"Shōgun (2024)" Series Talkback (Spoilers)

[Yojimbo]

Oooh, boy. Going with a bum rush strategy? Still if done right, they won't have time to prepare thanks to being in political turmoil - the hostage situation, the one regent saying Nay.

 

[Space Cadet]

Ratings:

Episode 1.06: 523,000(0.10 P18-49)


Also, I hope the scene of Fuji side-eyeing and sipping tea gets added to the canon of other "sipping tea" memes.

 

[Space Cadet]

Episode 1.07: "A Stick of Time"

Outplayed by new alliances in Osaka, Toranaga is forced to carve out a new deal with a long lost family member.

The penultimate episode airs tonight at 10 PM EST on FX and is on Hulu immediately after.

 

[Space Cadet]

Ratings:

Episode 1.07: 540,000(0.09 P18-49)

 

[Yojimbo]

The penultimate episode airs tonight at 10 PM EST on FX and is on Hulu immediately after.

There's 10 episodes total actually.

Well, Toranaga is between a rock and a hard place. Wicked move to make the half-brother the new regent.

Not that it's a bad thing but show has definitely switched to Toranaga and Blackthorne and Mariko are just there.

And his son finally learns the consequences of being so impulsive...

 

[Space Cadet]

^

Thanks for the correction. Vulture did an interview with Moeka Hoshi(Fuji) and I found it interesting on how she approached the role and the cultural differences working in Japan and in Hollywood.

Shōgun’s Moeka Hoshi Knows the Power of Good Communication

“I see Fuji as a flexible person. Or, rather, she becomes as such.”

www.vulture.com

 

[Space Cadet]

Episode 1.08: "The Abyss of Life"

Toranaga's defeated clan moves to Edo and awaits their fate.

Airs tonight at 10 PM EST on FX and is on Hulu immediately after.

 

[Yojimbo]

Loved her last words to Ochiba were basically 'Don't marry Ishido, he's trash.'

Time is a weapon to Toranaga/Tokugawa. More powerful than any sword. Any army. Any guns or cannons. And his son handed him 49 days worth of time. Then Hiromatsu made the ultimate sacrifice to sell the illusion of Toranaga caving into defeat to Ishido. Toranaga's already won the war before it's started.

Loved all the nuance. Mariko telling Buntaro off after the tea ritual. Buntaro having to be second to his father's suicide. Or Blackthorne realizing he's now a stranger to his own people. Making the passionate speech to Yabushige about making your own fate. Yabushige's nephew is struggling with what his purpose is and the courtesan tells him he's not looking hard enough.

Toranaga is so deliciously sly. He's all proper telling the Portuguese he'll hold up his deal and the church can be built in Edo. Next to the red light district. lmao. Oh, the look on his face.

It all hinges on Blackthorne, Yabushige, and Mariko now.

 

[Space Cadet]

Ratings:

Episode 1.08: 436,000(0.08 P18-49)

Also major spoilers if haven't watched the last episode but Vulture did an interview with actor Tokuma Nishioka about the big scene that happened at the end.

Tokuma Nishioka Brought the Shōgun Set to Tears

“I looked around and they were clapping, very, very silently, and some of them were crying. I thought, I guess I did well.”

www.vulture.com

 

[AdrenalineRush1996]

I've seen every episode so far recently on Disney+'s Star hub and I actually enjoy it plus I really hope the miniseries wins multiple Emmys and Golden Globes during next year because the performances from Hiroyuki Sanada, Cosmo Jarvis and Anna Sawai were spot on.

 

[Space Cadet]

Episode 1.09: "Crimson Sky"

Mariko arrives in Osaka for the fight of her life.

The penultimate episode(got it right this time!) airs tonight at 10 PM EST on FX and is on Hulu immediately after.


Speaking of Mariko, actress Anna Sawai was a guest on Stephen Colbert's show last night, here's her segment:

 

[Yojimbo]

RIP Mariko. You went out peak. Fulfilled her lord's orders, avoided suicide which would have conflicted with her faith, indulged in her let's say personal desires, and went out a martyr. Loved she invoked her family name only in her last moments, no mention of Toda unlike earlier in the episode. Bravo to Anna Sawai.

The tension in the seppuku scene. Woot. But it worked to manipulate Ishido into publicly caving then sending shinobi to grab her but died instead, opening the final path for the hostages to bolt and for Toranaga to go to war. Ishido has shown how weak he is and if Toranaga doesn't get to his jugular the other regents will. By sending Mariko early, Toranaga put Ishido in a lose-lose situation.

Calling Ishido leafless and the idiot didn't even realize it. But Ochiba totally did since well, "Ochiba" means "falling leaves" and Mariko is pointing out Ochiba is the one with power and if she leaves with her son, Ishido is nothing. What the dying woman was saying last week as well.

Please kill him. Flower is only flower because they fall. Accepting death isn't surrender. Mariko had the best lines.

