User Reviews

For those that give lower ratings that this episode should receive - I had to re-watch the ending three times to understand the brilliance of it, after initial watch I thought "What the hell was that?", only the second/third time made me understand what really happened.

*SPOILER* Towards the end Hiromatsu knew that there was a plan in motion (which had not yet been revealed) he did what he had to ensure everyone believes and acts accordingly. For majority of the episode I thought Toranaga gave up (can't stress enough how brilliant the acting in this series is) and the story will divert into a mutiny and something else, only to be persuaded back on track at the end.

This is probably the best show made in the last 10 years. And yes, that included Game of Thrones. It's not about action, it's about the political landscape, which is depicted to perfection.

It was when a tear slid down Mariko's cheek that I felt the urge to cry and I wondered why. The theme in this episode centres around the notion of Loyalty in the face of grief against the backdrop of looming civil war: what value do life and death have in the larger scheme of things aka a united, peace-time Japan?

History notwithstanding, this episode was breath-taking not only for its excellent production value which has come to define this amazing TV series, but for its excellent editing and storytelling.

The attention to detail continues to awe: we are witness to the sombre, poignant funeral of the reckless Nagakado who is missed by his elders and buddy, Omi, whose prognostications may have catalysed his friend's untimely demise. Yabushige injects just the right amount of humour in a scene of much levity, describing this death as lower then boiling (hello, Blackthorne) and higher than being eaten by dogs. We witness the heartachingly tender and meticulous manner by which Buntaro prepares tea for his wife, Mariko, in a tea ritual she praises for its beauty.

The timing of the episode's beats are meticulously crafted as well. The episode is heavy; rain falls all throughout, which accentuates the seeming nothingness and wilderness of Edo that Gin gazes upon, barefoot on the marshlands, as she weeps over the exciting future of the courtesan quarter she will be build. Where others see only desperation and loss, Gin (and Toranaga) always see opportunity and hope.

The tense last scene where Toranaga's vassals make known their displeasure with his surrender, and in that infinitesimal moment during the intense staredown between Toranaga and his best friend, Hiromatsu, tthere is the briefest flicker in Toranaga's eyes that seemingly prompts Hiromatsu to lay bare his chest to prepare for sepukku. While it is cruel to have his son, Buntaro, perform as his second, the moment is fraught with the pain of performing such a duty of the highest honour. Who better to take off the head of the great general than another great general whose precision elevates the ritual to its highest peak?

While I knew (and every viewer, probably) that there was something else that lay beneath, I could not escape the sadness and found myself crying in the sepukku scene; it was unbearable to watch and yet it made complete sense to FINALLY show what it is like with not just any character, but with someone we have grown to love, and whose importance to Toranaga and the realm cannot be discounted.

This was a great episode like all the seven before; the last two promise to burst everybody's chests open emotionally for sure.

I'll only say this ... Hiromatsu, seeing that another general has raised his hand in protest to the "surrender", rapidly intervenes and willingly sacrifices himself to make the "story" more credible. He doesn't want any of the other generals to take the fall and end their lives since he knows their skills and tactics might be more useful in the end than his own. And besides, he's Toranaga's best advisor and friend, the one who has watched over Toranaga since he was a child, so that will surely matter in the grand plan of schemes and it will make the "story" much more authentic in the eyes of Toranaga's enemies. Don't try to view it and understand it through our westerners eyes, this is feudal Japan, with a very different moral compass and values.

Simply spectacular. The attention to detail of Japanese culture is exquisite and breathtaking. The acting from the entire cast is beyond stellar. If this show doesn't win every award it's up for then there is no justice. Since the get go I've been sure of Toronaga's plan but the show has had me wavering several times and more so in that jaw dropping scene with the council near the end. But then it dawned on me as I was both horrified and elated that everything has been part of the plan ( except for Toronaga's son's death ) which was finally confirmed in the final scene between Toronaga and Mariko. I watch every episode totally captivated on the sheer excellence of this shows production. As for the reviewer Eloj; I can unequivocally say that most if not almost all here are 100% behind Toronaga. You are emphatically wrong.

It's a 10 out of 10... look at the good reviews and ignore the bad ones, some people should stick to movies like superman or maybe marvel movies to be satisfied with the main characters. Seriously... these people be giving low ratings because they didn't like the character development or unable to understand a more complex storyline... like really?

Anyways my review- it's excellent, the best episode so far... no action yeah but damn that was god level intense. I never felt so much for any movie or TV show like I did on this one. Each of the characters did an excellent job.... The seppuku moment had me yearning for a fairy tale twist like a child but No! They had to shove the grim, cruel outcome right to my face as I almost went through more emotions than I had in my entire life. It was delivered flawlessly..

Toranaga is now an imoral character who has his best friend kill himself, with his son assisting !

This is the new japan we want !!

He is now no better than any of the other warlords. Who cares if that's part of the plan. None of the characters are engaging anymore.

The dramatic reversal in so many characters behaviour is really disappointing. Pretentious nonsense.

I con only think with this kind of erratic screenwriting. Is that they are planning on dragging out for more seasons. Which will end in a nonsensical finale like so many before it. Maybe an Alien will drop in by.

The smart viewers will have left at the end off this season , given only two episodes remain.

Shogun's 8th installment, "The Abyss of Life", climbs at the top of all episodes so far and comes with a scene that surpasses everything we have seen before.

