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Resistance in the Neutral Zone
The Man in the High Castle (spoiler)
The Man in the High Castle
Played By: Stephen Root
The Man in the High Castle (Hawthorne Abendsen) is known publicly in the GNR, the JPS and in the RMS for creating anti-fascist movies to distribute them to anti-government groups secretly. It's later revealed that he doesn't create them; he collects them, and uses the knowledge he attains from them in an attempt to avert nuclear war.
- Batman Gambit: Lies to Juliana at the beginning of Season 2 knowing from the films that she will disregard his instructions and kill George, indirectly saving the world by preventing John Smith from getting arrested.
- Big Good: It's revealed that the American resistance is kept aloft by his aid, which they strangely enough get just by sending him the Grasshopper film reels. In fact, the Resistance may only exist because The Man in the High Castle finds them useful, as his analysis of the films does much more to help save the world than their guerrilla tactics.
- The Chessmaster: He has seen so many films from so many realities his plans and endgame have an almost incomprehensible depth and complexity to them.
- Deuteragonist: As much Frank and later Smith both qualify as this, it's clear following their deaths he was meant to be this of the show all along.
-
Humble Beginnings: He was originally just a projectionist who decided to create a fake film, using cut-and-paste headlines and older victory parades, to create a fake news-reel that shows The Allies winning the war. Later, when showing the original to Julia, she sees a clip of herself as a little girl and realizes that she is in all the films that have been brought over. - I Have Your Wife: In Season 4 he's forced to act as the host of a The Twilight Zone (1959)/The Outer Limits (1963)-esque Nazi propaganda show to keep his wife safe.
- Obfuscating Insanity: He sings random hymns and marching songs to himself during his incarceration by the Nazis in season 3. Himmler is not fooled one bit and orders his underlings to keep a close watch on him.
- The Omniscient: Of the functional variety. The films have given him such a depth of understanding in the causes and effects of alternate timelines that he knows exactly what has to be done to alter the entire course of history.
- Secondary Character Title: He doesn't appear at all in the first season and has a small amount of screen time in the second and third, but he's one of the most important characters in the show.
- Shrouded in Myth: He's known for making anti-fascist movies and distributes them to anti-government forces. Or so it seems. Resistance members later reveal that he doesn't create the films, he collects them. It seems that most resistance members have no more clue about him than anyone else, only sending the films via third party. Disturbingly enough, the end of season one implies that he may in fact be Hitler, who has been collecting film reels for some unknown purpose. This is subverted when he's revealed to be a different person in the season two premiere. Hitler doesn't even know who or where he is. Strangely, this episode also reveals that Hitler and the Man in the High Castle share at least one common goal: both are working to avert a nuclear war.
- Stop, or I Shoot Myself!: Threatens to do this when the Nazi agents reveal themselves at his farm with his wife Catherine held hostage. He stands down after Smith makes it very clear that A Fate Worse Than Death awaits his wounded wife should he go along with it.
- Walking Spoiler: He's so integral to the meaning and mystery of the films that it's almost impossible to discuss him without spoiling something.
Caroline
Caroline Abendsen
Played By: Ann Magnuson
Hawthorne's wife.
- Driven to Suicide: She kills herself in Season 4 after months of being locked up by SS forces.
- I Have Your Wife: She's arrested by John and kept alive to ensure Hawthorne's surrender in the last episode of season 3.
Lemuel
Lemuel Washington
Played By: Rick Worthy
The cook/manager of Sunrise Diner.
- Informed Islam: Lem briefly talks about being Muslim with the Marshall. He's not seen performing any Islamic rites or practices, so it's not entirely clear if he's actually Islamic, which the occupiers don't particularly care about, or if he's using it as a cover for Christianity or even Judaism, which are both frowned upon by the Nazis and Japanese.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Washington's highly abrasive and aggressive, but he's still fighting for what's good and can give people a chance.
- Only Sane Man: Along with Karen, they are the only members of the Resistance who wanted Juliana spared unlike the rest of their group who wanted her killed.
