Fire from the Gods

**"Fire from the Gods"** is the tenth and final episode of Season Four of *The Man in the High Castle*, and the fortieth and final episode of the series overall. This episode, along with the rest of the season, was made available for streaming on Amazon Video on November 15th, 2019.

## Synopsis

*On the brink of an inevitable Nazi invasion, the BCR brace for impact as Kido races against the clock to find his son. Childan offers everything he has to make his way back to Yukiko. Helen is forced to choose whether or not to betray her husband, as she and Smith travel by high speed train to the Portal - with Juliana and Wyatt lying in wait.*

## Plot

Reichsfuhrer John Smith makes a televised announcement to the Greater Nazi Reich about Heinrich Himmler's passing and that leadership of North America is passed down unto him. He ominously promises the American people that he'll soon reunify the divided continent. Afterwards, Helen tries to have a private moment with John, but he has to attend urgent discussions about the invasion with his generals, promising to continue their talk by inviting her to join him on a train to the Poconos, Pennsylvania in two days.

At Harlem, Brad Bellows finishes treating Wyatt Price's wound. With only 24 hours left before the Gestapo find them after the events at the clinic, Brad prepares to leave early to join the amassed resistance fighters at the Poconos with the intent on assaulting Die Nebenwelt. Juliana Crain admits she's not certain that Helen will help them but expresses her feelings that the Die Nebenwelt is acting strangely and that no one could soon control it.

Chief Inspector Kido finds that Raymond Doyle and other vigilantes who tried to lynch him before have knocked out the BCR member guarding him, and they attempt to release the poison gas onto his cell. Kido accepts his fate but finds that the tanks are empty. Raymond decides to kill Kido himself and picks up an AK47, but upon entry he is quickly disarmed and brought down. Kido spares him by locking him in the gas chamber instead before making his escape.

Robert Childan visits the Bamboo Palace, as the Yakuza are now selling forged permits to any remaining Japanese or American in the JPS to sail for Japan by their own provided trawler. Robert offers the keys to his antique shop to Okami in exchange for a permit, but before he can make a decision, Kido enters and guns down a Yakuza guard, pointing the rifle at Okami and demanding the release of Toru Kido. Okami can only release Toru if Kido agrees to become Okami's supreme adviser, which Toru objects but to no avail. Kido accepts, and Okami hands Robert the permits he need to enter Japan. To solidify his membership, Kido is given a blade in which he chops his finger off. As promised, Toru is granted freedom and is offered a permit to return to Japan, and Kido accompanies his son on the way to the docks. Toru pleads his father to return home together, but Kido commits to remain with the Yakuza and admits his failure as a father, but reassuring Toru that he will always be his son. Toru boards the trawler and gestures an army salute as a final farewell to Kido.

Defenses in San Francisco are being built in preparation for the Nazi invasion by the BCR, joined by other American minority resistance fighters from the Neutral Zone. Lemuel Washington returns, bringing volunteers all over the Eastern territories, including Wehrmacht defectors from the GNR. Bell refuses to arm them and instead be put under labor. Lem believes they also seek a return of America when Lem shows Bell an intact Stars and Stripes flag, that can be used as a symbolic message across the populace. However, Elijah and Bell reject the flag, as the old America never treated their African-Americans fairly. Lem reluctantly retracts the flag but warns them that they still need to send out a message to assure everyone that they can win an unwinnable war.

Jennifer and Amy are watching Nazi news broadcasts when it is suddenly interrupted and replaced with a broadcast coming from the West Coast. Bell Mallory, standing with other BCR members, calls out her message to the GNR about the terrible truth about the Nazis and encourages anyone to resist and defect to their side, before the stations manage to cut off their signal and return to regular programming. After listening, Jennifer demands that Amy go to her bedroom as she confronts her mother. Jennifer accuses her parents responsible for killing millions of people the Nazis deemed inferior and insists to know their fates. Helen confesses that they indoctrinated themselves into the Nazis' will of mass genocide but tries to justify that they did it so that their children could live. But Jennifer points out that Thomas still died because of their decision. Jennifer is tearfully ashamed of what their parents have become and declares to no longer be a part of it.

A regretful Helen decides to investigate John's office for any information about the invasion. In his drawer, Helen finds a copy of Phase Five of "Operation Firecross". The document reveals records of the total amount of non-aryans all over the West Coast and the details of how the Nazis plan to send them into newly constructed concentration camps once the occupation is complete. Horrified, Helen contacts Juliana and requests that she safely deliver her and her daughters to his brother, Hank, in Montana before passing on the travel details of his husband for Die Nebenwelt. The next morning, Helen tries to pass up John's invitation to join his travels, claiming to be feeling ill. Not finding it concerning, John insists that Helen join him.

