A strong finale, but not what I expected

If I could use words

Like scattering flowers and falling leaves,

What a fire my poems would make.

~a poem by Mariko

I admit, that maybe for the first time of Shōgun limited run, I left with mixed feelings. While there were some strong moments in the series finale, it’s hard not to feel disappointed by what we didn’t get to see. It was already going to be a tough episode given Mariko’s (Anna Sawai) fate last week, but I thought we could make up for it with a final battle.

Instead, Blackthorn is smuggled out of Osaka and kept alive by the Jesuits, who make a deal with Mariko and Lord Toranaga to bring him safely back to Ajiro. The deal, we later find out, was the lives of the Anjin in exchange for the ship, which Toranaga sank and then blamed on Christian spies. It mercilessly destroys the villagers as a sort of test for the Anjin, which Blackthorne goes through when he offers his life in exchange for the villagers.

The Secret Heart of Yoshii Toranaga

By far the best part of this episode was the conversation between Yabushige and Toranaga before the former committed seppuku with Toranaga second. While it was interesting to hear Toranaga finally lay out his plans – including the fact that Crimson Sky turned to simply sending Mariko to Osaka in an attempt to change Ochiba na Kata’s mind and weaken Ishido’s control over the nobles families – the most exciting bits were just the two men talking, old friends (freaks?) who have known each other for a long time, saying one last bloody goodbye. Yabushige, upon realizing that Toranaga has been plotting his rise to power all along, exclaims, “You are no better than us in your secret heart!”

“How is it to shape the wind to your will?” he asks.

“I don’t shape the wind,” Toranaga replies. “I’m just studying it.”

When she begs to know what will happen next, Toranaga grimly replies, “Why tell a dead man the future?” I almost wish Yabushige had said, “Why not?”

Of course, much of the brilliance of this final scene between these two fascinating characters (whose names I can finally spell without looking up, just in time for the show to end) comes down to the performances. This is the biggest scene we’ve had with just Hiroyuki Sanada and Tadanobu Asano, two legends of Japanese cinema, and they pull it off so perfectly, out there on the rocks by the sea.

Of course, Yabushige wanted a different death. A good death, as he puts it, not ritual suicide but rather being torn apart by dogs or flesh-eating fish or any other imaginable death that would suit him better (boiled alive, perhaps?).

He writes a death poem. It lacks the haunting beauty of Mariko’s poem, but seems to match the treacherous Lord of Izu:

My dead body

Don’t burn it, don’t bury it, just leave it in the field

And with it he filled the belly of some hungry dog.

The Fate Of The Anjin

In Blackthorn, meanwhile, the seas only part their way through the malice of Toranaga. He doesn’t believe for a second that the Christians burned his ship, but concludes that it was Mariko acting alone who arranged the deal with the Jesuits, rather than Toranaga pulling all the strings. When attempting to commit seppuku Toranaga stops him and gives in to punishing the villagers. He tells Blackthorn to rebuild the ship and then build him a fleet. Later, Toranaga tells Yabushige that he doesn’t think Anjin will ever leave Japan, though we know he’ll give all the shots of a very made-up Cosmo Jarvis as an old grandfather in bed, reminiscing about his time in Japan. (probably too dramatic, but then I found these scenes rather odd and weird; I’d rather not know if the Englishman ever came home).

Toranaga also explains to Yabushige why he kept Anjin alive when he had so many chances to let him die. “Not because he’s important,” he says, “but because he makes me laugh. And it’s good to have something to distract our enemies.” This feels like a sort of post-commentary, letting viewers know that Blackthorne’s character wasn’t really all that important in the grand scheme of things—almost a deliberate departure from the book, which focuses on European, but also somewhat the story that inspired James Clavell’s novel.

Blackthorne is based on the real English pilot William Adams, the first Englishman to land on Japanese soil. He became a key advisor to Tokugawa Ieyasu, helped train his men with cannons, and assisted in two major battles, including the Battle of Sekigahara, where Ieyasu overthrew his enemies and rose to power. He was clearly at least a little more important than just a distraction or a clown. (Adams never returned to England, dying in Japan aged 55).

On the subject of epic battles

When it comes to fighting, however, I can’t help but be disappointed with the series finale. Flash-forward didn’t work for me. It’s not just a flash-forward of the battle, it’s just one that Toranaga narrated to Yabushige and explained to him what will happen in the future— a prediction that lends impetus to the idea that Toranaga has a Dumbledore problem. We don’t see any of the actual battle either, just the armies lined up for battle and Ishido (Takehiro Hira) receiving word that Ochiba (Fumi Nikaido) has betrayed him. After all that build up to some kind of epic showdown between Toranaga and Ishido, I expected a little more. Maybe that’s just my TV brain, trained Game of Thrones and Vikings and so expect epic confrontations and clashes of steel. But I felt a little deflated, wishing we had one more episode to make room for the war.

After all, the actual historical Battle of Sekigahara is too incredible to read about, involving two armies of truly massive numbers – the Tokugawa Eastern Army boasted 75,000 men, while Ishida’s Western Army dwarfed that number with 120,000 men . Its outcome resulted in a 200-year dynasty.

The battle took place on October 21, 1600, a morning shrouded in so much fog that neither side could plan an attack or even see where the other army was. When the fog cleared and the battle began in earnest, its scale was truly epic. Two huge armies clashed along the banks of the river and through the hills under the shadow of Mount Nangu. Here is an Edo period screen depicting the conflict:

The fierce fighting of the battle culminated in a betrayal at Mount Nangu, where the army commander Mōri refused to aid a retreating Ishida, who was forced to surrender and later executed. Elsewhere, various fortresses around Japan were besieged. Tokugawa emerged victorious and established the first Edo shogunate. It would make for an epic hour of television.

I still liked the conclusion Shogun, however, battle or no battle. It was poetic and beautifully shot, and I guess we didn’t need to see the battle unfold for the story to come to a satisfying conclusion. There were many little moments that I loved. Ishido finds Yabushige, half-crazy in the garden. Blackthorne, learning that Fuji had decided to become a nun, at first balked, then finally told her in Japanese that she would become the better nun; Bundaro puts aside his bitterness and helps the Anjin drag Erasmus from the sea. Muraji reveals his true samurai identity to Blackthorne. The beautiful score, the wonderful costumes and the cinematography. I’m sad it’s all over.

However, including the main battle culminating in Toranaga’s eventual victory would certainly be fun. . . .

Oh good! No points (not that I give points). Overall, I really liked it Shogun. It’s one of my favorite shows of 2024 so far and I’ll definitely be watching it again down the road. What did you think of the series finale? Inform me Twitter and Facebook.