- He's hesitant to make common cause with the BCR, sharing neither their radical communist politics nor their black-supremacism. Once the Resistance and BCR are allied, he annoys the hell out of Elijah by telling him truths he doesn't want to hear.
- Race Lift: In the book, his character is Irish (and named Charley), but is black in the TV series.
- Rebel Leader: He's one of the topmost members of the Resistance, operating both in the Neutral Zone and the Pacific States.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Juliana is hardly the ideal job candidate, but he gives her a chance anyway. Also, as as one of the Resistance leaders, he is against Juliana being executed for their cause despite being angry at her for helping Joe Blake.
The alternate (spoiler character)
Alternate Trudy Walker
Hey, sis.
Played By: Conor Leslie
An alternate version of Juliana Crain's deceased half-sister Trudy. She has come to the Axis-ruled reality, and Abendsen brings her and Juliana together.
- Broken Bird: Much more so than Juliana and seemingly the late Trudy. The death of her Juliana, experiencing life in totalitarian worlds, and learning of what happened to her own counterpart, clearly becomes traumatic for her. And it doesn't help that living in a world she doesn't belong in is making her sick.
- Put on a Bus: She's forced to return to her own timeline when Juliana's timeline makes her ill.
In the Pacific States
Trudy
Trudy Walker
Played By: Conor Leslie
I found... the reason.
A native of the JPS in San Francisco and half-sister of Juliana Crain.- Disney Death: Trudy comes back from the dead in second season finale, although it's later revealed that she's from another timeline where Juliana died.
- La Résistance: She's with an underground anti-JPS group.
- Sacrificial Lamb: Her death in many ways kicks off Juliana's character arc and the swift disintegration of her 'normal' life.
- Small Role, Big Impact: While she dies in the first episode and only appears in a handful of episodes after her return, Trudy initiates Juliana's story.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Trudy dies after being shot by Kempeitai soldiers during a chase before reappearing from another timeline.
Karen
Karen Vecchione
Played By: Camille Sullivan
A leading figure of the Resistance in the Pacific States.
- Irony: She was against Gary's plan to kill Juliana, yet her death was blamed on Juliana and made her an enemy to the Resistance.
- Rebel Leader: She's a figure of authority in the Resistance, on par with Lem.
- Sacrificial Lion: She dies in the season 2 premiere in a shootout with the Kempeitai.
- Scapegoat: Kido pins the shooting of the Crown Prince on her after being forced to release Ed.
Gary
Gary Connell
Played By: Callum Keith Rennie
The leader of the West Coast Resistance
- Anti-Hero: Gary is trying to take down a tyrannical regime, but his take-no-prisoners approach is very scary.
- Arc Villain: He acts as the secondary antagonist of Season 2 only.
- Asshole Victim: He is stated to have been executed in the first episode of Season 3. Given his callous methods, having manipulated Frank until he Took a Level in Jerkass and having unapologetically put Juliana through hell by ordering her execution for assisting in Joe Blake's escape and falsely causing Karen's death which was actually his doing than hers, he would not be missed.
- Big Bad Ensemble: With the Axis Powers, but mostly towards Juliana in Season 2.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Despite seemingly being part of the Big Bad Ensemble, he is swiftly taken out off-screen at the beginning of Season 3.
- Black-and-White Morality: For Gary you're either with the Resistance or you're against it.
- Bus Crash: He is stated to have been executed off-screen in the first episode of Season 3.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: He is not seen again in Season 3.
- The Corrupter: When he takes Frank under his wing to adapt the He Who Fights Monsters way to fight totalitarianism.
- Four Eyes, Zero Soul: He wears glasses and fighting for a good cause, however he is merciless when it comes to his approach on how to fight the Japanese.
