Reviews

The giant silver banana helmet was excellent.

Besides that, everything continues to go dreadfully wrong for all of the main characters. It's dark to the point I felt annoyed a few times, and it's getting tough to watch. For the first time during the series, I was less than totally engrossed in the world on screen.

We want Toranaga to rebuild his forces and see him strategically and forcefully remove the corrupt and evil bureaucrats from Osaka.

We want to see Anjin come out a hero by making himself essential to that cause using his naval expertise.

Above all, we want to see Mariko and Anjin find some happiness together in that violent and hopeless world.

What our characters get instead is more backstabbing, meaningless death, random cruelty, and sadness.

Anjin had turned the corner and gained respect, but suddenly has regressed back to only being referred to as "barbarian" again and again. He is being openly attacked and disrespected. Time for him to start carrying pistols again. This episode, he seemed to be just "there," distracting Toranaga and his men from critical decision-making.

Mariko looks like a hopeless cause - suicidally depressed and feeling her life is cursed and irredeemable. Her character had brought so much charisma and subtle mystery into the story. Now every time she's on screen, she's just a drag. She's sad and complaining, even at a time when there are way bigger things going on.

With all that said, this show has been outstanding until now, and I don't think any of the plot decisions, dialogue, or anything else was taken lightly. There were some hints - such as the conversation between the courtesan and Toranaga, and Toranaga's son saying he would never simply surrender, and the flashbacks to Toranaga's past - that Toranaga is still in control of the situation and this episode was the setup for the satisfying redemption of the main characters.

We had to be taken to this desperate place to get the full satisfaction of the last three episodes.

I hope.

As we now have come to expect... this is another hour of pure absorption into Japan, and this exciting story.

The background is the Toranaga clan recovering from the earthquake, dealing with destroyed property and mass casualties. Even in this situation, the Anjin continues his ascent to power he doesn't want.

The main theme looks at the roles and sacrifices of women in this male-dominated society. And, how ambitious women can use their amazing skills of manipulation to get what they want. (If a Japanese woman kneels on the floor behind you and starts giving a monologue challenging your manhood... run!)

Notably, Lord Toranaga is never seen near a woman. Nobody holds a thread of influence over him, but he understands the effect of women on the men around him.

The standout scene of this episode is getting to experience a Japanese courtesan house. We enter that world with a first person view of some stunning night-time visuals, and then the professional manner and speech of Lady Kiku. Sadly, the actual "pillowing" is left to our imaginations... speaking of Anjin getting cool stuff he didn't really want.

A big part of this episode is dedicated to filling in the backstories of Mariko, Lady Oshiba, Toranaga, and others through narration and flashbacks. We now understand the dynamic of the marriage of Mariko and Buntaro, and can empathize with them, or at least understand each of their frustrations. Buntaro wants a warm and grateful wife who is actually into him. Mariko wants a better man or death.

There is some important forwarding of the main plot, especially in the last minutes that must be seen to understand what will happen next...

I hope SHOGUN doesn't end at 10 episodes... this needs to be a multi-season show!!

Episode 3 of the new series on FX "Shogun" is breathtaking and thrilling.

I was again immersed in 16th century Japan with the realism and attention to detail.

SPOILERS: The scene of sailing through the blockade ambush was thrilling, as Blackthorne proves his courage and inventiveness to Toranaga (and Mariko).

The continuing political struggle between the Japanese regents and the Catholics, and the scenes of the meetings in the castle add so many dimensions to the story. And if you've ever been to castles and museums in Japan and seen the relics of these times, it is extremely satisfying to see it played out on screen - how they sit and straighten their sleeves and bow so politely before subtly insulting the lord.

The sacrifice of Buntaro was thrilling. Although his character will come off to most viewers as brash, macho, and over-controlling, he nails the archetype of the strong warrior of the time - and the undisputed leader of the family. I liked his character from the start. Of course, he survived the battle outnumbered 50-1 and we will se him again. I hope his character gets the honor he deserves and doesn't just serve as the gorilla in the way of Blackthorne getting it on with Mariko.

Finally, in that final scene we get some levity with Toranaga asking Blackthorne to show him how to dive into the water. He makes him dive again and again countless times, just watching him. Perhaps this is foreshadowing the friendship to come between them, where Toranaga will quietly observe and learn from Blackthorne about military tactics before using them perfectly on his first attempt.

The character of Luke Skywalker is so clearly developed in the original trilogy. He shows up to help his friends and family when in need, no matter what and at any cost. He repeatedly makes selfless, morally sound decisions. He sees goodness in people when nobody else does, even in Darth Vader. To now portray him as a cynical, sarcastic, grumpy old hermit who had it cross his mind to murder his nephew in his sleep (he sensed darkness!) and then isolate himself on an island "to die" and avoid cleaning up the mess he made of his nephew makes no sense, even with the flashback explanation given.

The same goes for Jedi. Their awesome power lies in cool force abilities and light sabers - ONLY on a SUPERFICIAL level. What really distinguishes a Jedi and makes those characters magical and awesome is their certain noble way of being - that is calm, courageous, and clear-minded in any situation. Despite the movie's title, there is no Jedi to be seen in this film.

As for the "baddies," we have two incompetent, bickering rage-a-holics left in Hux and Ren. They are sure good at screaming. Despite Adam Driver's jaw-dropping talent, the Kylo Ren character's primary traits remain confusion and rage. He has no clear direction and thus no real power, no intimidating presence. He's an unsympathetic crybaby and he's going to lose every time, as he has until now.

There is so much confusion in the characters overall - and just as much at the end of this second movie as in the beginning. It's likely a reflection of the way the trilogy is being pieced together with multiple writers and no real collaboration between them in creating the characters and story arcs. Rey, Luke, Ren, Poe, Finn... great characters who have no idea what they want in this mess. Snoke, Holdo, and Leia were the most powerful, driven characters in the movie and the only ones who weren't confused at all... alas, those ships have sailed.

There were some other aspects to the film that were less than ideal storytelling, or didn't feel right in a Star Wars film, but honestly, I can let everything else slide. The nonsensical discarding of Luke, the Jedi, and the Force had me walking out of the theater feeling tired, hollow and sad, even though I enjoyed and was entertained by many parts of the movie.

This movie truly "lets the past die, kills it if it must." It takes us down a glittery new beautiful CGI path with awesome twists, effects, and the sights and sounds of Star Wars but missing the heart and soul of it. That's a path I'm not really interested in following.