when getting involved and was he a fan of the show?
  • What is it like on set since everyone likes to work a different way?
  • How many takes do they like to do? What was the most they had to do while filming?
  • How they always work with a new director.
  • Have they been told how many seasons the show could run for?
  • Do they know the ratings for the show?
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Image via Amazon

Here’s the official synopsis for The Man in the High Castle Season 2:

Season two resumes with Juliana Crain (Alexa Davalos) facing the consequences of her decision to betray the Resistance and allow Joe Blake (Luke Kleintank), a suspected Nazi agent, to escape the Pacific States with a film originally bound for the Man in the High Castle. Joe himself returns a hero to the Reich and finds himself thrust into the Nazi capital of Berlin, face to face with the father who abandoned him. Meanwhile, Frank Frink (Rupert Evans) becomes increasingly radicalized and drawn further into the Resistance after seeing images of his own execution in the mysterious films.

 

 

With political tensions mounting between Germany and Japan, Trade Minister Tagomi (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) begins to regret his success in smuggling nuclear technology from the Reich and seeks solace in the strange new world he discovered at the end of season one. Meanwhile, Obergruppenführer John Smith (Rufus Sewell) struggles to reconcile the values of the Reich with the deteriorating health of his son — all while tasked with a mission from the Führer for which failure is not an option. And Chief Inspector Kido (Joel de la Fuente) begins to take greater interest in the Man in the High Castle, the films, and how Juliana Crain is connected to it all…

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Image via Amazon
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Image via Amazon
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Image via Amazon