Yabushige. Ugh. But Toranaga knew he was going to betray him again. Then Yabu tried to play both sides and ended up trapped in the shed, too. But if you're watching this show and thinking how cutthroat and ruthless Toranaga is, even more in the book. This is a war and every move was a calculated choice to win. Still it was an excellent contrast. Yabushige, the samurai, is the rat bastard. Mariko, the disgraced daughter, is the true warrior.

Such an excellent series and cast of characters. But like all good things, it must come to an end. Series finale next week!

 

[Space Cadet]

Anna Sawai has made the rounds on various entertainment sites for this episode but I'll just highlight the ones from The Hollywood Reporter and Vanity Fair:

‘Shogun’ Star Anna Sawai Breaks Down the Climactic Penultimate Episode: “It’s the Long Fight”

Sawai speaks freely about her fan-favorite character and the shocking events of episode nine in FX's acclaimed miniseries.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

Inside Mariko’s Jaw-Dropping ‘Shōgun’ Decision: “It’s What She Wants”

Anna Sawai breaks down the pivotal penultimate episode of FX’s epic limited series—both in terms of how difficult it was to film, and how long she’s carried the emotions since.

www.vanityfair.com

 

[Space Cadet]

Ratings:

Episode 1.09: 538,000(0.09 P18-49)

 

[Space Cadet]

Episode 1.10: "A Dream of a Dream"

In the wake of a tragic death, Blackthorne finally considers the true nature of Toranaga's plan

Well, we have sadly reached the last episode of this excellent miniseries. It airs tonight at 10 PM EST on FX and is on Hulu. No word if there will be more episodes(author James Clavell has other books that are set in the same universe) or if this is the final one. Either way, I'm glad we were able to get 10 episodes of this.

 

[Yojimbo]

Nice twist it wasn't Blackthorne as an old man looking back with regret but Blackthorne looking forward and breaking away from his colonial ambitions to be reborn, not by offering his life to Toranaga like the samurai culture he observed but by letting go spiritually and scattering the ashes of Fuji's husband and son and then Mariko's cross. “Let your hands be the last that hold her.” Well said, Fuji.

I think some might not like the twist/reveal that Mariko made a negotiation between scenes to save Blackthorne's life for the ship. Or that it doesn't end in the Battle of Sekigahara. The point was he already won before that battle took place. (though I'll say it's a pity we don't see Ishido getting offed. from what I remember, he doesn't even get a warrior's death on the battlefield, it was a public execution) Toranaga even admits, he doesn't control the wind he studies it. The former is more what his predecessor Nobunaga (who doesn't come up in this show) was all about. He's a strategist and a chess player. What this finale drives home is that this is the journey of a man that went from a selfish prick bound by ambition to a man who found his community and inner peace and that's what the act of the village and army helping pull the ship up, Buntaro and Anjin’s mutual respect moment, and the close ups between Blackthorne and Toranaga illustrate in the final moments. This show was a character study not a story driven series. It was a commentary on hopes and dreams buried beneath social conventions and expectations.

I like how Toranaga basically admitted to Yabushige that he liked Blackthorne from the start (while conversely telling Yabushige he liked him, too, but he had to die). But mostly as a jester. And a shiny distraction for his enemies. On the surface, Toranaga and all the things he revealed seemed cold (esp torturing the villagers to sell the idea of a sabaetour or basically everyone seemed like a chess piece to him) but Toranaga was making choices not for him to take power, but for Japan. He did not become Shogun because he craved power and to be in charge, he became Shogun to save Japan and make it better. That's why it ends on Toranaga looking outward, towards the future. He is now free of the failed system the Regents represented and could now create a better Japan and a long lasting peace.

But still some entertaining stuff from Yabushige. Even in his moment of insanity, he had a sense of clarity to warn Ishido not to go to war and went on about the catfish. But the idiot he was Ishido doesn't get it. But even more funny, Yabushige begging to be killed by cannon or a school of angry fish. Then his death poem.

Still, what a perfect show so beautiful in its depth. Definitely going to be one of the best this year.

 

[Space Cadet]

The Hollywood Reporter did an interview with showrunners(and married couple) Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo about the finale and whether or not the show would continue(slight spoilers: I wouldn't hold your breath).

‘Shogun’ Is Over, But What About Season 2? Creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo Weigh In

The FX epic just ended its 10-episode run. Will it remain a limited series, or is there more story to tell?

www.hollywoodreporter.com

 

[Yojimbo]

The Hollywood Reporter did an interview with showrunners(and married couple) Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo about the finale and whether or not the show would continue(slight spoilers: I wouldn't hold your breath).

‘Shogun’ Is Over, But What About Season 2? Creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo Weigh In

The FX epic just ended its 10-episode run. Will it remain a limited series, or is there more story to tell?

www.hollywoodreporter.com

Yeah, but like they mention, Clavell had other novels in Asia in different time periods. If FX wants to adapt those, too...

 

[Space Cadet]

Ratings:

Episode 1.10: 625,000(0.09 P18-49)

Second-highest ratings for the show. Glad to see it going out with a bang.

 

[AdrenalineRush1996]

I saw the final episode on Wednesday and that was a bittersweet yet satisfying conclusion to the miniseries.