The bullet train departs for the Poconos Mountains. Juliana, Wyatt, Jeremy and a few others break through a electric fence to begin planting explosives at the railway line before the train can pass it. Meanwhile, John finally has a moment to discuss privately with Helen. He conveys his suspicion that Helen has been approached by the resistance. Helen admits it was Juliana who confronted her about the films in his office, causing her to witness the alt-world Smith family. John confesses that what Juliana said to her is true, and that their son is alive in another world, but is in danger of dying again after enlisting for the Vietnam War. He reveals to her how he wants Helen to have the same feelings he had when he saw his son again, by kidnapping Thomas and bringing him to their world. Helen rejects John's radical ambitions, as they all but lost their children due to their actions and affirms that the alt-world Thomas doesn't deserve to be raised by them. Their argument ends when Bill Whitcroft calls and advises John to signal the Luftwaffe to start the invasion. John gives the order with only a few minutes left before they arrive at the Poconos. The resistance fighters hasten their efforts in getting the bombs ready as the train fast approaches.

Helen decides to confront her troubled husband about the Phase Five plans and questions him on how it all came to this. She pleads to John that they halt all their crimes for the Reich, but John admits he no longer knows how to stop it. Suddenly, shots ring out on the train, causing the conductors to fire back at the resistance. In the final moments, Helen discloses her collaboration with the resistance of having their daughters evacuated to the Neutral Zone and admits it was because of her they're being attacked. Juliana activates the charges and blows up a large part of the railway line, causing the bullet train to violently crash into the ground.

In the aftermath, John survives the crash but finds Helen dead as a result. He mourns her briefly, but is forced to abandon her when the remainder of his officers pull him to the forest with the resistance in pursuit. The officers are outgunned, so they order John to make a run for the base while they cover his escape. Juliana sees this and breaks off with Wyatt, who are headed for the portal, to follow him. Eventually, Juliana finds John resting at a cliff. He senses her approach and shares his experience of traveling the alternate worlds, seeing different versions of themselves, only for John to become a terrible version of himself in this one. In his final act, John commits suicide by shooting himself. Juliana approaches his corpse before looking out at the now destroyed Nazi base containing the Die Nebenwelt project, after Brad Bellows' successful assault.

At San Francisco, Bell alerts the BCR to take defensive positions, as a large squadron of Luftwaffe planes are about to bomb the city. Meanwhile, the Wehrmacht confirms their Reichsfuhrer's death, causing leadership of the West Coast invasion to pass down to Bill Whitcroft. Before a single plane can drop their bombs, the BCR sees the planes diverging. Bill makes a last second decision to abort the invasion and tears off his Iron Cross, signifying his renouncement to the Nazi cause.

Juliana enters the mines, where resistance fighters witness the Die Nebenwelt activating itself. She reunites with a freed Hawthorne Abendsen, declaring to her that "the door is open" as hundreds of people from the other side of the portal walk towards them. Hawthorne bids goodbye to Juliana as he intends to leave this world and enter the portal. Juliana and Wyatt hold each other's hands as they witness people continuing to arrive from countless worlds in the multiverse.

## Cast & Characters

* Joel de la Fuente *as* Takeshi Kido
* Jason O'Mara *as* Wyatt Price
* Brennan Brown *as* Robert Childan
* Chelah Horsdal *as* Helen Smith
* Frances Turner *as* Bell Mallory
* Rufus Sewell *as* John Smith

**Guest Starring*** Clé Bennett *as* Elijah
* Stephen Root *as* Hawthorne Abendsen
* Eric Lange *as* Bill Whitcroft
* Rick Worthy *as* Lemuel Washington
* Sen Mitsuji *as* Toru Kido
* Louis Ferreira *as* Brad Bellows
* Glenn Ennis *as* Jeremy
* Ty Olsson *as* Major Tod Metzger
* Barbara Eve Harris *as* Angela

**Uncredited*** Ptolemy Slocum *as* Raymond Doyle
* Gracyn Shinyei *as* Amy Smith
* Alex Barima *as* Oscar Watsom
* Garfield Wilson *as* Leon
* Michael Hagiwara *as* Okami
* Meg Heus *as* Bridget
* Alexander Soto *as* Pablo
* Malik McCall *as* Darius
* Carlo Fanella *as Nazi Broadcast Director*
* Danny Gamble *as Whitcroft's General*
* Johnny Mah *as Yakuza Heavy*
* Ian Rozylo *as Reich Lieutenant*
* Hiroaki Futsukaichi *as Yakuza Jeweler*
* Kelvin Lum *as Yakuza Boatman*
* Isaac Keoughan *as* Avram
* Eda Soong *as Yakuza Bouncer*
* Mark Brandon *as Reich Newscaster*
* Austin Trapp *as Nazi Kid*
* Francisco Trujillo *as* Carlos
* Evan Gillmore *as SS Blackshirt Corporal*
* Brad Bergeron *as SS Train Driver #1*
* Evan Spergel *as SS Train Driver #2*