‘Shōgun’ Episode 5 Review: Answers Are Given In Character-Centric Episode
“SHOGUN” — Pictured: Hiroyuki Sanada as Yoshii Toranaga. CR: Katie Yu/FX
Shōgun returns this week with an episode that is overall lighter in plot than previous weeks’, but writer Matt Lambert and returning director Frederick E.O. Toye did their best to make it feel extremely important for the story of the show. In “Broken to the Fist”, John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) realizes that, after all, he doesn’t know as much about the Japanese culture as he maybe once thought. The key: his European rules and lifestyle are not applicable here. And he learned this the hard way.
The episode opens with the answer to one of the questions I posed last week. Why was Toranaga absent from the majority of the fourth episode? The answer was actually related to a big mystery from the third episode. See, there’s a good rule of thumb in television that, sadly, turns out to be true most of the time: unless you see a body, a character who’s assumed dead is not really dead. This was also the case for Mariko’s husband, Buntaro (Shinnosuke Abe), who returned from the dead and on top of a horse at the beginning of this episode.
Of course, the timing couldn’t have been worse for Mariko and Blackthorne’s burgeoning relationship, especially after they spent the night together at the end of the last episode. But Buntaro’s return will cause more trouble than even they initially anticipated. He is deeply troubled by the Anjin’s presence in the village, and even more so once he finds out that he’s a somewhat respectable member of the community now. Whether he sees some of the romantic hints with his wife or not, it’s unclear — and even if he did, is he the jealous type? Though the Japanese culture depicted in the show is very much a patriarchy, as depicted in great detail in this episode, would Buntaro actually be jealous? I guess the definition of that term starts to blur when put together with the other sexist conduct they have.
“SHŌGUN” — Pictured: Shinnosuke Abe as Buntaro. CR: Kurt Iswarienko/FX
Regardless, Blackthorne is a little jealous and quickly engages with him in a pissing contest whose rules he doesn’t fully comprehend. And of course, it involves alcohol. To the Japanese, it is all about honor — both respecting each other’s and not having their own compromised. But Blackthorne doesn’t fully understand this yet, and his reckless actions, and most importantly, words, quickly force the already tense dinner situation to go downhill. Buntaro must prove his skills are superior to the Englishman’s, and he doesn’t care who gets in his way — even if it is his own wife.
The most stressful moment of the episode came when a drunk-off-his-face Buntaro drew his bow and shot an arrow into the wall, avoiding Mariko’s face for less than half an inch. If it wasn’t clear then, Anna Sawai spells it out for us immediately after: He does not care for his wife, whom he sees as a traitor. That was the long-awaited explanation for Mariko’s backstory, something I said last week we might be getting sooner rather than later. But Mariko, despite all the lessons he gives Blackthorne about the Japanese way, is a lot more strong-minded and free-willed than even she says. In her mind, if her husband will not show respect to her, she doesn’t have to respect him back either. This also explains her face after seeing her husband was back: it wasn’t shame for sleeping with Blackthorne; it was fear because of how his abusive behavior towards her.
“SHŌGUN” — Pictured: Moeka Hoshi as Usami Fuji. CR: Kurt Iswarienko/FX
The other big lesson for Blackthorne in this episode was that his words matter as much, or more than his actions. It was clear from the beginning that there’d be repercussions from his “Anyone who touches this pheasant, is dead” message towards his staff, and there were. The bird perfectly encapsulates Blackthorne not being home anymore — he thought he could introduce his own traditions in a smooth way into a very different culture, and it backfired… on the poor gardener. The stench that came from the dead pheasant rotting in their garden is also a bit reminiscent of the stain he’s leaving on the population under many of the locals’ eyes.
It all culminated with an earthquake whose aftermath we couldn’t see, but that will inevitably be devastating for Toranaga’s people. Mariko is trying to distance herself from Blackthorne, though the question now is what will have to happen for her to regain her trust, and inevitably fall in love again. Buntaro is obviously not surviving many more episodes, but Blackthorne killing him will probably not go well with Anna Sawai’s character. At the very least, she seems to consider Toranaga a rightful leader, and that could be Blackthorne’s way back into Mariko’s heart.
Shōgun returns for its sixth episode next week.
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.