Having to wait one whole week to see this episode felt like an eternity! After the "Rains of Ajiro", as I called last week's episode, featuring the shocking betrayal of Toranaga's half brother and his surrender to the council plus the unexpected death of Toranaga's son Nagakado, I was trying to figure out how the show will move on. A few people had the idea (and hope) that Toranaga still has a backup plan and these people were right, at least they had the right idea.

What this episode does, and that's kind of typical of Shogun, is to play with its audience. It starts by showing the condition of Toranaga. He seems to be weak and suffering from an illness. His allies question his decision to surrender. They believe there is a chance to win if they fight Lord Ishido. But Toranaga seems to have mad his decision and declares every disobedience as treason. The anjin tries to win Lord Yanushige's allegiance for his plan to attack Osaka with ships, but he still believes Toranaga has some secret plan.

Then Toranaga summons all his Lords to sign a letter of surrender which he will be sending to Osaka. But some Lords and his personal advisor Hagemitsu refuse to accept this defeat. And Hagemitsu goes even further:

He sets Toranaga before an ultimate decision. If he does not decide to fight, Hagemitsu will commit Sepukku. Lord Toranaga fights with his emotions, you can see the tears he is trying to hide. This is his most loyal friend, he was there from him since he was a little boy and now he has to sacrifice him to ensure his masterplan will not fail. Watching this scene was heartbreaking! It was one of the most brutal and emotional scenes of entertainment history! To make it short and simple: This scene almost brought me to tears!

Lord Buntaro, Hagemitsu's son has to second his own father, which makes things even harder. This was the best scene of the show so far!

After this shocking event, Lord Yanushige decides to accept the anjin's offer. He now thinks of Toranaga as an old, mad man. But then we swith to Toranaga speaking to Lady Mariko, finally revealing his plan. By letting Hagemetsu die he made sure Lord Ishido and the council think his decision to surrender is real, but in the background he plans to fight. He explains how easy the anjin and Yanushige are to control. It was his plan they join forces and attack Osaka all the time. Lady Mariko also joins the two on their journey, of course you might rightly think!

The last scene of this episode shows Toranaga all dressed up, looking as good as new, concluding hos transformation from a sick old men at the start of the episode, to a determined, prideful leader!

This episode sets things up for a great finale we will get only two weeks from now! It is awesome to know, that we will get another two episodes of this phenomenon. Shogun proved again what it's made of and the steps of becoming the greatest show of the decade are getting fewer and fewer every week.

I should preface this by saying that I have read the novel Shogun, twice. It is a very influential book in my life, as the first time I read it, I was only 12-13 years ago.

So far, each and every episode has been absolutely brilliant, I believe I have 6 of them as 10/10 and 1 as 9/10. This one, while still brilliant in terms of tension, beauty, great cinematography and actors performance was a bit lacking in action, and significantly changed the fate of poor Hiromatsu. In the novel, he lives. The real-life inspiration for him was also alive after the events in the novel, mind you.

For me, this was done for dramatic effect, and quite successfully, but I still didn't like it that much. I feel like Nagakado's death could have been enough (he also doesn't die in the book by the way). I still feel like it is a solid development and does set the events I know will follow to be even more dramatic, I was just a bit at odds with this, but nevertheless, Shogun is a masterpiece, and unless they really mess up the last two episodes (and no, there's no chance there would be a second season, at least not based on the novel and the events in it), this show is 10/10 and one of the best in the last decade at least!

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

*Plot and ending analyzed*

Well, not much to say about this episode except it was even more of a digression from the others in terms of absolute coherence. Shoddy, haphazard, and aimless writing permeates it. A lot of the characters are "rewritten" to be completely opposite from what they were in the other episodes. It is as if a bunch of English majors with no idea of Japanese culture took part in it.

It is distracting and takes away from the overall story development. The Englishman is still written as an ill-mannered, discourteous, and impolite sod. He sees one of the European sailors in town by some "chance", and they have a fight. Okay. A truly pointless scene. He was so concerned about the crew throughout the other episodes, and now he nearly killed a man from his old ship. And he also turns against Toranaga. What a surprise. And then there is talk of "loyalty" in all the episodes, and yet it is all purposeless and of no value because of the way the Western writers have constantly flip-floped in their approach. This series is nothing like old Japanese samurai cinema, which relied heavily on believable drama. But apparently everything we are watching is part of the great "plan".

The Japanese translator's husband is also portrayed as a nice chap now. He makes tea for his unresponsive wife, and later, even cries like a baby. Buntaro was probably the only interesting character because he was opposed to the snotty Englishman, and his extreme aggression was the only diverting thing to watch.

And they throw in more meaningless nonsense about the brothel and the Portuguese church. Whatever.

If you have not guessed, Toranaga has had something brewing that only he knows about. (As if we should care at this point). We are left in the dark, but he will probably unleash that ludicrous plan with the silly name. He allows his old ally and friend to die? For what, to confuse the enemy? That is the worst piece of junk writing I have ever seen. He is an utterly trivial and boring character at this point. In this episode, he has a bad cold and he meanders around like a slothful worm. You would hope that they wrote some more gusto into his limp self, but no.

There are absolutely no likable or pleasant characters in the entire series. There are just a bunch of disagreeable, mercenary, self-regarding louts. And this episode really cements that. I have been disappointed in the characters in the past, but this episode makes it clear that the writers have absolutely no duty to the audience, or no duty to the characters themselves. The series is nothing more than an empty cartoon. The Englishman has no importance anymore, and to top it off, they made him even more fickle in this episode.

But we are supposed to root for Toranaga? Well, I think not.