Rob V

IMO, she's excellent in this. Shows how important the script and direction is.

bluetoast

Richard Chamberlain’s crazy scene can never be surpassed.

story

I'll use his "monologue" for my next audition.

Gunde

Exactly. Terrible character. But that was not the fault of Sawai. She's great in Shogun.

Cellar Door

I just got caught up on this. I've never read the novel, and I have vague recollections of my parents watching the original mini-series back in the day, but I was a little kid and didn't really pay close attention to it back then. The first three episodes of this version have been fantastic. I agree with some of the comments that there is something a little odd about the portrayal of Blackthorne. The actor seems a little, I don't know, squirrely? But it doesn't really detract from the show for me, it's all really very well done. I may need to rewatch episode 3 just to make sure I am clear on all the political maneuvering and dealing going on.


I thought for sure that was setting up a joke about Blackthorne needing a bath, as a callback to the scene in an earlier episode where he turned one down.

DJariya

New episode dropped.

Holy shit that ending

Another solid episode. Some really great moments between Blackthorne and Mariko. And for a second, I actually thought they hooked up. Or did they?

Liked that Blackthorne and Fuji-sama bonded even though both were brought into that arrangement unwillingly.

OldBoy

“And, fuck yourself, you sniveling, little shit bag." John is so genuine and such a badass. gruesome ending. Love this show!

story

My kid who I think would really love this show is neck-deep in tech rehearsals for their school musical, and I've been waiting for her. Thing is, the next week is a huge week at work and then we have some spring break travel, so we may not get to this until at least mid-April. That said, all of your glowing reviews really have me excited for this one. I think it will be worth the wait!

Cellar Door

No kidding! I was ready for something to happen, but that took me by surprise.

Is it supposed to be ambiguous to the viewer? My tv screen is kind of dark so I couldn't tell for sure if it was Mariko or not, but I don't know if it was easier to see on brighter screens. Gotta be her, though, right?

DJariya

It looked like her, but she said it was a Courtesan. She kind of had a smile on her face after she told him. I couldn’t tell either it was too dark.

MrX

It’s intentionally unclear. In the book Blackthorne isn’t sure if it was Mariko or not afterwards.

Bandoman

Yes, it was unclear, although Mariko's reaction when Blackthorne discussed it the next morning sure implies it was her.

That ending was great! Usually I like to wait until a show has the entire season available to binge, but I just can't wait to see each episode.

Gunde

Unclear to him maybe, but to us it clearly was Sawai. So were we seeing what he was imagining/hoping?

If it indeed happened I find it wholly unbelievable in terms of character.

Decker

I think that the point was plausible deniablility.

MrX

The scene makes more sense in the book. In the book he’s drunk on sake and he believes it’s Mariko. The day after he asks her about and she tells him Fujiko and her sent Mariko’s maid to him as a gift.

B.A.

The show is worth watching for Blackthorne’s insults alone.

my son and I are really enjoying it.

OldBoy

that sit down dinner/standoff between John and Mariko's husband was priceless.

Dan

I haven't watched today's episode yet, but this series has been excellent so far. How's the original series from 1980? I saw a Laserdisc copy at Half Price Books the other day

DJariya

The Shogun podcast from this week conformed that it was Mariko who slept with Blackthorne last week.

But, yeah another solid episode. That was the dinner party from hell. Buntaro is an asshole.

and I love the Fuji character. The actress who plays her spoke a little in the podcast through a translator.

and poor Uejiro. They took Blackthorne's words literally.

and that earthquake at the end was wild.

DJariya

It was very much in the style of the 1980s miniseries, which were big events back then. It's been probably been close to 20 years since I last watched it. But, I recall it was a entertaining series. Definitely different from this one.

Bill Needle

Nothing much to add to the praise already heaped upon this, but as someone who was never interested in the 1980 version I have to say I am very pleasantly surprised by how much I am enjoying this. My wife saw the original back in the day and loves it, with her only complaint being that she felt Richard Chamberlain made a better Blackthorne, but after a couple episodes she warmed up to Jarvis' version.

OldBoy

I’m so glad they have original language with subs. I couldn’t and don’t want to imagine what the English dub sounds like.

DWilson

Maybe I missed something, but I'm not clear why Blackthorne hung the pheasant outside and otherwise did nothing with it.

dom56

Wow, that earthquake was scary.

Meathead

Apparently Blackthorne likes very gamey tasting pheasant! Google says it's a thing with game birds. He ordered it hung for a week but the gardener cut it down before that.

As soon as he hung the bird I remembered that someone was going to take it down and be killed for it.