The Man in the High Castle Test

This High Castle character test is inspired by psychometric methodology and based on research into the characters of the series. The test provides feedback such as the following:

Juliana Crain

Juliana Crain is a quietly intense everywoman who becomes a reluctant seeker of truth when her safe life is shattered. Initially a disciplined aikido practitioner in San Francisco, she adapts to life under Japanese control until the death of her sister and the discovery of a mysterious film reel force her into dangerous defiance. She navigates conflict by combining physical skill with deep empathy, often attempting to understand the motives of her enemies before acting. While she appears compliant, she is inwardly skeptical, shifting from accommodation to rebellion. Her core contradiction is a yearning for connection set against a pattern of leaving people behind for a higher moral calling.

Joe Blake

Joe Blake is a charming, conflicted chameleon torn between Nazi indoctrination and the possibility of a different life. He begins his journey as an SS agent tasked with infiltrating the American Resistance, but his mission is complicated by a genuine, destabilizing attraction to Juliana Crain. Joe oscillates between calculated deception and impulsive, emotion-driven choices, often reacting to personal relationships more than abstract principles. He handles fear by compartmentalizing his guilt and seeking escape through indulgence or renewed zealotry. While he glimpses a path toward redemption, his inability to sustain authentic intimacy or commit to a moral identity ultimately leads him toward a tragic, irredeemable end.

Nobusuke Tagomi

Nobusuke Tagomi is a contemplative statesman and reluctant mystic who seeks peace and moral clarity in the heart of an empire built on conquest. As Trade Minister of the Japanese Pacific States, he occupies a crucial diplomatic position between Japan and Germany, working covertly to avert catastrophic war. He is conscientious, spiritually inclined, and deeply burdened by responsibility. He uses the I Ching and experiences visions of an alternate world where the Allies won, fueling a profound longing for redemption. Tagomi prefers reflection and negotiation over confrontation, showing a nuanced relationship to rules where conscience matters more than state mandates.

Robert Childan

Robert Childan is a status-seeking antique dealer whose deep insecurity drives both his obsequious behavior toward power and his desperate need for social validation. Operating in the Japanese Pacific States, he navigates a precarious existence by catering to elite tastes, often trading in counterfeit history to maintain his standing. He is defined by a sharp contradiction: he craves the approval of his oppressors while harboring a quiet, gnawing resentment toward his own subservience. When faced with conflict, he prefers flattery and quick pivots over direct confrontation. Ultimately, he is a man constantly performing a role, haunted by the fear that he is an imposter.

John Smith

John Smith is a controlled, hyper-competent patriarch who sells his soul to keep his family safe and rises to become the ultimate company man of a monstrous regime. An American who once served in the U.S. Army, he accepts the Reich’s offer to join the SS and eventually becomes the Reichsführer of the North American Reich. He presents as a composed family man, embodying the archetype of the efficient bureaucratic villain. In conflict, Smith is ruthlessly logical and strategic, preferring leverage over emotional outbursts. He compartmentalizes guilt to protect his position, yet his deep love for his family ultimately fuels his internal fracture.

Helen Smith

Helen Smith is a poised, image-conscious matriarch whose complicity in evil eventually collides with profound maternal grief. A natural-born American who becomes a prominent Nazi socialite in New York, she plays a central role in her husband's rise within the Reich. She is graceful and attentive to social rituals, embodying the archetype of the loyal officer’s wife. In conflict, she works through persuasion and social maneuvering rather than overt confrontation. When her son’s fate forces her to confront the regime’s brutal reality, her carefully constructed world collapses. She represents the universal theme of co-opted privilege and the devastating cost of looking away until it is too late.

Frank Frink

Frank Frink is a wounded, stubborn craftsman whose search for dignity under oppression pushes him from a reluctant survivor to a radicalized resister. He works in a factory making replicas of pre-war pistols, while secretly creating his own original jewelry, suggesting a meticulous temperament constrained by circumstance. He hides his Jewish heritage to avoid persecution, living in constant fear. When his family is executed and he is brutalized, his frustration turns into a desperate desire for vengeance. Frank is emotional and often acts from moral outrage rather than strategy. He is a fiercely loyal friend who struggles to reconcile his peaceful nature with the violence of resistance.

Inspector Kido

Inspector Kido is a severe, dutiful enforcer whose iron loyalty hides a capacity for honor, sacrifice, and quiet tenderness. As the ruthless head of the Kempeitai in San Francisco, he embodies the occupying Japanese state’s terrifying reach, ordering arrests and executions to maintain order. In conflict, he is methodical and suspicious, rarely acting impulsively. He initially treats imperial principles as sacred, yet his vow to protect his family and fulfill personal oaths reveals a code of honor that can override political loyalty. Beneath his cold, intimidating exterior lies a man trapped between his devotion to a crumbling empire and the moral price of his obedience.