- Hate Sink: With his goals for freedom aside, it is eclipsed by the fact he is an unsympathetic, cruel, and hateful man who disregard nearly all consequences of his actions, even those that affect innocent civilians and his fellow Resistance members, claiming that they are all for the good of the movement. Ironically, despite being opposed against the Axis Powers, Gary is more of a villain with his personality and reckless actions than characters such as Smith or Kido. He is so despicable that most of the show's
Too Bleak, Stopped Caring is traced back to him and his offscreen death at the beginning of Season 3 is considered to be cathartic like putting down a mad dog. - He Who Fights Monsters: He's just as ruthless as the Japanese, though admittedly far less genocidal.
- Hero Antagonist: Towards Juliana, who is viewed as a traitor for helping Joe Blake and causing Karen's death.
- Jerkass: He is an unsympathetic, cruel, and hateful man who disregard nearly all consequences of his actions.
- Inspector Javert: He staunchly views Juliana as a traitor who needs to be taken down no matter what.
- Killed Offscreen He is stated on Kido's board of suspects to have been executed in Season 3.
- Knight Templar: Unlike Karen or Lem he's much more willing to commit murder for the cause.
- Manipulative Bastard: He corrupts Frank to adapt the Knight Templar methods to fight the Axis oppression.
- Meaningful Appearance: He has quite a snazzy fedora, fitting for the Inspector Javert of the resistance.
- Never My Fault: Gary is the one who caused Karen to killed, but pins the blame on Juliana.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: He tried to kill Juliana because she had seen the Man in the High Castle's face, despite the latter having ordered Gary to spare her. Juliana then tried to escape the Resistance, leading to a shootout between Gary's group and the Kempeitai which caused Karen's death and ended with Juliana defecting to the Nazis.
- The Power of Hate: Gary's resistance movement is more driven by this of the Axis Powers, rather than The Power of Love for his country.
- Rebel Leader: He's the leader of the resistance in the West Coast.
- Token Evil Teammate: He is the most despicable, amoral and cruelest member of the resistance.
- Ungrateful Bastard: He allows Juliana to help the Resistance in New York, but she will still get what he and his allies believe she deserved for Karen's death.
- Unscrupulous Hero: Gary is willing to do any kind of evil as long as it helps to destroy the Japanese.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Gary may be ruthless, but he's trying to free the West Coast from a tyrannical Empire.
- With Us or Against Us: His perspective of the world.
- Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: Though unlike his fellow resistance comrades, Gary is more of a terrorist than any of them.
Sarah
Sarah
Played By: Cara Mitsuko
A Japanese-American member of the Resistance and survivor of the Manzanar internment camp.
- Bus Crash: She is stated to be dead in the first episode of Season 3.
- Hunter of His Own Kind: Subverted. She is a resistance fighter against the Empire and has Japanese parents, but considers herself an American. The Japanese occupiers actually perceive immigrants who settled there prior to the war as traitors.
- Token Enemy Minority: Thanks to her race, she is able to blend in areas where non-Japanese are usually not allowed.
- Uncertain Doom: The last we see of her she was shooting soldiers alongside Frank inside a building which exploded, and the explosion engulfed the place she was in, but we never see their bodies or any confirmation of their deaths. On Kido's board at the first episode of Season 3, she is listed to be dead.
Hagan
Hagan
Played By: Michael Hogan
A former reverend and member of the Resistance in the Pacific States.
- Badass Preacher: A freedom fighter and former preacher. He still conducts memorials for fallen members of the resistance.
- Badass in Distress: He's arrested by Nakamura while being smuggled into the Pacific States and tortured by Kido.
- Rebel Leader: He's another authority figure in the Resistance.
- Church Militant: He's a member of the clergy and a resistance fighter.
The Black Communist Rebellion
Hampton
Equiano Hampton
Played By: David Harewood
The leader of the BCR.
- Malcolm Xerox: He's the leader of the black guerrillas that aims to overthrow the oppressors of African Americans and create a nation for blacks.
- Rebel Leader: He's the leader of the BCR.
Elijah
Elijah
Played By: Clé Bennett
A member of the BCR and Bell Mallory's lover.
