'Shōgun' Episode 4 Gets... Steamy
Once you get familiar with its characters—and acquire a tepid understanding of feudal Japan's political climate—Shōgun is easily the best drama on television. A little history lesson couldn't hurt anyone now and then! For Japan, the Tokugawa shogunate (renamed Toranaga in Shōgun) is one of the nation's most defining eras outside of World War II. It marked both the height and the eventual end of the samurai, as well as the end of the country's more isolationist policies. But at the heart of this era was the struggle for the shogunate, retold by the character of Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) in Shōgun.
Based on James Clavell's 1975 novel of the same name, Shōgun also follows John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), the first Englishman to sail to Japan. In the first three episodes, Blackthorne and Toranaga formed an unlikely friendship—one that was born from their mutual self-interests. Toranaga wishes to use Blackthorne's knowledge and Protestant views to shake up his Christian opponents, while Blackthorne seeks to rout those same politicians from Japan in order to reestablish trade relations with his own country. Plus, he wishes to stay alive by any means necessary. By the end of episode 3, after Toranaga gives Blackthorne an honorary Japanese name and a job within his army, the two are seemingly best buds. They even take a swim together!
But Toranaga doesn't have as much time to spend with Blackthorne this week. After dropping off his forces at retainer Kashigi Yabushige's (Tadanobu Asano) fiefdom, he leaves on some other mysterious business. This departure angers Yabushige, as well as his nephew, Omi (Hiroto Kanai), who rules in his place while his uncle was away in Osaka. Toranaga's absence also proves to be dangerous for Blackthorne, who is unfamiliar with the language, the culture, and the task at hand. Luckily, he has Lady Mariko (Anna Sawai) by his side as his translator... and a little something extra.
If you didn't guess it by now, Blackthorne and Mariko are about to fall in love. She's somehow into the fact that he's always raving and yelling, which immediately continues this week when his quasi-captors refuse to let him see his men, ship, and guns. The Englishman—who has a wife and children back in London, mind you—is also shocked when he's gifted a female concubine and a house. On top of everything, Toranaga asked him to teach his son Yoshii Nagakado the art of European warfare (which he knows nothing about). Blackthorne also finds out that his honorary Japanese name, Hatamoto, means "Guardian of the banner." No pressure, my guy!
So, in between flirt sessions—I mean, uh, Japanese language lessons—with Mariko, Blackthorne gets to work. He convinces Toranaga's son, Yabushige, and his nephew, Omi, that the only thing he really knows how to do is sail ships and fire naval cannons. In an impressive show of precision, he hits targets a football field's length away with cannon fire. Ta-da! Immediately impressed, the army begins training with their new weapons.
Meanwhile, we learn that Mariko is still uncertain whether or not her husband Buntaro (Shinnosuke Abe) survived last episode's harbor attack. After staying behind in Osaka to ensure Toranaga's escape, he fought off Lord Kiyama's (Hiromoto Ida) men and disappeared into the melee. You'd think that he died during the fight, but Buntaro seems like he's a human tank. For one, he's the son of one of Toranaga's most trusted advisors: an elderly man named "Iron Fist" Hiromatsu. Plus, we didn't see his death! This is television, people—if you didn't see it, it didn't happen.
Mariko is thinking otherwise. Though she respects Buntaro as a fierce warrior, she doesn't seem romantically fond of him from what we've seen so far. She's also getting really cozy with Blackthorne. After he finally apologizes for his rudeness and tries the local food, it's game on. One night, she just so happens to casually find him skinny-dipping in a nearby spring. The couple talks all night, imagining where they would go in London if they were on a date. Blackthorne says that they would see a play and then go on a long walk. Mariko loves his answer. "Yes," she says with a deep sigh. Blackthorne must be thinking, Wife?! I don't have a wife back in London! I have two girlfriends in Japan!
Then! Mariko trauma-dumps on him like when it's time to tell The Bachelor "something very important" on a one-on-one date. (Yes, I'm confident that there's at least some convergence of Shōgun and The Bachelor fandom reading this recap.) Mariko confides in Blackthorne that she comes from a very tragic family, complete with flashbacks—which I assume are teasing future reveals. The conversation also follows the previous day's talk about earthquakes, when Mariko said, "Death is in our air, our sea, our Earth. It comes for us in any moment." Pretty morbid, but the night is still a complete success. Mariko visits Blackthorne later that night while he's sleeping and the two get it on.
The next morning, it's back to politics. Lord Ishido (Takehiro Hira) sends his warrior, Jozen (Nobuya Shimamoto), to inspect the news he received: Toranaga is readying his army for war. Yabushige, who continues to play both sides, also denies a request to travel back to Osaka and renew his loyalty to the Council. Returning to Osaka certainly means death. So, Yabushige offers Jozen a private demonstration to feign sharing their knowledge of naval cannons with the enemy.
Instead, Toranaga's son, Nagakado, turns the cannons on Jozen's men and shockingly slaughters them all. It's gnarly. "This is not how a samurai fights... You're savages!" Jozen says with his last breath. His guts are all strewn out, limbs missing, blood everywhere. The surprise barrage is a marvel of practical effects. "It is war," Mariko says, shaking. Duh. What do you think we're doing here? Next week, Toranaga returns.
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