With Amazon’s The in Man in the High Castle returning with new episodes this weekend, I sat down with DJ Qualls, Joel De La Fuente, and Brennan Brown to talk about season 2. During our wide-ranging interview they talked about how the new season compares to the first, how Season 2 pushes the envelope by exploring and expanding the world of the series, the way they like to work on set, how much they knew about the arc of Season 2, and much more.

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. For more on season 2, read Dave's review.

Below you’ll find a listing of everything DJ Qualls, Joel De La Fuente, and Brennan Brown talked about followed by the official synopsis for season 2. Check out the interview above. If you missed my interview with Alexa Davalos, Rupert Evans and Stephen Root click the link.

DJ Qualls, Joel De La Fuente, and Brennan Brown:

• What can they tease about what’s different in Season 2?
• Talk about how Season 2 pushes the envelope by exploring and expanding the world of the series.
• How much did they know about where the show was headed when they signed on?
• Did they know about their character’s Season 2 arc when they started the season?
• Do they want to know their character’s journey when they start?  Or do they want to discover it by the episode?
• Do they prefer the Clint Eastwood method of one or two takes, or the David Fincher method of fifty takes?
• How many seasons do they think the series can run?

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…