‘Shōgun’ Episode 3 Recap: Another Solid Episode That Still Does Not Move the Needle Much
In the wake of the assassination attempt featured at the end of last week’s two-episode premiere of Shōgun, Lord Toranaga realizes he must leave Osaka as quickly and as undetected as possible. That simple premise sets up this week’s nail-biter of an episode, which Charlotte Brändström directed.
Toranaga is back with his manipulative schemes in the third episode, titled “Tomorrow is Tomorrow”, which thrives whenever it’s about our main characters getting closer under perilous situations and the threat of death, or even worse, captivity. John Blackthorne is back with his medieval English name but also his astuteness to get Toranaga and his loyalists out of their enemies’ grip.
The Council is very close to calling victory and hanging the treacherous Lord, but he is two steps ahead and is able to map out a plan that will get him out of the city unnoticed. It involves making everyone think his consort, Lady Kiri, is going to leave the city — only for her to swap places at the last moment after their foes have already confirmed who’s hiding in the carriage box. But Blackthorne sees it all, and now he’s in on the secret, which will be crucial for them so that they can pass the second border patrol.
But one mediocre-looking fight in the forest later, they make it out alive into the boats. And that’s when the real fun of the episode begins, because Blackthorne realizes that Toranaga and his clan will need the Spaniards’ help to cross a blockade of small pirate ships. They are able to negotiate a treaty that at least one end will probably not hold to, and then it turns out that the biggest challenge of all was not crashing into sharp rocks as their sort of allies thought they might do best without them. And then, they all celebrated by getting the leader and the foreigner in a 1600 swimsuit and having them race off to the shore.
The episode was overall interesting, but I must admit that I was expecting a bit more from the show by now. As I mentioned last week, the last 20 minutes were by far the best part, but I don’t think Brändström was able to recapture that magic here. Even though the complicated escape plot was fulfilling enough for me for an hour of TV, we’re now three episodes into Shōgun and it’s only good enough for me to justify watching another episode — not to start wondering what I’m going to do until I can see the next one.
The link between Toranaga and Blackthorne feels like something special, and I’m also really enjoying the connection the English pilot is establishing with Anna Sawai’s Mariko. However, the most fun I’ve had in the episode was when the Spaniards showed up and spiced it up a little with some actual drama. Nestor Carbonell’s Vasco Rodrigues is one of the most entertaining characters in the show so far, and I hope they don’t waste him from now on. I’d like to see a lot more of his back-and-forth with Blackthorne.
Shōgun will be back next week with episode 4.
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.
