But the Phantom Menace (and less so, the rest of the prequels) had trouble because it suffered in comparison to Star Wars. So the branding didn't help it.

Star Wars isn't always universally beloved. The prequels in particular faced a lot of backlash — in fact, they had trouble precisely because they were branded as Star Wars!

I actually like Brienne way more than Jaime. I think Jaime is a bit "meh" at this point. He's played his part and now he's done, little more than "what will happen now that Cersei is finally unhinged? will he stop her? Will she kill him?". Meh. Ser Brienne's adventures I would definitely keep watching.

It's not "silly" space opera. Not the remake, at least.

Let's agree on Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs. Everything else, while watchable, is a lesser Tarantino film.

I dunno. I mean, not Alison but at least *her character* is attractive but not gorgeous; during the episode, at times she's also made to look plain-looking (ok, "TV ugly"). I thought Sam's line was perfect, because that's exactly what Ruth was at that moment.

In what sense is Game of Thrones trashy? (I do agree Vikings became trashy towards the end of S3).

Nothing is better than Black Mirror. Unless you are referring to the Netflix-produced season.

No, Smith is bluffing. Kido tells him Japan doesn't have nukes. The reviewers got it right.

Yes, Smith knows because Kido openly tells him Japan doesn't have nukes. He then asks whether anyone but Hitler has seen the films; the implication is that if not, they can use it as a bluff. I think they don't fully understand what the film is about, but they intend to use it as a bluff anyway.

I've just rewatched the scene with subtitles. Kido clearly tells Smith the Empire doesn't have nukes but at the same time the film cannot be fake. He then asks Smith whether anyone else besides Hitler has seen the films.

The show stacked the deck against the Resistance because they are all highly unlikable, much like Frank. They are ruthless — and yes, I agree with you any resistance against Nazism is entitled to this, how else are they going to fight? — but they are also pretty boring and unlikable, with the possible exception of…

General Onoda, not "Onada". Sorry, this has been bothering me since I noticed the reviewer consistently gets this name wrong.

I suggest you read "If This is a Man" by Primo Levi (also titled "Survival in Auschwitz" in the US) and see if you don't reconsider your position. Prisoners in Nazi extermination camps felt like little more than dogs, and even worse than dogs actually, since they weren't considered living beings at all.

In hindsight everything is obvious, but why do you think the people in the uprising were wrong to trust the Soviet Union *back then*? Nothing you say was common knowledge back then. And besides — seriously? A heroic last stand, even if massacred to a man, is better than the gas chamber and the dehumanizing humiliation…

Heh. My opinion is diametrically opposite. I found season one to be better; this season was dreadfully boring except for the last couple of episodes.

I agree with parts of your post, but don't see what this has to do with the "obtuse Left". It's like you inserted an irrelevant sub-rant within your overall more reasonable rant :)

No, Kido understands the film is not from his reality. In his words, "our Empire does not possess such a device. No. We do not."

No, see my reply above. Both Smith and Kido know the film is real but not of their reality. This is why they carefully consider whether anyone else besides Hitler is aware of the nature of the films from the Man in the High Castle. They both know they are engaging in deception — Kido even acknowledges in front of…

I'm pretty sure both Kido and Smith know the film is not "from this world". How much they understand what the film really represents is unclear, but they do know it doesn't represent an actual nuclear capability of Japan in the Nazi-verse. Kido explicitly acknowledges in his dialogue the Empire doesn't have nuclear…