- "Angry Black Man" Stereotype: He's driven by anger not only at the historical oppression suffered by black people but also the abuses at the hands of the Japanese. During a recruiting reunion led by Hampton, when the attendants mention the names of their loved ones killed by the Nazis, Elijah mentions the names of those that have been arrested and executed by the Kempeitai. Later on, when Lem proposes rallying behind the US flag to fight the Nazis, Elijah rejects it due the oppression suffered by blacks under that very flag - namely slavery, Jim Crow laws, and the Ku Klux Klan - prior to the Nazi invasion.
- The Cynic: While Bell believes in the eventual victory of the BCR, Elijah is more jaded and pessimistic.
- Death Seeker: Wyatt accuses Elijah and Bell of not really wanting to win, but wanting instead to be martyrs. It hits pretty close to the mark for Elijah.
- Didn't Think This Through: Opposes aiding the Resistance both for racial reasons and because the BCR consider their fight to be with Japan, not Germany. Wyatt pointedly asks if he and the other BCR leaders have considered what the Nazis (who conducted a horrific genocide of the Reich states' black population, butchered half of Africa, and enslaved the other half) would do if they were to successfully establish a black ethnostate on the west coast.
- Hypocrite: Like the other BCR leaders, he complains about racism while being openly racist towards non-blacks, with the ultimate goal of establishing an ethnostate.
In the Greater Nazi Reich
Warren
Don Warren
Played By: Michael Rispoli
The manager of an industrial factory. He's secretly an anti-GNR resistance fighter.
- Rebel Leader: Is this for the eastern part of New York.
- La Résistance: Heads an anti-GNR faction in New York City.
- Sacrificial Lion: His death spurs the American resistance in the GNR to conduct more attacks against GNR military officials and soldiers.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: He speaks very openly about the horrible things he saw in combat during the German invasion to Joe Blake. For him, it's all the more reason to hate Nazis.
Susan
Susan
Played By: Valerie Mahaffey
A leading member of the Resistance in the GNR.
- Asshole Victim: She is strangled to death by Juliana after trying to kill her for Karen's death instead of helping her escape.
- Every Scar Has a Story: Part of her face and neck is covered with scar tissues from radiation burns from the atom bombing of Washington D.C.
- Hero Antagonist: Towards Juliana, who is blamed for Karen's death.
- Iron Lady: She's a tough woman and freedom fighter.
- Rebel Leader: She's an authority figure in the Resistance.
- Two-Faced: Her facial scars are symbolic of her duplicitous nature.
- Ungrateful Bitch: Despite the work Juliana did for the Resistance, she still tried to have her killed for Karen's death.
George
George Dixon
Played By: Tate Donovan
A man that shows up a few of the alternate universe films. He's the real father of Trudy.
- Almighty Janitor: George has his military training from his time in the defunct US miltiary, but he's also an expert in wiretapping and audio surveillance.
- Asshole Victim: Gets killed by Juliana, who just escaped from an attempt on her life by his allies, after admitting to her the Resistance needs to be worse then the Nazis and refusing to hand her the tape.
- Black-and-White Insanity: To him, anyone who is associated with the Nazis are bad guys that deserve to be killed, even if they are just innocent civilians or even children.
- He Who Fights Monsters: The fight against the Nazis has led him to believe that in order to defeat them, the Resistance must become worse than them.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: His plan to get Thomas - and Smith - killed by the GNR health authorities by exposing his medical condition as payback against his father John Smith gets him killed by Juliana who cared deeply about Thomas.
- In the Back: Gets shot after turning his back on Juliana.
- Mole in Charge: His cover as a telephone repairman gives him access and control of bugged phone lines and buildings, such as Juliana's apartment in NY.
- Rebel Leader: He's a high-ranking member of the New York branch of the Resistance.
- Would Hurt a Child: Or at least would allow a Nazi child get killed by the state.
Wyatt's cell
A new resistance cell assembled by Wyatt and Juliana. Its composed by surviving members of the Rebel American Army.
