‘Shōgun’ Episodes 1-2 Review: FX’s Adaptation Is a Slow-Burner, But Eventually Delivers
The story of Shōgun, which FX is adapting from the 1975 novel by James Clavell and the 1980 miniseries, is as vast and overwhelming to follow as it must been to make. That was my immediate conclusion after finishing the first two episodes of the season, now available to stream. However, the intricate politics that showrunner Justin Marks tried to introduce over the first episode and a half, to varying degrees of success, were finally paid off during the second half of episode 2, titled “Servants of Two Masters”. The show is now off to the races, and the rest of the 10 episodes cannot come here fast enough — as long as they keep building that momentum.
The story is set in 1600 Japan and is as transportive as it gets for historical epics. It is a clash of cultures at the peak of colonialism, set in a country that was largely unaffected by it in the grand scheme of things — yet the expansion of Spain and Portugal at the time was one of its biggest worries, as exemplified by the first two episodes of the series. On the one hand, we have Lord Yoshii Toranaga (played by Hiroyuki Sanada, who is also a producer on the series), who finds himself in the middle of a conspiracy set up by other members of the Council of Regents, a governing structure set up by Toranaga’s predecessor to try to keep a united Japan.
And Japan will have to be united, because Spain and Portugal are coming for it. But before they do, England wants to have a piece of it. John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) is the pilot of the ship Erasmus, which was sent through Magellan’s Pass, a top-secret route used by the Spaniards and Portuguese to claim ownership of the Eastern hemisphere. It was such a secret that they hid the existence of any other European country, including England. Their ultimate goal is to establish themselves as rulers of every country they reach and introduce a Catholic rule.
Blackthorne and his advance party aren’t having any of it, and, as Protestants, want to torpedo the expansion of the Catholics. But it all goes wrong when he’s captured by the Japanese, who will use his presence in the country to play their own political games. In particular, Toranaga wants to use him to divide the members of the Council who are against him.
Shōgun has often been compared in the media over the past couple of weeks to the new Game of Thrones. And though it might be there in ambition, where the comparison lies best for me is in the complexity of the storylines, especially because it hits the ground running on all of them — even if it takes its time to properly push the plot forward. Anna Sawai’s Lady Mariko, a Catholic noblewoman close to Toranaga, finds herself in the middle of all of it, yet in the first couple of episodes, it’s still difficult to explain what she’s doing there. And that might very well be the intention. It’s often difficult to judge a series just from the first couple of episodes (disclaimer: I have screeners for the first eight lined up but haven’t had the time to watch them all, so I’ll opt for weekly recaps).
(L-R) Cosmo Jarvins and Anna Sawai in FX’s “Shōgun”.
The hard truth is that, much like Game of Thrones at the beginning (I don’t want to pair the two up for too long, but allow me just this comparison to better express my feeling on this), Shōgun starts off rather slowly. It’s not just because of a lack of action, but rather the emptiness of many of its scenes. (Thankfully, though, Anna Sawai was there every now and then to inject some life into it.) And I might feel differently if I rewatched it now, after finishing the second episode, and was able to pick up on lost threads amid the introduction of so many new characters.
However, just when I was wondering if it was even worth continuing, all three of our main characters had a real conversation (not the first one they had, but definitely the most interesting one). It was eye-opening for Toranaga to hear about what is going on in Europe, and I do want to highlight Hiroyuki Sanada’s performance over these two episodes, but the true winners were Cosmo Jarvis, who underwent a big character arc over just two episodes, and Anna Sawai, who salvaged last year’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters for Apple and is doing the Lord’s work again.
So far, the least interesting thing about Shōgun is the conflict between Catholics and Protestants, and I don’t think the writing on that front, highlighting the divisions and why it’s so important for either side to win over the other (beyond the “us over them” trope), has been especially strong. But that feels like something that will either be dealt with later, or never, and honestly, the international conflict alone seems juicy enough without having to bring in the religious argument — though it feels like there’s also something to explore here with Lady Mariko being Catholic, for yet-unexplained reasons.
(L-R) Cosmo Jarvis and Nestor Carbonell in FX’s “Shōgun”.
Cosmo Jarvis’ performance is also something to behold here. He goes through a physical transformation in the first episode, which turns out to be much deeper than that. To use the dog comparison brought up in episode 2, he was unhinged at the beginning of the show, but once captured, he had his tail between his legs most of the time, barley barked at all. It wasn’t a showy performance, yet there was something about the way he captured our (and Toranaga’s attention) that made us miss him when he wasn’t on screen. It’s all in the eyes, they say.
I’m also at a loss with where they’re going with him. I don’t think he’ll play the white savior role, as FX is centering Shōgun mostly on the Japanese perspective, and we’ve already seen The Last Samurai, but it definitely feels like he will play a pivotal part in the incoming war. Perhaps he’ll even assume the title mantle.
In terms of what to expect from the action, there are a couple of shots that showcase how vast the series can get in scope, but there wasn’t a lot of actual fighting, until the end of the second episode. No spoilers for now, for those who haven’t seen it yet, but I was very impressed with how the scene was actually filmed and I’m looking forward to more like that.
The first two episodes of Shōgun are currently available to stream on Hulu in the US, and Disney Plus internationally.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
