Beautiful Shogun finale that encapsulated everything that’s good about this series. My only complaint is that we didn’t get to see Toranaga’s plan fully realised and him becoming shogun. But, narratively I guess that’s consistent with what the story has been about anyway. The 3D chess political manoeuvring and Anjin’s journey.
So many moments got me emotional in this finale from Fuji and Anjin’s “no translator” conversation after Mariko’s death to them letting go of their loved ones in the lake together. Very powerful scenes. Direction was superb as per usual. For a finale with no action, there was no shortage of tense and impactful moments. Honestly felt way shorter than an hour and we do get that final scene of Toranaga I wanted more.
Cosmo(Anjin actor) was brilliant in this. Hope he gets more roles going forward cause this dude can act his ass off. Been a Sawai Anna fan since Monarch TV show and I think the whole world can see why now. Her Mariko character and Anjin’s relationship and character arcs were so satisfying. While they might not have got the ending we wanted, that’s the way life goes sometimes. We live and we die, we control nothing else.
Hollywood can learn a lot from a series like this. Telling a satisfying story in only 10 episodes, no need for sequels or add ons. Without a doubt one of the best tv shows ever made.
